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Education

Education

 

WHAT IS CME?

Continuing Medical Education (CME) allows paramedics to maintain and enhance knowledge, skills and attitude, and to learn about different clinical situations that occur less frequently in the field.  CPER strives to provide essential courses and new learning opportunities for paramedics through CME.  In order for CME credits to be allocated, the educational activity must enhance the clinical practice of paramedicine at the certification level of the Paramedic and must be preapproved by CPER.

Our goal is to provide all Paramedics an opportunity to self-direct CME needs as much as possible.  Our CME program provides a variety of options for Paramedics to acquire all CME credits within the CME deadline.  PCPs are encouraged to engage in an as many CME opportunities as possible, to support continued growth and improvement of knowledge, skills and attitude. 

 

WHAT CME CREDITS AND/OR ONLINE MODULES DO I NEED TO COMPLETE TO MAINTAIN CERTIFICATION?

The requirements for CME credit reflects the provincial mandate of 8 credits annually for PCPs and 24 credits annually for ACPs.  As always, 8 of these credits are accumulated when paramedics attend an education session in the form of an Annual Practice Review (APR) CME in each certification year.  This APR is a mandatory session for all CPER Paramedics.  

In addition to successful completion of the 8 credit APR CME, ACPs are required to obtain a minimum of an additional 16 CME credits during each certification year.  

All Paramedics must complete all mandatory online modules and CME requirements AND provide proof of completion when required to CPER by Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 1600hrs.  It is the responsibility of the Paramedic to ensure that the deadline for completion of all requirements is met, in order to maintain certification.  

Please keep in mind that the Certification Standard, specifically 10 patient contact, as per the ALS PCS Appendix 6, is a completely separate stream that may require the Paramedic to complete additional education and training, in order to maintain certification.  Paramedics who are required to complete additional educational components relating to this will receive separate communication from CPER.  

 

WHAT IS THE CME DEADLINE FOR 2021?

The deadline to acquire CME credits is Thursday, January 23, 2025 at 1600hrs.  

 

WHAT HAPPENS IF I DO NOT COMPLETE MY CME REQUIREMENTS?

Paramedics who do not complete the CME requirement prescribed by CPER are not eligible for continued annual certification and are subject to administrative deactivation. If a Paramedic is administratively deactivated due to not meeting CME requirements, the Paramedic will remain deactivated until such time that all CME requirements are met (i.e. completion of required CME credits and successful completion of all online modules). Any Paramedic who has been administratively deactivated more than once over the past 5 years (including the current 2021 year) may be required to complete a remediation plan prior to reactivation.  This remediation plan will be at the discretion of the Education Department.  

 

CAN I CARRY OVER CME CREDIT FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT?

Any CME credit earned in January 2025 only are eligible for carryover into 2025, as long as 2024 CME credit requirements are met by January 23, 2025.  The maximum allowable carry over is 4 CME credits.

 

HOW CAN I OBTAIN PRE-APPROVAL FOR EXTERNAL COURSE/EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY TO USE TOWARDS MY CME REQUIREMENTS? 

If the event is not listed in this catalogue, please submit the CME Credit Request form to education@cper.ca at least 2 weeks prior to the CME.  Your request will be reviewed and an appropriate amount of CME credit will be granted.  The number of credits may or may not equal the number of hours actually spent completing the specified CME. 

 

WHERE DO I FIND THE CME CREDIT REQUEST FORM?

CME Credit Request form can be found by clicking here: CME Credit Request Form

 

I AM A NEWLY CERTIFIED ACP. DO I NEED TO COMPLETE ALL 24 CME CREDITS FOR THE YEAR?

Newly certified ACPs are required to obtain CME credits, on a pro-rated basis, depending on the initial certification date.  If full ACP certification is obtained mid-way through the year, please confirm with a Paramedic Educator as to the number of CME credits you need in order to meet your Maintenance of Certification requirements.  

