The Importance of Taking Refresher Course as an EMT

If you’ve been working as an EMT for any length of time, you may have heard your colleagues mention a refresher course.

You may be wondering if you need this, and if it can actually help you in your EMT career. The answer to both is yes!

Recertify Your EMT Licensure

Depending on your state or local requirements, as an EMT or paramedic you will need to recertify and renew your license. A refresher course offers a way to do this, as it covers material you learned during schooling also provides updates to laws and codes, policies, and best practices. You may be able to do your job more safely and effectively after this course.

Refresh Your EMT Skills

Depending on where you work, you may often use all the skills and techniques you learned during your training. For example, if you joined a first aid squad with no prior experience and the crew already had a large number of experienced EMTs and paramedics, you might have spent the first months or year of your work there in a more supportive role. Or perhaps the town or region you serve has a low population so the calls your department receives are typically the same, therefore your response tactics don’t see much range. Maybe you’ve decided to move or transfer to a team where this is not the case and you need to be reminded of all that you learned in school.

Whatever the reason, it’s important your skills are always fresh and you can quickly recall different tactics you may need to utilize while responding to a call. You may have sunk into a sort of department-specific way of doing things, and a refresher course can remind you of details that you forgot, or give you a great idea for how your department can do something better, more safely, or more efficiently. Staying sharp and on top of everything you do is of the utmost importance when you’re in the business of saving lives.