Emergency Medical Services Personnel

Licensed emergency medical services (EMS) providers are the backbone of Maine’s EMS system. An EMS provider in Maine may work full-time for a municipal or private EMS service, be employed as a firefighter/emergency medical technician (EMT) with a local fire department or volunteer with one of the many other Maine-licensed ambulance services or non-transporting EMS services in the State. Regardless of volunteer or employment status, each EMS provider must meet State training, testing and licensing requirements in order to practice emergency medical care in Maine.

First Responder (FR) and EMT-Basic (EMT-B) are the Basic Life Support (BLS) entry levels for persons seeking to become licensed EMS provider in Maine. From the BLS levels, EMS providers may continue their training to become Advanced Life Support (ALS) providers at the EMT- Intermediate (EMT-I) and EMT-Paramedic (EMT-P) levels. To learn more about each license level, click the links in this paragraph or on the navigation pane to the left of the page.

To become a Maine–licensed EMS provider, a person must complete a course of training approved by the Maine Board of EMS - the State Board responsible for Maine’s EMS system. All Maine EMS-approved courses leading to licensure also require completion of a healthcare provider level CPR program, as a prerequisite.

Maine EMS-approved courses meet or exceed the current United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) National Standard Curriculums.

EMS students who successfully complete Maine EMS-approved course must also complete practical skills exam and a cognitive exam in order to be eligible for licensure. Maine EMS uses the National Registry of EMT’s (NREMT) practical and cognitive exams at the FR, EMT-B, and EMT-P levels and the Maine EMS practical and cognitive exam at the EMT-I level

Once a student completes a Maine EMS-approved course and State testing requirements, the next step is to apply for a license. The licensing process includes review of the person’s training and state testing as well as a criminal background check to ensure that the applicant has no convictions that would be grounds for license denial.

All Maine EMS providers provide care in accordance with the Maine EMS Pre Hospital Treatment Protocols. Maine is very fortunate to be one of only a few states in the country to have uniform, statewide protocols that set minimum standards of practice for our EMS providers.

BUREAU INFORMATION

Emergency Medical Services Personnel