 

COVID-19 CONSIDERATIONS:

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it is expected that the majority of in-person education events will be cancelled for 2021. Many of these events have moved online in some format and there will remain a large number of CME credits available. As always, it is the responsibility of the paramedic to complete the required CME. 

The following suggestions of online-only content are a good place to start:

 

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS?

The full 2024 CME Catalogue is provided HERE.  Please refer to it for details on types of CME, amount of CME credit granted and other information.

If you have any questions or require further details, please contact one of the Paramedic Educators at CPER at education@cper.ca

 

CAN I CARRY OVER CME CREDIT FROM ONE YEAR TO THE NEXT?
Any CME credit earned in November 2021 only are eligible for carryover into 2022, as long as 2021 CME credit requirements are met by November 22, 2021.  The maximum allowable carry over is 4 CME credits.
 
 
HOW CAN I OBTAIN PRE-APPROVAL FOR EXTERNAL COURSE/EDUCATIONAL ACTIVITY TO USE TOWARDS MY CME REQUIREMENTS? 
If the event is not listed in this catalogue, please submit the CME Credit Request form to education@cper.ca at least 2 weeks prior to the CME.  Your request will be reviewed and an appropriate amount of CME credit will be granted.  The number of credits may or may not equal the number of hours actually spent completing the specified CME. 
 
 
WHERE DO I FIND THE CME CREDIT REQUEST FORM?
CME Credit Request form can be found by clicking here: CME Credit Request Form

 

As part of the yearly maintenance of certification, each Paramedic must successfully complete an Annual Practice Review at the level for which s/he is certified. The APR day consists of an 8 hour day with the following components:

  • A didactic presentation

The skill stations are largely peer review format, with focus on skill completion, recollection and application of CPER Medical Directives and related pathophysiology. The peer review skill station format will encourage both active and passive learning as both a participant and evaluator. Aspects of skill demonstration, Medical Directive association and a review of pathological processes allow the learner to examine a particular condition or skill from a variety of angles.

Read more …Annual Practice Review

MedicLEARN: A Learning Management System (LMS)

A LMS is a term used to describe a server based system to manage learning content interactions. The LMS enables the learning content to be available online, allowing students to view and interact with the learning materials at any time through a web based browser on essentially any computer. MedicLEARN will be part of the blended learning format delivered by CPER and will be used in conjunction with "face to face" learning.

Paramedics can access MedicLEARN by logging into this site first. Once a course is completed, you can view your certification status under MedicNET.

 

The Education team at the Centre for Paramedic Education and Research (CPER) consists of three Paramedic Educators and contract instructors with support from administration personnel and IT.

All three Paramedic Educators have a vast amount of experience as paramedics and in education delivery to paramedics. They bring an immense amount of knowledge and resources that will allow CPER to provide the best service to the EMS Operators and paramedics in our catchment area.

Services provided by the Paramedic Educators include:

  • Liaison for Service Operators and Paramedics
  • Development and delivery of Continuing Medical Education (CME) through “face to face” education and electronic delivery formats.
  • Develop and deliver Annual Practice Review to the Paramedics in our Region.
  • Delivery of education on Auxiliary Medical Directives .
  • Link to CQI – the development and implementation of an educational plan for the Region linked to Continuous Quality Improvement initiatives.
  • Paramedic Remediation from CQI errors and omissions.
  • Initial Certification coordination and evaluation for ACPs and PCPs.

The three Paramedic Educators cooperatively work together to collectively provide coverage of all services within our catchment area to act as the Service Operator and Paramedic Liaison. Paramedics can contact any Paramedic Educator as a point of contact at CPER.

The Paramedic Educators are Stephanie Coletta, David Plyley and Jenn Radoslav.

 

Contact information for the Educators:

 

Steph Coletta 

scoletta@cper.ca

905-515-0659

 

David Plyley

dplyley@cper.ca

289-257-1774

 

Jenn Radoslav

jradoslav@cper.ca

289-260-3268