Many people want to go into the Emergency Medical Services field but are unsure of exactly what it takes to become certified in some level of emergency medicine. Here, we’ve created a one-stop guide to levels of EMS and the training required for each.
First Responder
- 16 years of age
- Have high school diploma, GED, or be currently enrolled in high school
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
EMR
- 16 years of age
- Have high school diploma, GED, or be currently enrolled in high school
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
- 63 hours of classroom instruction (can be completed over a two week or one month course)
EMT-B
- 16 years of age
- Have high school diploma, GED, or be currently enrolled in high school
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
- 144 hours of classroom instruction (can be completed over a two month or six month course)
- 10 hours of clinical rotations
AEMT
- 18 years of age
- Have high school diploma or GED
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
- EMT-B certification
- 102 hours of classroom instruction (can be completed as a six month course)
- 48 hours of clinical rotations
EMT-I
- 18 years of age
- Have high school diploma or GED
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
- EMT-B or AEMT certification
- 272 hours of classroom instruction (can be completed as a two year course)
- 68 hours of clinical rotations
Paramedic
- 18 years of age
- Have high school diploma or GED
- CPR certified (8 hour course)
- EMT-B, AEMT or EMT-I certification
- 781 hours of classroom instruction (can be completed as a six or eight month course, or as a two year associates in emergency care)
- 136 hours of clinical rotations
