This article is for all the paramedics who let their National Registry lapse but are ready to get it back.

Your Expired NREMT

You already messed up by letting your National Registry lapse.

It’s way easier to keep it than to get it back.

However, its not all over. You can get your NREMT back no matter how long you’ve been without it.

Hey, I’m Shay. I’ve been working in EMS for over a decade now and been teaching EMTs and Paramedics for years.

Today, we’re going to cover everything you need to get your NREMT back.

Why National?

If it’s not required to work, why would you even bother keeping your national certification?

It’s a good question. I thought the same thing. But it turns out it can be pretty useful. Especially if you need to move and look for a job in another state.

Another good reason would be working as a contract or travel medic.

Travel paramedicine is a great option if you like to travel or just don’t have anything tying you down to a specific place.

You can make a lot more money that way than you would as a private ambulance paramedic or working in a hospital.

You can find out more about being a travel paramedic here. And if you’re looking for a good place to find contracts, check out beyondthemeatwagon.com

Class Time

If you want to get your NREMT certification back, you’ll need to take a few classes.

To get your national cert, you’ll need to complete 60 hours of continuing education credits.

Not too hard if you are spreading those out over two years. Trying to cram them into a few weeks can be much harder.

These aren’t just any credits either.

The NREMT requires specific training hours in different areas to make sure you’re prepared for the realities of working in the field.

Those credit hours are

• 30 National Credit Hours
  • 6 Airway
  • 5 Trauma
  • 8 Medical
  • 4 Operations
  • 7 Cardiac
• 15 hours of Local or State Requirements
• 15 Individual Credit Hours

National credit hours are pretty straight forward. They tell you exactly what you need.

The state or local hours are a little different. Some states require certain courses, like pediatrics or obstetrics. Sometimes it’s your department requiring specialized courses to fit the communities needs.

Individual credit hours are where the fun comes in.

You get to choose what to focus on. Trauma is something that a lot of paramedics love to dive into. But you can choose anything as long as its part of an accredited program.

And where do you find programs like that?

Try Impact EMS. There are a lot of classes on there for pretty cheap so check them out if you need some more credit hours for your recertificiation.

NREMT- P Exam

You thought you were done taking test, huh?

Nope. This is really why you don’t want to let the national certification lapse.

Even with all those 60 credit hours, you still have to go back and take the national registry exam. It sucked the first time and you can bet it sucks the second time.

And those CE’s likely don’t prepare you very well for the exam.

If you need to get ready in short order, try an NREMT study app like Pocket Prep or Medic Tests.

Skills Competency

Wait, I still need to pass a physical test too?

Congrats on this one. The NREMT just changed how it runs its exams and there is no longer a physical skills requirement.

As long as you can pass the written exam, you’re golden.

I did a full breakdown of what’s changed on the exam here.

And The Fees

It is way more expensive to get your national certification back than it is to keep it.

Normally, your recertification fee is only $32. That’s not too bad for once every two years.

But getting it back? It’s that $32 to start off. Then you pay $50 for a “late” fee for a late recertification. $82 is still pretty manageable. Here’s the big one.

Each attempt at the NREMT-P is $175.

We don’t make money like that. I don’t have a bunch of $175 bills hanging around. So if you’re going to challenge the test, make dang sure you’re ready to take it.

You’re Back In

That’s all you needed.

It’s not too bad right? Still much easier to keep it than to get it back.

Good luck on your recertification process!

And if you want more resources to help you along, I have a full list here.