A Cross-Sectional Analysis of EMT Certification Rates among Navy Hospital Corpsmen in the INDO-PACIFIC

Until 2017, the United States Navy (USN) incorporated Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) curriculum into Basic Medical Technician Corpsman (BMTC) training program. At overseas USN and Marine Corps installations, USN hospitals and clinics must train and certify EMTs to support the Emergency Medical System (EMS) mission. The primary aim of this study is to identify the impact of removing NREMT curriculum from BMTC on NREMT exam pass rates of students stationed in the Indo-Pacific (INDOPAC) region. This study examines and analyzes 1 ^st and 3 ^rd attempt NREMT exam pass rates of four OCONUS installations in the INDOPAC region over 10.5 years.

The researcher conducted a retrospective cross-sectional analysis of NREMT exam pass rates. Data were extracted from the NREMT database from four program sites in Japan. Five years of data before and after the curriculum change were included. Date ranges extracted were from January 1, 2012, to June 1, 2022.

During the observed 10.5 years, 1093 students attempted the NREMT cognitive examination within the INDOPAC region and were included. Cumulative pass rates for 1 ^st and 3 ^rd attempts for all four locations for all years were 64.2% and 71.1%, respectively. Comparison of the overall INDOPAC 1 ^st attempt pass rate before and after BMTC curriculum change shows a 62% pass rate for 2012-2017 (before EMT curriculum removal) and a 66% pass rate for 2017-2022 (after removal). The two means do not show statistical significance as the p-value is determined to be 0.172 (P>0.05).

No statistical correlation between students before and after the curriculum change was found. A correlation was identified between pass rates and delayed examination, indicating if the national exam is delayed, the rate of certification decreases.