Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program

The Critical Care Emergency Medical Transport Program (CCEMTP) is an educational program for paramedics and nurses who perform interfacility transports, moving very sick patients from one hospital to another for further care and treatment. It was developed by University of Maryland Baltimore County. Participants in this course are trained to read certain types of lab work, and, if recognized by their state and local EMS authorities, have an expanded scope of practice allowing them to administer more medications than the normal EMT - Paramedic.

The premise behind the CCEMTP program is that paramedics routinely participate in interfacility transports involving complex medical patients (i.e. "critical care patients")yet they receive little formal training in the assessment, monitoring and management of those patient types. The CCEMTP program is designed to provide a concentrated introduction to those concepts in a format which is readily accessible by practicing paramedics.

The program includes instruction in all common aspects of critical care assessment and management including pathophysiology, pharmacology, 12-lead ECG interpretation, interpretation of laboratory values, interpretation of routine diagnostic images, ventilator management, aortic balloon pump management, and air medical concepts. The program may also incorporate clinical rotations to allow for hands-on practice of the skills presented throughout the course.