Yes, Paramedics who are newly certified and/or have been inactive for part of the certification year will be prorated for the number of patient contacts they require based on the amount of time worked during the current certification year. If a Paramedic fits either of these criteria and is unsure of their prorated patient contacts, they can contact [email protected].   

Yes, patient contacts as a Community Paramedic may count towards their 10 patient contacts. In order for patient contacts to them to be considered, the Paramedic Service must complete the Community Paramedicine Attestation Letter on behalf of each Paramedic wishing to submit patient contacts as a Community Paramedic. Forms must be completed and submitted to Paramedic and submit to [email protected] for approval. Once it has approved by the Medical Director of Education or designate, it will be uploaded into the Paramedic Portal of Ontario and will appear on the Paramedic’s Transcript under the section called Alternatives for Patient Contacts.  

Yes, patient contacts that a Paramedic has obtained with at another Base Hospital within Ontario can count towards their 10 patient contacts. In order for them to be considered, the Paramedic must submit them these patient contacts into the Paramedic Portal of Ontario (PPO) for approval. The submission must include a list of the call numbers, call dates and which service they were completed at. Once it has been submitted, the Medical Director of Education or designate will review it for approval. Once approved, it will appear on the Paramedic’s Transcript under the section called Alternatives for Patient Contacts.  

No, alternative experiences cannot be doubled counted for both patient contacts and elective CME. They must be collected and submitted separately. In the case where the Paramedic would like to use their CME submissions as an alternative for patient contacts, the Paramedic will be asked to indicate which CME they would like to use towards their elective CME or vs. Alternative e to the 10 patient contacts. 

If a Paramedic believes there has been an error in the number of patient contacts SWORBHP has on file, for them, they need to email [email protected] and include their Paramedic Service Leader. 

Paramedics can obtain alternate experiences as outlined in Appendix 1 in SWORBHP’s Maintenance of Certification policy. All alternative experiences require approval from the Medical Director of Education or designate. Alternative experiences that are taken without preapproval may not be approved if they are deemed to not meet the objective of replacing a patient care experience at the certification level of the Paramedic. 

Paramedics who do not meet the 10 patient contacts by January 31st of the current certification year will be deactivated on February 1st. To ensure Paramedics are aware of their status, SWORBHP will proactively touch base with paramedics and their leaders via email in July who have not yet obtained 5 patient contacts. An additional touch base email will be sent in December to paramedics who have not yet obtained 10 patient contacts. The purpose of the touch base emails is to inform the paramedic of their current status and to support the paramedic to develop a pro-active plan to ensure the Paramedic is able to meet the Certification Standard. SWORBHP’s plan is to proactively ensure that all paramedics practicing within the SWORBHP region and their Paramedic Service Leaders are aware of their current status and develop a pro-active plan to ensure paramedics are that they are able to meet the requirements and avoid to avoid potential deactivation.

A patient contact is the presence of the Paramedic’s name on the ACR/ePCR. 

Each paramedic must complete the requirements by January 31 of each certification year.  

All alternative experiences must be submitted into the Paramedic Portal of Ontario (PPO). Click here for instructions how to submit alternative experiences into the PPO. Once alternative experiences have it has been submitted, the Medical Director of Education or designate will review it for approval. Once approved, it will appear on the Paramedic’s Transcript under the section called Alternatives for Patient Contacts.