EMS Continuing Medical Education
The University Medical Center Emergency Medical Services (UMC EMS) continuing education program was formally registered by the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS) in 2006 as the “UMC Lubbock EMS CE Program”. The program is recognized as a licensed continuing education provider for all Texas certification levels and designated as an approved provider for the state-mandated Jurisprudence Examination. It is one of over 280 currently active, licensed EMS CE programs in Texas.
Continuing Medical Education
UMC EMS’ CE program not only serves the needs of in-house field staff, but also extends its education without cost to thousands of other EMS personnel across the United States through its Continuing Education Outreach program. The program is managed by the UMC EMS Training Department and complies with the policies set forth by the Texas Department of State Health Services, University Medical Center, and University Medical Center EMS.
UMC EMS operates under the Lubbock Area Prehospital Consortium treatment protocols. In addition to UMC EMS, the protocol scope includes affiliated Advanced Life Support First Responder Organizations, as defined in the Texas Administrative Code, Title 25, Chapter 157, §157.14. These organizations include Lubbock Fire Rescue, New Deal Volunteer Fire Department, Slaton Volunteer Fire Department, Ransom Canyon Fire Department and EMS, and Woodrow Volunteer Fire Department. All mentioned services use the continuing education developed by the UMC EMS CE Program to maintain protocol knowledge, skill improvement, and to maintain medical director authorization as described within policy 9 of the Lubbock Area Prehospital Consortium treatment protocols (version 18). In total, nearly 600 personnel within Lubbock county receive protocol-based continuing education developed through the UMC EMS Continuing Education program.
Over the last few years, the geographic area and audience for UMC EMS’ continuing education has grown. The UMC EMS Continuing Education Outreach program was initially developed to serve the rural areas of west Texas. The outreach program provided on-site education at the EMS agencies’ station, and then in 2016, expanded to offer free CE courses through its online program at umcemsce.com. These online courses are the same as courses assigned to Lubbock Area Prehospital Consortium personnel, with modifications to be less protocol-specific. The education is approved by both Texas state and the NREMT for an individual’s recertification needs. The outreach program’s online scope has broadened since its inception, and now includes over 3500 students living in nearly 20 states across the US.