HealthEdSolutions.com Issues Firefighter and Emergency Medical Technician Programs Special Section

To help the growing number of individuals seeking employment as firefighters learn more about emergency medical technician certification and other required trainings, Health Education Solutions (HES), a leading provider of online healthcare certification courses, today released a Fire Departments special section. This series of educational articles is available in HES’ research library at www.HealthEdSolutions.com.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment for firefighters is expected to grow 9 percent between 2010 and 2020. As an increasing number of volunteer firefighters make the transition into paid positions and more individuals enter the field, the need for these individuals to seek emergency medical technician programs and certifications will become apparent.

“As the emergency response field continues to grow—particularly in the firefighting field—the need for convenient, easy-to-access continuing education will dramatically increase,” said Melissa Marks, president of HES. “Whether you are new to the emergency medical field or a veteran seeking to get recertified, Health Education Solutions provides convenient courses and valuable resources to help you achieve career success.”

Proper healthcare certification has become more important as of late due to a few recent trends in the firefighting industry. Firefighters respond to less fires and more medical emergencies—and this shift continues to grow. According to the National Fire Protection Association, fires accounted for only 5 percent of responses made by U.S. fire departments in 2010. In addition, fire death rates are on the decline and have decreased by 20 percent since 2000. As the industry continues to follow these trends and firefighters increasingly become the first medical responders on scene at emergencies, the need for knowledge of healthcare emergency response principles will continue to grow.

To help firefighters and other first responders adequately prepare themselves to respond to medical emergencies, HES offers a comprehensive series of online firefighter, healthcare professional and emergency medical technician courses. Advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) certification and recertification courses are available online, as are pediatric advanced life support (PALS) certification and recertification courses. In addition to courses developed in partnership with Union College, HES offers the American Heart Association’s HeartCode ACLS Part 1 course. For ACLS certification course info or ACLS online recertification info, visit Health Education Solutions’ website.

For individuals with nontraditional schedules who require more flexibility than traditional emergency medical technician school will allow, HES additionally offers basic life support (BLS), stroke certification, bloodborne pathogens training and first aid, cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and automated external defibrillator (AED) training courses.

HES’ online research library offers a variety of useful information for firefighters, healthcare professionals and other emergency medical technicians and first responders, including resources related to careers in healthcare, 2012 certification guidelines, statistics related to healthcare trends and data from experts in the field.