Estimating the Probability of Passing the National Paramedic Certification Examination

Abstract

Objectives: It is hypothesized that student and program characteristics will influence the probability of passing the national paramedic certification exam. The objective of this study was to utilize student and program characteristics to build a statistical model to determine the probability of success on the cognitive portion of the national paramedic certification exam. Methods:The study population for this analysis consisted of graduates attempting the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) paramedic written examination from January 1, 2002, through December 31, 2002. To be included in this analysis, graduates must have been first-time testers and have completed a survey attached to the exam. Independent variables analyzed reflected program and student characteristics derived from the survey questions and the NREMT application. A multivariable logistic regression model was fit to the outcome (pass ⁄ fail) of the examination.Results: Complete demographic and survey data were available for 5,208 (86.8%) individuals. The final multivariable logistic regression model included nine independent variables. There were two programmatic characteristics (national accreditation and instructor qualification), six student characteristics (high school class rank, years of education, required for employment, age, race, and gender), and one graduate characteristic (elapsed time since course completion) that had a significant effect on the probability of passing the examination.Conclusions: National program accreditation, lead instructor qualifications, student educational background, and student demographics are all significantly associated with the probability of success on the national paramedic certification examination. This model can be used by program directors, paramedic program instructors, and prospective paramedic students to maximize the probability of attaining national paramedic certification. ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2008; 15:258-264 ª 2008 by the Society for Academic Emergency MedicineKeywords: emergency medical services, paramedic, education, logistic models, certification N ational certification is required in 46 states to obtain a state paramedic license. To qualify for national certification, individuals must complete a state-approved paramedic training program and pass a cognitive and psychomotor certification exam. The current and projected demand for qualified paramedics 1 highlights the importance of emergency medical services (EMS) training programs that are efficient, effective, and employ data to monitor and continuously improve educational quality.There have been several studies describing the impact of student and program attributes and their association with success on the national paramedic certification exam. A number of studies have explored univariate associations with success or failure of the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification examination. A significant association between paramedic instructor credentials (clinical and edu...

The Association Between Emergency Medical Technician‐Basic (EMT‐B) Exam Score, Length of EMT‐B Certification, and Success on the National Paramedic Certification Exam

“…There were six such explanatory variables included in this analysis: age at the paramedic test date, race, sex, years of education, elapsed time since paramedic course completion (ETCC), and paramedic program national accreditation status. In accordance with previous work, 4 age was categorized as ≤26, 27–35, and >35 years; race was categorized as white, black or African American, and other; years of education was categorized as <12, 12–13, 14–15, 16–17, and >17 years; and ETCC was categorized as ≤14, 15–26, 27–54, and 55–732 days. The national accreditation status of the student’s paramedic training program (yes/no) was determined by a list provided by the Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for EMS.…”

“…To assess the association between the two main independent variables and the outcome, a logistic regression model was created that utilized available student and program characteristics. As suggested in previous work, all student and program variables were forced into this model 4 . Model fit was assessed using the Hosmer‐Lemeshow goodness‐of‐fit test 16 .…”

“…While there has been a fair amount of research investigating paramedic education, 3–9 there has been much more limited research investigating emergency medical technician‐basic (EMT‐B) education and the effect that length of EMT‐B certification may have on future EMS education 10–14 . Several studies have assessed the predictive nature of other examinations with respect to success on the national paramedic certification examination, 10,13,14 but this relationship has not been assessed with respect to the national EMT‐B certification examination.…”

“…The second independent variable of interest was the length of EMT‐B certification, which was also assessed as a continuous and a categorical variable. Explanatory variables were included and categorized in accordance with prior work 4 . The current effort was only able to utilize independent variables available from a candidate’s paramedic test application.…”

The Association Between Emergency Medical Services Field Performance Assessed by High-fidelity Simulation and the Cognitive Knowledge of Practicing Paramedics

“…Research regarding educational factors and personal characteristics that affect entry level competency within EMS has been conducted. [5][6][7][8][9] However, there is very limited research assessing the continued competency of EMS professionals. A majority of the continued competency literature focuses on skill degradation, knowledge retention, and educational interventions.…”