Effective January 1, 2016 the BCCTPC will become an operating arm of the International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC). The IBSC was formed with the objective of providing a wider range of services and certifications to a broader audience beyond the focus of medical transport and tactical paramedicine. The core certifications of the BCCTPC will not be affected by this change. The BCCTPC will continue to provide honest and fair certification for medical professionals specializing in tactical and transport related areas.

IBSC seeks to provide certification exams to a broader audience, including the U.S. & foreign militaries, federal, state and local EMS officials and government EMS agencies, air medical programs, ambulance companies, medical centers, EMS education institutions, municipal fire and police agencies, and other areas that already or may require specialty certification around the globe. During the course of establishing valid and objective credentialing standards for transport paramedics, the BCCTPC oversight committee recognized a growing need for standards and credentialing for a wider spectrum of medical specialties. The BCCTPC will retain oversight of the critical care exams while it serves as a subsidiary of the IBSC, specializing in transport and tactical paramedicine. Other exams, like the CP-C and MTSP-C will be supervised by independent advisory boards for each domain.

Paramedicine continues to grow and evolve into a formal profession in its own right, complete with its own standards and body of knowledge.  In many locations paramedics have formed their own professional bodies. In the early years, technicians were provided limited training, performing a small and specific set of procedures.  This has evolved into a profession requiring university qualification in countries such as Australia, South Africa, and the UK, and increasingly in Canada. In some locations paramedics are evolving into a second tier medical practitioner and being granted the legal status of self-regulated health professionals. This requires them to meet set standards of education and proficiency, deals with complaints regarding individual practitioners, and will usually involve government regulation. In an effort to manage this growth and potential future regulation, the IBSC was created to identify key areas of influence while establishing fair and objective standards.

About the BCCTPC

The Board for Critical Care Transport Paramedic Certification was formed in the summer of 2000. The mission of the BCCTPC is to provide certification exams that are an objective, fair, and honest validation of specialty paramedic knowledge.  The BCCTPC, a non-profit organization, was formed to develop and administer certification examinations for paramedics. Our Certified Flight Paramedic (FP-C®), Certified Critical Care Paramedic (CCP-C®) and Certified Tactical Paramedic (TP-C®) examinations are now well established and have become a recognized standard for clinical competency by medical providers in the United States, Europe, South Africa and the Middle East.

The International Board of Specialty Certification (IBSC) is a not for profit corporation with the mission of developing, implementing and maintaining specialty certification exams to measure the attainment and application of a defined body of knowledge in specific roles.  For more information contact help@bcctpc.org.