Nursing Continuing Education
Refresher Courses

Credentialing FAQ

Firefighter FAQ

Firefighter FAQ
Do I have to come to campus for the skills and testing?
YES. Attendance at the skills and practical sessions are a required portion of the courses. If you do not attend the sessions and pass all written and practical tests, you will not receive credit for completing the course through the College.

Can I get a Local Fire Instructor to administer the test and practicals so I don’t have to drive to the College?
NO. Attendance at the practical skills, practical testing, and written test sessions are a required portion of the course and MUST be administered on campus by our certified fire instructors. If you do not complete the practical and testing sessions within the scope of this course, then you will not receive ANY credit for completing the course through the College.

How much do your courses cost?
$50-$60 per course IF you are not affiliated with a Fire, Rescue, EMS, or Law Enforcement Agency in North Carolina.

Are there any books required
Recommended, but not required. If you are planning on taking all courses required for credentialling for your FF I and II, we highly recommend that you purchase the “Essentials of Firefighting” 4th or 5th edition published by IFSTA.

Credentialing FAQ
How many hours do I need in order to recredential my NC EMT or Paramedic?
The North Carolina Office of EMS (NCOEMS) no longer requires a specific number of hours per year or even per credentialing cycle (four years). Instead, the NCOEMS has decided to allow each Agency / Teaching Institution the flexibility to set their own requirements based on the system or institutional needs. IF YOU RESPOND WITHIN AN EMS SYSTEM: You must meet whatever requirements set forth by this EMS System in their “EMS System Plan.”

EXAMPLE: (Johns County EMS System Plan says that all responders will complete a total of 12 hours every year. Therefore every responder within that system will have to obtain a minimum of 12 hours per year in order to recredential.)

IF YOU ARE NOT WORKING WITHIN AN EMS SYSTEM.
The individual ”Teaching Institution” and its respective policies dictate what you must have in order to recredential.

At DCCC:
We require that you complete our Refresher Course within the last year of your credential.

Refresher Courses
Below are the most frequently asked questions for the Paramedic and EMT refresher courses:

When is your next Refresher Class?
An EMT and EMT-P Refresher course starts on May 15, 2008. It will be a HYBRID course which will REQUIRE you to come to campus on the last two days of class to do skills (June 27, June 28).

What do I need to do to register for the refresher courses?
Please send the appropriate paperwork based on your current credential:

PARAMEDIC / EMT-I REFRESHER:
In order to register for the EMT-I or Paramedic courses, the following paperwork is required to be on file by the state of North Carolina:

Fax ONE of the 3 above options to Kelly Kirk at: 336.249.9053 with a legible e-mail address or telephone number so the College can contact you with the course number for the course.

MR / EMT REFRESHER:
In order to register for the MR or EMT courses, the following paperwork is required to be on file by the state of North Carolina:

Fax ONE of the three above options to Kelly Kirk at: 336.249.9053 with a legible e-mail address or telephone number so the College can contact you with the course number for the course.

When is the best time to take a Refresher Course?
The best time to take a refresher course is in the last six months of your credential and no earlier than 11 months from your credential expiration date. If you take a refresher course outside of one year from your expiration date, your Technical Scope of Practice (TSP) will not be valid and you will have to repeat the TSP sometime within one year of your expiration.

Do I have to come to your campus for the skills?
YES. The last two days of skills are mandatory and require your attendance. Even if your training officer is a Level I or II instructor OR if you just finished the Technical Scope of Practice, you must still complete our skills sessions to receive ANY credit for the course. Ther is also a mandatory final exam that is proctored on campus during theses skills days along with the skills sessions.

I just completed a Technical Scope of Practice (TSP) locally. Do I still need to come to campus for the skills?
YES. Attendance at the skills sessions are required for the refresher course. If you do not complete the skills sessions within the scope of this course, you will not receive credit for completing the Refresher Course through this college.

What if something happens, and I am not able to attend the skills sessions. Will I have to complete the entire course again?
Not necessarily. Contact your instructor or the program director immediately to arrange a make-up. Most likely you will need to provide proof of your circumstances and then attend the next available skills sessions to complete the course.

My credential is expired. Am I eligible to take the refresher course?
That depends on how long your credential has been expired. If your credential has been expired for less than four years, you will most likely be able to complete the refresher course and then take the North Carolina state test again. If your credential has been expired for more than four years you will not be able to take the refresher course. To confirm your eligibility you should contact NCOEMS representative Kimberly Cole at: 919.855.3942

Does the National Registry accept your course for recredentialling my National Certification?
Only part of it. The national registry has a "Distributive Education Policy" and will only accept a certain portion of Continuing Education that is delivered via e-learning, video, magazines, etc. You should consult the NREMT's policy on this before beginning the College's course: http://www.nremt.org/about/article_00037_clarificatio
n_distributive_education.asp

Is your course "State Approved?"
YES. Our course is approved by the NCOEMS and will be all that is required to recredential your North Carolina credential.

How do I register for a course?
Call the Registration Office at 336.249.8186 with your desired Course Number. You may pay for the course by check or credit card, or with your employer's authorization, your employer can be invoiced.

What will we be doing on the skills days?
On Friday you will be split into several groups. These groups will rotate to different stations where you will review ALL skills that are approved for your level of credential. Most of the time this is completed by Friday afternoon. On Saturday, you will finish any incompleted skill stations, take your final exam, and complete two Technical Scope of Practice Evaluations.

Nursing CE
What is "Continuing Competence?"
"Continuing Competence is the ongoing application of knowledge and the decision-making, psychomotor, and interpersonal skills expected of the licensed nurse within a specific practice setting resulting in nursing care that contributes to the health and welfare of clients served." (NCBON - http://www.ncbon.com/content.aspx?id=1078)

Do I have to take all 34 hours of CEUs?
NO. If you only want to take one topic, you will receive credit for the one topic that you complete. If you want to take any combination of topics, you may do so as well. The $65 fee allows you to pick and choose the topics you complete. If you complete all 34 hours, you only pay the one price of $65. If you want to complete one topic for five hours, the cost is still $65.

Do I have to register for each individual topic?
NO. Each course number begins a new series of the topics. One course number and one course fee ($65) covers the entire 34 hours.

Do I need to come to campus for anything?
No. All of the topics are entirely on-line.

What time do I have to be on-line?
No specific time. All topics are designed to be completed at any time, which means you never have to be on-line on a specific day and/or time.

Are these CEUs approved?
YES. This offering was a collaborative effort between DCCC, Lexington Memorial Hospital, and Thomasville Medical Center. The CEUs are issued by Lexington Memorial Hospital (an approved provider of CEUs).

How do I register for a course?
Call the DCCC Registration Office at 336.249.8186 with your desired Course Number. You may pay for the course by check or credit card, or with your employer's authorization, your employer can be invoiced.

More Info on Continuing Competence:
NCBON Web: www.ncbon.com/content.aspx?=1078
NCBON FAQ: www.ncbon.com/WorkArea/showcontent.aspx?id=1410