How to track CoAEMSP patient contact minimums

Every CoAEMSP-accredited paramedic program has to show that each graduate met minimum competencies: patients seen across age groups, complaints and pathologies, and skills performed, in clinical and field settings. The current version of the Student Minimum Competency (SMC) matrix took effect in January 2023. CoAEMSP publishes the matrix and its minimum numbers on its website, so check the current version, and your program can set higher minimums with your medical director and advisory committee.

Decide what a contact counts toward before the first shift

Most end-of-year scrambles come from students logging patients in ways that don't map to the matrix. Write down, for your program, which age groups you use and where the boundaries fall, which complaint categories a patient can count toward, and whether a student must perform a skill or may count an observed one. Teach it in orientation and put it in the student handbook.

Log every patient at the end of every shift

• Record age group, complaint category and skills performed, plus the setting (clinical or field).
• Leave out names, dates of birth and record numbers. You don't need them to count competencies.
• Have the preceptor or instructor verify the shift, so the counts you report are counts someone signed.

Check progress monthly, not at graduation

A monthly look at each student against every minimum shows who needs pediatric or obstetric exposure while there's still time to schedule it. Sort by what's furthest behind and move shifts to the sites that see those patients.

Keep the report ready

At the end of each cohort, the SMC summary should come straight from the logged and verified shifts, not a spreadsheet someone rebuilt. Keep it with the cohort's records for your annual report and self-study.

How FlagshipEMS helps

Students log de-identified patients from their phone, preceptors verify shifts, and each student's Competencies view shows progress against the minimums you set. The SMC summary is laid out like the matrix rows and says where it combines categories.