Paramedicine Practitioner, III
Formerly referred to as Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP), this practitioner must have a minimum of 2 years of experience in the paramedic field before being able to qualify for training at the ACP level. The ACP program is an additional 1 year in length and is considered a post-diploma program (1200 hours). The ACP will have had 2 years of training to become a PCP before he/she spends the additional year to progress to the advanced care level. The ACP course is highly intensive and requires weeks of in class didactic training, weeks of in hospital clinical training where the ACP learner works directly with physicians and months of preceptorship practicum where the ACP must demonstrate competence to multiple preceptors. In addition, each ACP must successfully complete many mandatory and elective continuing medical education courses on an annual basis to maintain their qualifications and certifications. ACP's always have more than one stripe on their shoulder epaulettes.
In addition to the level I and II skill sets, level III practitioners are qualified to perform and/or use:
- advanced airway management equipment
- LMA's
- SPO2 monitoring
- Side stream ETCO2 monitoring (capnography and capnometry)
- laryngoscopy and removal of foreign body obstruction using MacGill forceps
- intravenous therapy
- pharmaceutical therapy
- 12 lead ECG interpretation
- intraosseous and external jugular IV starts
- manual defibrillation, synchronized cardioversion and external transcutaneous cardiac pacing
- treatment of cardiac emergencies according to Heart & Stroke Foundation Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) guidelines
- administration of life-saving medications.