The Florida Senate

401.2701  Emergency medical services training programs.--

(1)  Any private or public institution in Florida desiring to conduct an approved program for the education of emergency medical technicians and paramedics shall:

(a)  Submit a completed application on a form provided by the department, which must include:

1.  Evidence that the institution is in compliance with all applicable requirements of the Department of Education.

2.  Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a hospital that has an emergency department staffed by at least one physician and one registered nurse.

3.  Evidence of an affiliation agreement with a current Florida-licensed emergency medical services provider. Such agreement shall include, at a minimum, a commitment by the provider to conduct the field experience portion of the education program.

4.  Documentation verifying faculty, including:

a.  A medical director who is a licensed physician meeting the applicable requirements for emergency medical services medical directors as outlined in this chapter and rules of the department. The medical director shall have the duty and responsibility of certifying that graduates have successfully completed all phases of the education program and are proficient in basic or advanced life support techniques, as applicable.

b.  A program director responsible for the operation, organization, periodic review, administration, development, and approval of the program.

5.  Documentation verifying that the curriculum:

a.  Meets the course guides and instructor's lesson plans in the most recent Emergency Medical Technician-Basic National Standard Curricula for emergency medical technician programs and Emergency Medical Technician-Paramedic National Standard Curricula for paramedic programs.

b.  Includes 2 hours of instruction on the trauma scorecard methodologies for assessment of adult trauma patients and pediatric trauma patients as specified by the department by rule.

c.  Includes 4 hours of instruction on HIV/AIDS training consistent with the requirements of chapter 381.

6.  Evidence of sufficient medical and educational equipment to meet emergency medical services training program needs.

(b)  Receive a scheduled site visit from the department to the applicant's institution. Such site visit shall be conducted within 30 days after notification to the institution that the application was accepted. During the site visit, the department must determine the applicant's compliance with the following criteria:

1.  Emergency medical technician programs must be a minimum of 110 hours, with at least 20 hours of supervised clinical supervision, including 10 hours in a hospital emergency department.

2.  Paramedic programs must be available only to Florida-certified emergency medical technicians or an emergency medical technician applicant who will obtain Florida certification prior to completion of phase one of the paramedic program. Paramedic programs must be a minimum of 700 hours of didactic and skills practice components, with the skills laboratory student-to-instructor ratio not exceeding six to one. Paramedic programs must provide a field internship experience aboard an advanced life support permitted ambulance.

(2)  After completion of the site visit, the department shall prepare a report which shall be provided to the institution. Upon completion of the report, the application shall be deemed complete and the provisions of s. 120.60 shall apply.

(3)  If the program is approved, the department must issue the institution a 2-year certificate of approval as an emergency medical technician training program or a paramedic training program. If the application is denied, the department must notify the applicant of any areas of strength, areas needing improvement, and any suggested means of improvement of the program. A denial notification shall be provided to the applicant so as to allow the applicant 5 days prior to the expiration of the application processing time in s. 120.60 to advise the department in writing of its intent to submit a plan of correction. Such intent notification shall provide the time for application processing in s. 120.60 The plan of correction must be submitted to the department within 30 days of the notice. The department shall advise the applicant of its approval or denial of the plan of correction within 30 days of receipt. The denial of the plan of correction or denial of the application may be reviewed as provided in chapter 120.

(4)  Approved emergency medical services training programs must maintain records and reports that must be made available to the department, upon written request. Such records must include student applications, records of attendance, records of participation in hospital clinic and field training, medical records, course objectives and outlines, class schedules, learning objectives, lesson plans, number of applicants, number of students accepted, admission requirements, description of qualifications, duties and responsibilities of faculty, and correspondence.

(5)  Each approved program must notify the department within 30 days of any change in the professional or employment status of faculty. Each approved program must require its students to pass a comprehensive final written and practical examination evaluating the skills described in the current United States Department of Transportation EMT-Basic or EMT-Paramedic, National Standard Curriculum. Each approved program must issue a certificate of completion to program graduates within 14 days of completion.

History.--s. 31, ch. 99-397.