Paramedic critical care exam board announces new operating structure

SNELLVILLE, Ga. — The Board for Critical Transport Paramedic Certification became an operating arm of the International Board of Specialty Certification effective Jan. 1.

The IBSC was formed with the objective of providing a wider range of services and certifications to a broader audience beyond the focus of medical transport and tactical paramedicine.

The core certifications of the BCCTPC will not be affected by this change.

IBSC seeks to provide certification exams to a broader audience, including the U.S. and foreign militaries, federal, state and local EMS officials and government EMS agencies, air medical programs, ambulance companies, medical centers, EMS education institutions, municipal fire and police agencies, and other areas that already or may require specialty certification around the globe.

During the course of establishing valid and objective credentialing standards for transport paramedics, the BCCTPC oversight committee recognized a growing need for standards and credentialing for a wider spectrum of medical specialties.

The BCCTPC will retain oversight of the critical care exams while it serves as a subsidiary of the IBSC, specializing in transport and tactical paramedicine. Other exams, like the Community Paramedic certification exam and MTSP-C will be supervised by independent advisory boards for each domain.

Paramedicine continues to grow and evolve into a formal profession in its own right, complete with its own standards and body of knowledge. In many locations paramedics have formed their own professional bodies.

In the early years, technicians were provided limited training, performing a small and specific set of procedures. This has evolved into a profession requiring university qualification in countries such as Australia, South Africa, and the UK, and increasingly in Canada.

In some locations paramedics are evolving into a second tier medical practitioner and being granted the legal status of self-regulated health professionals. This requires them to meet set standards of education and proficiency, deals with complaints regarding individual practitioners, and will usually involve government regulation.

In an effort to manage this growth and potential future regulation, the IBSC was created to identify key areas of influence while establishing fair and objective standards.