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PAs recognized as critical care transport providers!


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Great news for EM and critical care PAs interested in prehospital medicine! After recently meeting with SEMPA, CAMTS (the accrediting body for ground/flight critical care transport agencies) has agreed that PAs may serve as crew members with accredited services. Previously the standards only recognized RNs, paramedics and physicians; we have now been added to the list. There is more info on the SEMPA website:

 

https://www.sempa.org/About-SEMPA/Critical-Care-Transport/

 

 

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This is the perfect info and timing as I'm trying to get some flight shifts during some elective time as part of residency. I figured I would frame the discussion around my previous paramedic experience, but this adds a nice accompaniment to the argument and will make it more difficult for them to tell me no. 

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This is the perfect info and timing as I'm trying to get some flight shifts during some elective time as part of residency. I figured I would frame the discussion around my previous paramedic experience, but this adds a nice accompaniment to the argument and will make it more difficult for them to tell me no.

Some EM PA residencies already include some flight time as part of their EMS rotation. As a resident you likely wouldn't be officially part of the crew so you shouldn't have to worry about accreditation standards. Good luck setting up your fly time!

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

I contacted them for further info... here was their reply:

 

CAMTS does not certify or accredit individuals - only medical transport services. 

 

CAMTS receives numerous questions about PAs as part of a transport medical team. In the 10th Edition Accreditation Standards - we do not specifically include PAs. However, in the next edition, we will include Emergency and Critical Care PAs. 

 

In the meantime, PAs are not excluded from being on the team. The CAMTS Board considers Emergency or Critical Care PAs to be qualified as along as they meet the same pre-hire and education requirements as the RNs or paramedics. You can find the pre-hire experience for standard 03.01.03  on page 3.4. The orientation and continuing education requirements begin on page 3.15. Accreditation standards are a free download on the camts.org website. When we start to make changes the drafts will be open on the website for comments. 

 

Employers may reject PAs because they are not specifically listed but you can use this email as verification that CAMTS does accept Emergency or Critical Care PAs as long as they meet the same pre-hire requirements as the RNs and paramedics.

 

Or I am happy to confirm by phone. My number in WA is listed below.  

 

 

Eileen Frazer - eileen.frazer@camts.org
CAMTS Executive Director
Commission on Accreditation of Medical Transport Systems

Eileen's office: 360-370-5990

 

 

 

To clarify further here here are the requirements from the manual:

One member of the clinical crew is a licensed nurse with CEN, CCRN, CFRN or CTRN (or equivalent national certi cation) within 2 years of hire (required). Primary care provider may also be a resident or staff physician or a paramedic. Nurses and paramedics who are the primary care providers must have 3 years of critical care experience. (Critical care experience is de ned as no less than 4000 hours’ expe- rience in an ICU or an emergency department. In addition, nurses and paramedics in the primary-care-provider role must have pre-hire experience in the medications and interventions listed below as well as IABP management (if part of scope of care), central line monitoring, left arterial wedge pressure monitoring and ventilator management. 

 

 

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  • 5 weeks later...

The draft version of the 11th edition standards are now available on the CAMTS website.  It is available for comment if you are interested.  I did note that PA's were added for "emergency critical care" level of service but they were not included in "intensive care" level.  Definitely a step in the right direction though. Great job by all who worked on this! 

http://www.camts.org/

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The draft version of the 11th edition standards are now available on the CAMTS website.  It is available for comment if you are interested.  I did note that PA's were added for "emergency critical care" level of service but they were not included in "intensive care" level.  Definitely a step in the right direction though. Great job by all who worked on this! 
http://www.camts.org/


The intensive care omission was a typographical error. It's already been brought to their attention by SEMPA and will be corrected in the final draft.


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Great! Thanks for staying on this.  

Perhaps its the skeptic in me, but I would still encourage folks to go and comment positively about the addition of PA's to the standard.  Positive reinforcement may help make sure it actually makes it into the final version. 

Regardless, even though I am still only a PA student, I spent almost a decade as a flight medic prior to coming to school and I definitely miss it.  Hopeful this will open up possibilities in the future. Strong work! 

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  • 7 months later...
Which residency programs?


Yale’s PA residents have flight time as a component of their EMS rotation. In addition to ground EMS they have the option to fly with either Skyhealth (Yale’s own flight program) or Boston MedFlight.


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depends on the state.  In Texas, HEMS have to have at least one paramedic.  Since I am a paramedic, I can fulfill both roles regardless of the other half of the flight crew.  In New Mexico, the requirement is a nurse or higher, so as a PA, I fulfill that role as well, regardless of being a paramedic.   However, being a paramedic would certainly help, as there are some significant differences between the ER and the emergency scene.  

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  • 6 months later...
On 4/25/2018 at 5:00 PM, KPayne said:

@fireguy how cool! I'm about to start PA school so obviously very far from practicing, BUT do you need any other requirements to fly with them? I have my EMT-B and have for several years, would i need to get my EMT-P? 

Generally speaking, most flight programs won't fly with an EMT-B. If you are filling the role of a flight medic/crew member, you will need to be at least a paramedic. 

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  • 2 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/16/2019 at 7:19 AM, sbayer91 said:

Does anyone know of any companies or systems specifically that have hired PAs? I would be very interested in pursuing this down the line. I’ve maintained my paramedic cert I would love to do critical care and CCT once I graduate PA school in a couple months. 

TransAero Medivac is a subsidiary of TransAero Helicopter.  They are a small company (2 bases right now with a third nearing completion all in eastern New Mexico).  Transaero operates under the "Sydney" model.  They have a provider on every flight.  A PA, MD, DO, or NP.  

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