TBA
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems across North Carolina continue to face a persistent gap between initial education and real-world field performance. While students successfully complete North Carolina Office of EMS (NC OEMS)-approved education programs and achieve state credentialing, EMS administrators and medical directors frequently report variability in clinical readiness, decision-making, and operational confidence among newly credentialed providers.
This presentation examines the structural and regulatory factors contributing to the disconnect between EMS education and field application within the North Carolina system. Emphasis will be placed on the alignment of educational outcomes with NC OEMS requirements, including initial credentialing standards, continuing education expectations, and agency-level credentialing/privileging processes. The session will explore the limitations of traditional time-based education models and highlight opportunities to transition toward competency-based training frameworks that better reflect both NC OEMS expectations and the operational realities of prehospital care.
Key components will include strategies for strengthening clinical and field internship programs through standardized preceptor development consistent with NC OEMS educational guidelines, enhanced evaluation tools aligned with scope of practice and protocol performance, and improved integration of agency-specific onboarding and credentialing processes. Attendees will be introduced to practical methods for incorporating continuous quality improvement (CQI) data, protocol adherence metrics, and local system performance indicators into the educational continuum to create a closed-loop feedback system between community colleges, EMS agencies, and medical direction.
Case examples will demonstrate how targeted interventions—such as structured preceptor training, scenario-based competency validation, and early identification of performance gaps—can improve readiness for state and local credentialing, reduce time to independent practice, and enhance patient care outcomes across diverse EMS systems.
Participants will leave with actionable, scalable strategies to align EMS education with NC OEMS regulatory expectations, strengthen partnerships between educational institutions and EMS agencies, and improve workforce readiness across North Carolina.
Identify key factors contributing to the gap between NC OEMS-approved EMS education and field readiness. Describe methods to align educational outcomes with NC OEMS credentialing requirements and agency-level privileging processes. Implement standardized preceptor development and field evaluation strategies consistent with North Carolina regulatory expectations. Apply CQI, protocol compliance, and system performance data to improve EMS education and workforce readiness.