| The EMS curriculum now offers courses specifically identified as gaps in EMS education |
The two new EMS courses are Emergency Medical Services Quality Management (EMS QM) and Emergency Medical Services Functions in the Incident Command System (EMS FICS).
The U.S. Fire Administration's (USFA), National Fire Academy (NFA) has completed development of the first two new Emergency Medical Services (EMS) courses in response to the U.S. Fire Administration Reauthorization Act of 2008. An additional six courses are in the process of development or revision. The Reauthorization Act included direction for the NFA to provide advanced EMS training.
"In recognition of the value that fire-service based EMS provides American communities, the USFA's NFA is revising and improving the EMS program to meet the needs of EMS agencies," said NFA Superintendent Dr. Denis Onieal. "The EMS curriculum now offers courses specifically identified as gaps in EMS education that prepare today's EMS leaders to better manage their system's response abilities and organizational quality control."
The two new EMS courses are Emergency Medical Services Quality Management (EMS QM) and Emergency Medical Services Functions in the Incident Command System (EMS FICS). EMS QM is a six-day course to be conducted on the National Emergency Training Center (NETC) campus in Emmitsburg, MD, while EMS FICS is a two-day course to be conducted either on the NETC campus or locally through partnerships with state and metropolitan fire service training organizations.
There are no tuition fees for NFA courses. All instruction and course materials are provided at no cost. Most of the transportation costs and lodging for students who represent career or volunteer fire departments, rescue squads, or state/local governments attending on-campus courses are currently provided as part of funding under the student stipend reimbursement program.