Getting Ready for AEMT Voluntary Accreditation

CoAEMSP will begin accepting applications for Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) voluntary programmatic accreditation on January 1, 2025. CoAEMSP provides accrediting services on behalf of the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs (CAAHEP), the only nationally recognized accreditation organization for paramedic and AEMT education.

Interested AEMT Program Directors Can Start Learning About the Accreditation Process Now 

We know from a survey of AEMT Program Directors conducted in September/October 2023 that 59% of respondents are likely to seek voluntary accreditation. Now is the perfect time to learn more about the accreditation process, either to prepare for the application or to decide whether to pursue voluntary accreditation.  

Several resources regarding voluntary AEMT accreditation are available now: 

• Seeking Accreditation: What You Need To Know 
• CAAHEP Standards & Guidelines include the detailed AEMT curriculum competencies that begin on page 18
• CoAEMSP Interpretations of the CAAHEP  
• CoAEMSP Policies & Procedures
• CAAHEP Policies & Procedures
• LoR Application and LoR Application Invoice Request Form to initiate the accreditation process, beginning January 1, 2025
• AEMT Fees

The Letter of Review Self-Study Report (LSSR) will be available by June 1, 2024.

Interested Program Directors can register for the upcoming webinar, Getting Ready for AEMT Voluntary Accreditation, on June 13, 2024, at 1:00 PM Central Time. Archived webinars that may be of interest include Implementing the 2023 CAAHEP Standards & Guidelines for the EMS Professions.

Value of Accreditation 

As AEMT Program Directors consider the options, they may ask what is the value of accreditation? According to data from the National Registry, only 56% of AEMTs who voluntarily took the NREMT certification exam in 2022 passed the test the first time, and 69% passed within a cumulative three attempts. In contrast, among Paramedics, all of whom attended a CAAHEP-accredited Paramedic education program in 2022, 71% passed the first test, and 85% passed within three cumulative attempts.

Additional benefits of accreditation include:

• Establishes standards that ensure high-quality education;
• Results in a reliable, consistent, and competent workforce;
• Contributes to enhanced healthcare outcomes; 
• Promotes the safety and well-being of communities nationwide; and
• Fosters a unified national EMS system. 

History of AEMT Voluntary Accreditation

The 2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model called for enhanced education standards for AEMT programs, including a proposed requirement that AEMTs successfully complete “a nationally accredited or CAAHEP-accredited AEMT program that meets all other State/territorial requirements” by January 1, 2025. In 2021, NHTSA released the National EMS Education Standards, reaffirming its support for offering AEMT program accreditation by January 1, 2025. Key stakeholders in the 2019 and 2021 efforts turned to CoAEMSP to develop a strategy to implement the recommendation, and we are pleased to be moving this initiative forward.

CoAEMSP will begin accepting applications for Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT) voluntary programmatic accreditation on January 1, 2025. Additional information on AEMT voluntary accreditation is available on the CoAEMSP website.