Section 641.139.4. Iowa law enforcement emergency care providers—certification, renewal standards and procedures, and fees.

       139.4(1) Application and examination.

        a.           Applicants shall complete an EMS student registration form at the beginning of the course. EMS student registration forms are provided by the department.

        b.           EMS student registration forms shall be forwarded to the department by the training program no later than two weeks after the beginning of the course.

        c.           Upon satisfactory completion of the course and all training program requirements, including successful completion of the state certifying practical examination, the student shall be recommended by the training program to take the state certification written examinations. Candidates for state certification are not eligible to continue functioning as students in the clinical and field setting. State certification must be obtained to perform appropriate skills.

        d.           The practical examination shall be administered by the training program using the standards and forms provided by the department. The training program shall notify the department at least two weeks prior to the administration of a practical examination.

        e.           To be eligible to take the written examination, the student shall first pass the practical examination.

        f.            The student shall submit an EMS certification application form. EMS certification application forms are provided by the department.

        g.           When a student’s EMS student registration or EMS certification application is referred to the department for investigation, the student shall not be certified until approved by the department.

        h.           The certifying written examinations shall be administered at times and places determined by the department.

        i.            No oral certification examinations shall be permitted; however, candidates may be eligible for appropriate accommodations. Contact the Iowa Department of Public Health, Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, Lucas State Office Building, Des Moines, Iowa 50319-0075.

        j.            Practical examination fees shall be determined by the training program.

        k.           A student who fails the practical certification examination shall be required to repeat only those stations which were failed and shall have two additional opportunities to attain a passing score. The student may repeat the failed examination stations on the same day as determined by the training program. A student who fails a practical station for the third time shall be required to repeat the entire course in order to be eligible for certification. If a student fails the written examination, the practical examination remains valid for a 12-month period from the date it was successfully completed.

        l.            A student who fails to attain the appropriate overall score on the written certification examination shall have two additional opportunities to complete the entire examination and attain a passing score. Required overall passing score is 70 percent.

        m.          All examination attempts shall be completed within one year of the initial course completion date. If an individual is unable to complete the testing within one year due to medical reasons, an extension may be granted upon submission of a signed statement from a physician and approval by the department.

        n.           Examination scores shall be confidential except that they may be released to the training program which provided the training or released in a manner which does not permit the identification of an individual.

       139.4(2) Renewal of certification.

        a.           A certificate shall be valid for two years from issuance unless specified otherwise on the certificate or unless sooner suspended or revoked.

        b.           All continuing education requirements shall be completed during the certification period prior to the certificate’s expiration date. Failure to complete the continuing education requirements prior to the expiration date shall result in an expired certification.

        c.           The application for renewal of certification shall be submitted to the department within the 90 days prior to the expiration date. Failure to submit a renewal application to the department within the 90 days prior to the expiration date (based upon the postmark date) shall cause the current certification to expire. Iowa law enforcement emergency care providers shall not function on an expired certification.

An individual who completes the required continuing education during the certification period, but fails to submit the application for renewal of certification within 90 days prior to the expiration date, shall be required to submit a late fee of $30 to obtain renewal of certification.

        d.           An individual who has not completed the required continuing education during the certification period and is seeking to reinstate an expired certificate shall complete a refresher course approved by the department and pass the practical and written certification examinations.

        e.           If an individual is unable to complete the required continuing education during the certification period due to an illness or injury, an extension of certification may be issued upon submission of a signed statement from a physician and approval by the department.

       139.4(3) Renewal standards. To be eligible for renewal, the certificate holder shall:

        a.           Have signed and submitted an application for renewal of certification, provided by the department, within the 90 days prior to the certificate’s expiration date.

        b.           Have a current CPR course completion card or a signed and dated statement from a recognized CPR instructor that documents current course completion in CPR.

        c.           Have completed four continuing education hours during the certification period including a minimum of one hour in the following topics:

Infectious diseases

Abuse (child and dependent adult)

Trauma emergencies

Medical emergencies

        d.           Notify the department of a change in address.

        e.           Maintain a file containing documentation of continuing education hours accrued during each certification period and retain this file for four years from the end of each certification period.

A group of individual certificate holders will be audited for each certification period and will be required to submit verification of continuing education compliance within 45 days of the request. If audited, the following information must be provided: date of program, program sponsor number, title of program, and number of hours approved. Certificate holders audited will be chosen in a random manner or at the discretion of the bureau of EMS. Falsifying reports or failure to comply with the audit request may result in formal disciplinary action.