The Pennington First Aid Squad and the PFAS Training Center offer Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) at levels ranging from the continuing education unit (CEU) to a full course to become a Nationally Certified EMT-B.
Details of the annual Emergency Medical Technician-Basic class are available here
Details of the 24 hour Core refresher class are available here
Members may obtain recertification on line at the 24-7EMSNOW web site. 24-7EMSNOW offers 54 courses certified for NJ CEU with a total of 81 CEU available. When you login to this site for the first time, start with the START HERE button. These CEU are no longer free, but the PFAS will reimburse members. If you need quite a few CEU, be sure to purchase the unlimited one or two year subscriptions as they are a much better deal than purchasing on a per-course basis. Please contact the Captain if you have any questions. Free online CEU may still be available from the Gold Cross. If there is a requirement to pay or if you have questions, please call the Captain.
There are many on-line and instructor led courses available at the NJ OEMS certification site. You may register for courses or get a transcript of your completed courses and CEUs at this site. Before you can do any of this, you must register with the State. These instructions may help you register.
If you intend to take a course at the PFAS building, you must register in advance for the course at the NJ OEMS certification site. The process to register is somewhat obscure. After login in you must somehow find the course you want. A good way to start is with the Course Catalog tab. Once you find a listing that looks likely, click on it and you will be presented with a screen with details. For reasons known only to the programmer, you cannot register on this screen, instead you must click on the "Preview My Schedule" button. That will present you with another screen with a list of classes you have already taken or signed up for. The class you want will probably appear near the bottom of the list and you will see an option to "Register." Click on that and the screen will update with a "Class Registered" notice near the top. You should receive an email confirming your registration.
PFAS intends to offer Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP) on May 19, 2012. Registration must be made by April 19 with a $15 refundable deposit. Cindy Orlandi is the contact.
Upcoming drills for members and visitors from local squads. Monthly meeting drills start at 18:30.
Required Courses
CPR must be renewed every two years. The following CPR courses are planned. You might want to read the American Heart Association's 2010 overview on CPR, pediatric BLS, and adult BLS CPR guidelines before any CPR course. You may also wish to review the experimental basis for the current CPR guidelines by viewing this movie of the CPR pig lab. You must register on line at least 4 days before the CPR course.
The PFAS requires each riding member to renew each required skill annually in a program called "Pennington Annual Skills Session" (PASS). Acquiring and maintaining skills and EMT certification in NJ is governed by a complex set of regulations. PASS is used by PFAS to review and improve EMT skills on a more frequent basis than required by the NJ First Aid council or Federal Department of Transportation guidelines. Streamlined NJ skill sheets to be used for reviewing these skills prior to taking PASS are available here. Scheduled PASS dates are listed above, under drills.
Members are required to take Blood-borne pathogens and HAZMAT once a year unless they are newly certified or recertified. These courses will be offered in house and may also be done on line at 24-7EMSNOW and the NJ OEMS certification site. The dates for the PFAS in house sessions are:
A requirement that each NJ EMT have a course regarding appropriate recognition and response techniques when encountering any individual who has autism or any other developmental disability has recently been added by the State. This course is required once each EMT renewal cycle and may be taken at www.njlearn.com. NJLEARN will not transfer your CEUs or credit for fulfilling this "required elective" to your OEMS transcript. After you take the course, print your certificate and save it. When you apply for EMT renewal, count the CEUs toward your total. If OEMS challenges you, you will need to send them the certifcate.