2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model Now Available

First revision to the National EMS Scope of Practice Model in a decade reflects the latest evidence and best practices in EMS care and helps improve EMS personnel licensure level consistency

The 2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model, developed to identify the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve competence for the four levels of EMS clinicians, is now available on EMS.gov.

The result of an expert-led, consensus-driven process managed by the National Association of State EMS Officials and supported by NHTSA’s Office of EMS and the Health Resources & Services Administration’s EMS for Children Program, the Scope of Practice Model represents the first major revision since the National EMS Scope of Practice Model was first published more than a decade ago, in 2007.

Even though the scope of practice for EMS clinicians is established by individual states and territories, the National EMS Scope of Practice Model provides an evidence-based foundation that many states have adopted directly or used to develop their scopes of practice. The recent revision to the model reflects both changes within the profession and advances in medical science that have occurred over the past 12 years.

The 2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model provides up-to-date, relevant and evidence-based descriptions of the four national levels of EMS clinicians (emergency medical responder, emergency medical technician, advanced EMT and paramedic), as well as facilitates reciprocity, standardizes professional recognition and decreases the necessity of each state developing its own education and certification materials. It will also be used to drive the revision of the National EMS Education Standards and Instructional Guidelines that is currently underway.

You can learn more about the 2019 National EMS Scope of Practice Model, what it means for the profession and how it was developed by watching “The New National Scope of Practice and What it Means for You", an hour-long webinar featuring Dan Manz and Scott Bourn, PhD, two leaders of the project, archived on EMS.gov