News & Events
Significant interprovincial project will benefit the profession of Paramedicine
February 10, 2010 - Canadian Paramedic Regulators welcome the announcement on February 10, 2010 of federal funding of $1.2 million for a two-year project to increase labour mobility and prepare for foreign credential recognition across the country. The project features the development of national standards of competence and interprovincial examinations for the qualification and assessment of paramedics.
Paramedic regulators will be contributing a similar amount to the project in time, effort and other in-kind expenditures making this a nearly $2-million initiative. It will involve paramedics from every region and will include consultation with key stakeholders such as employers, governments, educators, physicians, paramedics, and their associations.
The specific outcomes of the project include:
- Consensus on a common scope of practice and standard of competence supported by provincial regulators, where applicable, for each of four levels of practice of paramedicine: Emergency Medical Responders, Primary Care Paramedics (PCP), Advanced Care Paramedics (ACP) and Critical Care Paramedics. This will serve as a common inter-provincial standard for licensure thus enabling full labour mobility for practitioners.
- An interprovincial entry-to-practice examination for two levels of practice representing 80% of all practitioners (PCP and ACP).
- A collaborative approach to research to support evidence-based decision making to maintain the competency standards and the exams, and pursue issues of common interest.
- A framework for a common assessment process for internationally trained paramedics.
- An operational plan for the maintenance and sustaining of the competence standards and the interprovincial exams, including the formalization of a national organization of paramedic regulators.
Paramedic Regulators involved with this important initiative are as follows:
- British Columbia Emergency Medical Assistants Licensing Board
- Alberta College of Paramedics
- Saskatchewan College of Paramedics
- Manitoba Health - Emergency Medical Services
- Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care, Emergency Health Services Branch
- Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec Paramedic Association of New Brunswick
- Government of Prince Edward Island – Department of Health and Wellness
- Emergency Health Services Nova Scotia
- Government of Newfoundland and Labrador - Health and Community Services; Eastern Health
- No Territory of Canada currently regulates paramedics
The group appreciates the assistance of the Alberta College of Paramedics in providing oversight and coordination of this project on behalf of all regulators.
The first steps for the project will be the hiring of a project manager and organizing a formal meeting in Montreal in May 2010. At that meeting the regulators will build on previous work together to confirm interprovincial scopes of practice and corresponding competency standards for four levels of practice (as applicable). This will enable consultation with stakeholders on the competencies and the development of the exam blueprints. There will be opportunities for paramedics at the PCP and ACP levels to participate in the exam development and validation stages.
Watch for further updates from your provincial paramedic regulator.