THE EMERGENCY TELECOMMUNICATOR CERTIFICATION PROGRAM
National Academies of Emergency Dispatch (NAED)
NAED is a non-profit standard-setting organization promoting safe and effective emergency dispatch services worldwide. Comprised of three allied Academies for medical, fire and police dispatching, the NAED supports first-responder related research, unified protocol application, legislation for emergency call center regulation, and strengthening the emergency dispatch community through education, certification, and accreditation.
National Academies of Emergency Dispatch with 67,000 members in 22 countries is the leading organization in the field of emergency dispatch training and standard setting. NAED has a formal partnership with the National Emergency Number Association (NENA: http://www.nena.org/ ). For the purpose of most secondary and post-secondary emergency dispatcher certification programs there are two courses that are essential: 1) the Emergency Telecommunicator Course, also known as ETC and the Emergency Telecommunicator Instructor Course, also known as ETC-I.
For additional information about the National Academies of Emergency Dispatch visit their website at www.emergency dispatch.org
Emergency Telecommunicator (ETC) Certification
ETC certification is available to those successfully completing the Academy's 40-hour (minimum) Emergency Telecommunicator Course and achieving a passing score (80%) on the certification examination. Certification is valid for two years. Specifically, certification requires:
o Ability to read and write at a high school level
o Attendance at an ETC course taught by an NAED-certified ETC instructor
o Passing the ETC certification test with a score of at least 80 percent
o Agreement to abide by the NAED Code of Ethics
o Submission of a completed ETC certification application to NAED
o Submission of a completed ETC course evaluation form to NAED
o Certification is valid for two years unless revoked or suspended. Continued affiliation depends on your support of the Code of Ethics and accumulation of continuing dispatch education (CDE) credit. The following three steps summarize the renewal process:
o Submit verification of the required 12 hours of CDE during the two-year recertification period. Each credit hour is based on one hour of participation.
o Successfully complete the Academy's online, 50-question recertification exam with a score of at least 80 percent. (www.emergencydispatch.org)
o Payment of the $15 recertification fee (includes subscription to the Journal of Emergency Dispatch, and recertification and test processing).
ETC recertification can be accepted as early as six months before expiration and as late as 90 days after the expiration date. In cases of extended expiration periods, the following guidelines apply:
o If expiration extends between 90 days to six months, the applicant must submit a letter explaining the delay to the Board of Certification
o If expiration goes beyond one year late, the member must repeat the 40-hour ETC course to bring ETC certification up to date
Emergency Telecommunicator Instructor (ETC-I) Certification
ETC Instructor certification is available to those successfully completing the Academy's 24-hour Emergency Telecommunicator Instructor (ETC-I) course. Certification is valid for two years. Eligibility requires current NAED Emergency Telecommunicator Certification or one of the following:
o Current certification as an NAED instructor (any NAED certification course)
o Current in-house communication center instructor/trainer
o Current in-house community college instructor of instructor of basic telecommunications or relevant public safety field
o Current high school emergency services career track instructor
Those receiving NAED certification must maintain their skills and continue to learn. For this reason, The National Academies of Emergency Dispatch expect those certified to seek re-certification every two years. This demonstrates, on the part of the instructor, the desire to maintain a high level of skill and dedication. And it reinforces the professionalism of the emergency dispatcher career field. NAED-certified ETC Instructors maintain their certification through meeting minimum teaching requirements and recertification exercise requirements.
Course participants should bring a laptop computer to the course if they have one available.
