Investigating the Efficacy of a Hybrid EMT Course

The Pennsylvania College of Technology implemented a region-wide hybrid emergency medical technician (EMT) training course in 2015, following the release of the National Emergency Medical Services Education Standards as well as the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's transition away from a state-developed EMT exam and towards the EMT exam developed by the National Registry of EMTs. Previous classes were conducted by the training sites in the region utilizing a traditional, classroom-based model. 79.32% of students who completed training within the classes offered by the region between 2007 and 2013 successfully passed the state exam and became certified as EMT's (n=418), compared to 80.52% of the students who completed the current training program conducted by Penn College (n=186). This analysis finds the Penn College program's pass rates on the NREMT cognitive exam (both first attempt and within three attempts) exceed the previous pass rates on the state exam for the region and mirror the national pass rate metrics during the study period. This study concludes that the Penn College hybrid EMT course is an effective method of training new providers for the region.