Finney

Island Emt, Thank you, that was very helpful. So from what I gather, once a person is both EMT certified and IC certified (through the 80hr course), they can begin teaching the EMT-B course themselves? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Again to reiterate, I am not at all suggesting that 190 hours is too much or even an adequate amount of time required. And also I stated that I am not an EMT and I should also say that I do not have plans to become one in the near future. I am currently working in a state government position and was doing some research on topics that were being brought up in my representative's district. I cannot speak directly to the numbers of drops, but it seems as though the representative and his district are concerned about the drops. Again, this is not a request for a cut on the amount of time required, rather seeking an alternative method to get those hours. I understand that EMT training may not be the best thing to do online, even if it is just the memorization of some information (of course only speaking of non-clinical training). I was more interested in seeing if there were any out-of-state (out of NY) counterparts that were different from the traditional classroom approach.

I would not even begin to suggest that 190 hours is an excessive or unreasonable amount of time to spend learning course material. I was just curious if there were any other states that had alternatives to this 190 hour course. Or if there were other ways to getting the non clinical experience outside of the classroom setting. I will continue to research to see if it is in fact hour based or competency based. But the concern that I have been hearing from Western New York and Upstate New York (Rural areas basically) is that volunteer rates are dropping or will drop soon. I will also look into the training fund reimbursements. Thank you for the quick responses.

Hello everyone, My name is Finney. I am posting this thread to gain some insight on what other states are doing about the federal requirement that requires one to accumulate 190 hours of instruction in order to become an EMT-B. I myself am not an EMT and would greatly benefit from the input of knowledgeable individuals such as yourselves. As a New York resident who deals with rural communities I have observed that it is becoming increasingly difficult for volunteers to travel 1.5 hours or more for multiple days a week to reach an EMT training facility. This is resulting in a decrease in EMS volunteers. New York State has adopted these federal guidelines but I was wondering what other states are doing in regards to their EMT-B curriculum. Are there any alternatives to going to the training facility for each session (i.e. an online alternative?). The implications are very frightening when one considers a dramatic drop in volunteer services. If anyone has any information, or knows where I could inquire to get some information, I would be very grateful.