Employee Selection & New Hire Orientation

A key component of clinical excellence is hiring the right employees and providing them with the training and support they need to excel. The regional Clinical and Education Services (CES) Departments are actively involved in the process of selecting and training new caregivers who have core EMS knowledge and skills proficiency.  Once employees have been selected, they complete new hire training, which typically includes 30 to 40 hours of classroom training on operational, clinical and safety expectations.  Following successful completion of new hire orientation, new caregivers enter into field training.  In field training, new hires are taught and evaluated on a number of core clinical, operational and safety skills under the supervision of a field training officer (FTO).  Once new hires demonstrate proficiency in all of these core competencies they are cleared for independent duty.

Field Training Officer Selection, Training and Supervision

Field Training Officers are the eyes and ears of the CES department. They play a key role aligning caregivers with the expectations and ideals of patient care and needs of the operation.
FTOs are typically experienced EMTs or paramedics who exemplify the clinical performance and attitudes desired by the operation and medical director.  They are chosen using a rigorous selection process and typically receive a significant amount of training on adult learning and coaching strategies.

Under the guidance and direction of the regional CES Departments, FTOs help develop performance standards, monitor and analyze performance, conduct training programs and participate in performance follow-up.  New employees are paired with FTOs for in-depth training and assessment of their abilities before receiving clearance for independent duty.