The National EMS Education Standards (the Standards) PDF have been updated by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
The Standards are a core element of a nationwide integrated system approach to developing emergency medical services (EMS) clinicians who are competent in the appropriate knowledge, skills, and abilities for their licensure level.
They define the competencies, clinical behaviors, and judgments required of EMS personnel to perform their roles.
1996 EMS Agenda
The 2021 Standards build on the foundation created by the 1996 EMS Agenda for the Future and other landmark documents that followed. It incorporates the vision of EMS Agenda 2050, published in 2019, and the recently updated National EMS Scope of Practice Model. These documents and others defining a national EMS system of education are available at NHTSA's Office of EMS (OEMS) website.
This is the first major revision of the Standards since its original publication in 2009. The NHTSA and the Health Resources and Services Administration, Maternal and Child Health Bureau's EMS for Children Program funded the effort through a process led by the National Association of EMS Educators.
