Question: I am an A-EMCA certified paramedic (PCP) who opted to work in Ottawa full time for a full year after graduation in 2009. After returning to London to apply, I am now advised that my IV certification issued by RPPEO is not eligible for SWORBH. Are there IV certification courses I can take in London to become "IV Autonomous Certified" without going back to Fanshawe College to repeat my entire second year of school? Please let me know so that I may increase my eligibility to someday secure work here in my home town.

 Thanks for the question. We are asked a version of this question quite often. The SWORBHP recognizes the IV certification for PCP paramedics only for those paramedics who have taken the OBHG MAC endorsed provincial course for autonomous IV initiation for PCP. This way, everyone has the same initial training with IV initiation and maintenance and thus can be certified to follow the Advanced Life Support Patient Care Standards which have directives which allow PCP to administer fluid boluses and limited medications intravenously.

With that said, the SWORBHP along with other Regional Base Hospital Programs also recognize PCP who have the "IV Assist" training which allows for PCP to initiate an IV only when in the presence of an ACP partner. This does not qualify that PCP to administer fluid boluses or medications, but does assist with scene dynamics in challenging situations where time is of the essence. I suspect this was your level of training with the RPPEO.

At this point in time, we are only authorized to train and certify paramedics in skills if they are employed. A paramedic must first be employed by a service or have an offer of employment to then be certified by a base hospital.

We are confident that you would not be required to repeat your entire second year of school. Your best course of action would be to become employed with a service who would then present you to the base hospital for training to the same level of the other paramedics within their service. We wish you best of luck in gaining employment but realize it is an intensely competitive environment these days.

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