Evaluating Hybrid EMT Courses in South Carolina

Introduction—To keep up with constant changes in technology and education as well as the increased number of courses offered, EMT programs in South Carolina have begun using a hybrid delivery style to instruct initial EMT students. In the traditional format, students sit in a classroom with an instructor lecturing to the class. The hybrid format uses a combination of traditional classroom time and online lectures, with classroom time normally dedicated to practicing skills and taking exams. All EMT students must obtain their National Registry EMT (NREMT) certification before obtaining their South Carolina EMT certification. It is unknown if students who attend EMT hybrid courses perform as well on the NREMT exam as those who attend traditional EMT courses.

Objective—To evaluate first-time successful pass rates of EMT students who received initial EMT training using a hybrid format versus the traditional format.

Methods—Data were obtained from the South Carolina EMS data system. NREMT first attempts from 2016 to 2017 were included, and the outcome of interest was pass/fail. Courses were categorized as hybrid or traditional. Descriptive statistics, univariate odds ratios (ORs), and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to adjust for student age and gender.

Results—During the study period, 1,690 people completed their first attempt of the NREMT exam in South Carolina. Of these, 1,314 (77.8%) passed. Course format information was available for 1,688 (99.9%), of which 1,490 (88.3%) were traditional. There were 198 (11.7%) whose classes were hybrid. There was no statistically significant difference when comparing course format and success on the first attempt of the NREMT exam, with 1,156 (77.6%) who attended traditional courses passing vs. 156 (78.8%) who attended hybrid courses (OR 1.07; 95% CI, 0.75–1.54, p=0.702). This relationship remained statistically insignificant after adjustment for student age and gender (OR 1.08; 95% CI, 0.75–1.55, p=0.677).

Conclusion—This study suggests students who attend hybrid EMT courses have similar first-time pass rates on the NREMT exam when compared to traditional courses. Students should be encouraged to choose course formats that fit their preferred learning style.