I have state intermediate credentials and had national registry I/85 credentials. My state is going registry across the board, but current intermediates are grandfathered. However, I decided to transition because I'd loose my national credential (drop to EMT) and more importantly, I wanted to take the exam that my students will be taking.
My transition was different in that I co-taught an entire AEMT course including clinical rotations and the college gave me a state approved transition certificate at the end of the course. However, the standard transition course is a modified 24 hour refresher type class. Each state will likely have a slightly different course however.
It's hard to say if I learned anything new per se. I am also a respiratory therapist and registered nurse but I maintain EMS credentials and do a little EMS on the side so I can be involved in EMS education. I will say the AEMT exam was much more complex than the I/85 exam. I had several questions about the cellular environment during shock states and a few questions where you were given medication lists and had to identify potential issues based on said lists, so the pharmacology was more involved. Also, relatively infrequently used meds such as nitrous oxide and it's various indications and side effects along with contraindications were covered. Additionally, basic haemodynamic concepts were covered such as the effect of nitro on preload.
It didn't do much for me but I think it could be a difficult exam for an entry level AEMT who only has a few hundred hours of training. We are currently considering making at least a semester of college level anatomy and physiology a pre-requisite. The new text book we are using also has chapters on basic pathophysiology and even some rudimentary chemistry and basic pathways (glycolysis, TCA cycle and electron transport ) make it into the book.
