Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States
Abstract Objective As the COVID‐19 pandemic began, there were significant concerns for the strength and stability of the emergency medical services (EMS) workforce. These concerns were heightened with the closure of examination centers and the cessation of certification examinations. The impact of t...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12808 |
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| author | Jonathan R. Powell Jennifer Cotto Jordan D. Kurth Rebecca E. Cash Mihaiela R. Gugiu Ashish R. Panchal |
| author_facet | Jonathan R. Powell Jennifer Cotto Jordan D. Kurth Rebecca E. Cash Mihaiela R. Gugiu Ashish R. Panchal |
| author_sort | Jonathan R. Powell |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Objective As the COVID‐19 pandemic began, there were significant concerns for the strength and stability of the emergency medical services (EMS) workforce. These concerns were heightened with the closure of examination centers and the cessation of certification examinations. The impact of this interruption on the EMS workforce is unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of COVID‐19 on initial EMS certification in the United States. In addition, we evaluated mitigation measures taken to address these interruptions. Methods This study was a cross‐sectional evaluation of the National Certification Cognitive Examination administration and results for emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic candidates. We compared the number of examinations administered and first‐attempt pass rates in 2020 (pandemic) to 2019 (control). Descriptive statistics and 2 one‐sided tests of equivalence were used to assess if there was a relevant difference of ±5 percentage points. Results Total number of examinations administered decreased by 15% (EMT, 14%; paramedic, 7%). Without the addition of EMT remote proctoring, the EMT reduction would have been 35%. First‐time pass rates were similar in both EMT (−0.9%) and paramedic (−1.9%) candidates, which did not meet our threshold of a relevant difference. Conclusion COVID‐19 has had a measurable impact on examination administration for both levels of certification. First‐time pass rates remained unaffected. EMT remote proctoring mitigated some of the impact of COVID‐19 on examination administration, although a comparison with mitigation was not assessed. These reductions indicate a potential decrease in the newly certified workforce, but future evaluations will be necessary to assess the presence and magnitude of this impact. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-444463cecd3a496babd7abd1dbb85f73 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2688-1152 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-444463cecd3a496babd7abd1dbb85f732025-08-20T02:54:46ZengElsevierJournal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open2688-11522022-08-0134n/an/a10.1002/emp2.12808Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United StatesJonathan R. Powell0Jennifer Cotto1Jordan D. Kurth2Rebecca E. Cash3Mihaiela R. Gugiu4Ashish R. Panchal5National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Columbus Ohio USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Columbus Ohio USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Columbus Ohio USADepartment of Emergency Medicine Massachusetts General Hospital Harvard Medical School Boston Massachusetts USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Columbus Ohio USANational Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians Columbus Ohio USAAbstract Objective As the COVID‐19 pandemic began, there were significant concerns for the strength and stability of the emergency medical services (EMS) workforce. These concerns were heightened with the closure of examination centers and the cessation of certification examinations. The impact of this interruption on the EMS workforce is unclear. Our objective was to evaluate the impact of COVID‐19 on initial EMS certification in the United States. In addition, we evaluated mitigation measures taken to address these interruptions. Methods This study was a cross‐sectional evaluation of the National Certification Cognitive Examination administration and results for emergency medical technician (EMT) and paramedic candidates. We compared the number of examinations administered and first‐attempt pass rates in 2020 (pandemic) to 2019 (control). Descriptive statistics and 2 one‐sided tests of equivalence were used to assess if there was a relevant difference of ±5 percentage points. Results Total number of examinations administered decreased by 15% (EMT, 14%; paramedic, 7%). Without the addition of EMT remote proctoring, the EMT reduction would have been 35%. First‐time pass rates were similar in both EMT (−0.9%) and paramedic (−1.9%) candidates, which did not meet our threshold of a relevant difference. Conclusion COVID‐19 has had a measurable impact on examination administration for both levels of certification. First‐time pass rates remained unaffected. EMT remote proctoring mitigated some of the impact of COVID‐19 on examination administration, although a comparison with mitigation was not assessed. These reductions indicate a potential decrease in the newly certified workforce, but future evaluations will be necessary to assess the presence and magnitude of this impact.https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12808certification examinationcertified workforceCOVID‐19 impactemergency medical servicespatient care workforceremote proctoring |
| spellingShingle | Jonathan R. Powell Jennifer Cotto Jordan D. Kurth Rebecca E. Cash Mihaiela R. Gugiu Ashish R. Panchal Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States Journal of the American College of Emergency Physicians Open certification examination certified workforce COVID‐19 impact emergency medical services patient care workforce remote proctoring |
| title | Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States |
| title_full | Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States |
| title_fullStr | Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States |
| title_short | Impact of COVID‐19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the United States |
| title_sort | impact of covid 19 on initial emergency medical services certification in the united states |
| topic | certification examination certified workforce COVID‐19 impact emergency medical services patient care workforce remote proctoring |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1002/emp2.12808 |
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