EMR Training Requirements
Primary Care Paramedic Program
Paramedic practice in British Columbia is undergoing significant change as a result of recent scope expansion at all license levels, and the EMR program is no exception. As a result, Columbia Paramedic Academy has had to modify it’s admission requirements to ensure applicants have the EMR level skills, knowledge and simulation experience needed to succeed while studying in a PCP program.
It would be unfair to apply this new standard to applicants who completed their training in the past making a good faith effort to meet Columbia’s existing policy, so the changes are forward looking, meaning the policy that applies to each candidate is based on when training was completed.
IF EMR COMPLETED PRIOR TO JAN 1, 2024
The school or program you attended for your EMR training must:
- Have been EMALB recognized at the time
- As well, if the training you took did not include the current full Schedule 1 & Schedule 2 endorsements you must complete an EMR Scope Update course
*If taken after Jan 1, 2024 the EMR Scope Update course must have been delivered by a school/program offering a full EMR course meeting Columbia’s standard. See list below in “Approved Schools/Programs” for more information.
IF EMR COMPLETED AFTER JAN 1, 2024
The school or program you attended for your EMR training must:
- Be EMALB recognized
- Have included 120+ hours of in-person training
- Have included the current full Schedule 1 & Schedule 2 endorsements
Use the tabs in this section to learn more about this change and how Columbia Paramedic Academy is working to support applicants and students entering our PCP program.
British Columbia is undergoing significant change to paramedic practice at all license levels as a result of Ministerial Order 292/22 (‘MO292’), including at the EMR level, where MO 292 has added several new endorsements to Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 of the Emergency Medical Assistants Regulation. Unfortunately, despite the considerable change MO292 has introduced, very little work was done to ensure alignment between the regulator, major employers and the training institutions. As a result, there is no uniform training standard for EMR in our province.
This means that each Emergency Medical Responder in province can have a unique set of what they can and cannot do as EMRs based on where & when they trained, and who they work for. Here’s a real-world example of what that means…
Student A attends an 80-hour EMR course that only includes Schedule 1 endorsements.
Student B attends a 120-hour EMR course includes full Schedule 1 and Schedule 2 endorsements.
At the end of their training, both students hold EMR certificates. They can both license as EMRs with the EMALB. They can both provide care to patients as EMRs in British Columbia.
However, despite both being EMRs, they have very different levels of skill, knowledge and scope they can practice to in the field, as only Student B had an extra 40 hours of simulations to practice their new skills, and only Student B has been trained to perform the following Schedule 2 endorsements:
- Maintenance of IV Lines
- Perform Chest Auscultation
- Administration of
- Pain medications
- Anti-anginal medication
- Platelet Inhibitors
- Epinephrine (IM)
- Bronchodilators
As you can see, these 2 students are far from equal. While both are examples of safe, competent EMR practitioners and therefore meet the bar set by the EMALB, they are not equally prepared to undertake training in a Primary Care Paramedic program, which is the the bar that has to be set by our school.
The PCP program is a challenging one, and we cannot in good conscience offer admission to students we know would be struggling out of the gate as a result of their starting several steps behind their peers when it comes to knowledge, skills and simulation training time.
The list below is built from data found on the EMALB list of recognized programs, or information that has been directly provided to Columbia Paramedic Academy by the training institution.
All training offered by the schools/programs below, including full EMR courses, Upgrade/Bridging EMR courses, and/or EMR Scope Update course are accepted by Columbia Paramedic Academy. Conversely, if a school/program is not listed below then none of their courses (EMR Full Course, Scope Gap Training, etc.) are accepted for the EMR prerequisite.
This list was last updated February 27, 2024.
ACBC First Aid Training
Coast Wilderness Medical Training
Columbia Medical Training
College of the Rockies
Heartsafe EMS Training
Justice Institute of British Columbia (JIBC)
*St. John’s Ambulance (SJA)
Turner Security & First Aid Training
Whistler First Aid
Training programs are coming online and undergoing changes at a fast pace, so the list below will change as we learn of new or updated programs. If you believe the status for your school or course needs to be updated please contact us to flag it for review.
* Only SJA’s EMR Scope Update is recognized, at this time their full EMR course is not
I completed my EMR training prior to January 1, 2024 – does this requirement apply to me?
We will accept certificates from any EMALB recognized program if dated prior to January 1, 2024, so the 3-week of in person (120 hours) training requirement doesn’t apply.
However, you will still have to have full EMR Schedule 1 & Schedule 2 prior to your PCP start date, meaning if your EMR course did not include the expanded scope of practice you must attend an EMR Scope Update course, AND
*IMPORTANT* the EMR Scope Update course must be delivered by a training program that also offers a full EMR course with 120+ hours of in-person instruction
The EMR course I completed after January 1, 2024 was full Schedule 1 & 2, but had less than 120 in-person hours… what can I do?
You will have to attend an “FR to EMR Bridging” course to get a new EMR certificate, AND
*IMPORTANT* it must be delivered by a training program that also offers a full EMR course with 120+ hours of in-person instruction
The EMR course I completed after January 1, 2024 was 120+ in-person hours, but didn’t have full Schedule 2… what can I do?
You will have to attend an “EMR Scope Upgrade” course, AND
*IMPORTANT* it must be delivered by a training program that also offers a full EMR course with 120+ hours of in-person instruction
I completed my EMR training outside of BC… do these requirements apply to me?
You will be required to demonstrate equivalence or attend further training in BC (ie. the EMR Scope Update). However, as the differences between each province vary we’d suggest you contact our admissions team to discuss your particular situation before deciding on what, if any, training to take.
Why does the length of a school’s full EMR course matter when I’m only attending to take my EMR Scope Update or FR to EMR Bridging course?
With every training provider working independently to build their courses there are countless variations of EMR, EMR Bridging, and EMR Scope Update courses likely to be submitted to the EMALB, each with their own vision for curriculum, schedule 2 endorsements, duration and training standards.
It is simply not possible for Columbia to invest the time required to review each and every program and make an individual decision course by course.
Instead, as sub courses are typically built from the content and framework of the full EMR course, evaluating a program’s full EMR course allows us to also indirectly evaluate the content and standards of the sub courses.
I hold an EMR license, not a certificate. Do these requirements apply to me?
While previously an EMR license was accepted in place of a certificate, as of January 1st, 2024 all applicants will be required to submit an EMR certificate that meets the new minimums, even if the applicant is licensed at the EMR level.