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Certification and Training Requirements

At a minimum, rangers are required to complete an Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) course
or equivalent. “Emergency medical responder” is defined as successfully completing a training
course that meets the Colorado Division of Safety requirements, the Department of Transportation
Emergency Medical Responder curriculum requirements, or successfully completing the Outdoor
Emergency Care course.

Rangers must obtain and maintain cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) certification at a
healthcare provider level. This is a two-year certification; however, due to its potential positive
impact, recertification trainings will be held annually when training schedules allow.

Rangers must complete 12 or more hours of qualified continuing education (CE) annually in order
to maintain EMR certification and to work under Boulder County’s EMS protocols. Most of these
hours will be covered through in-house trainings with an instructor from a qualified agency.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) will be permitted to take additional continuing education
hours during work time to complete the necessary recertification requirements. The ranger work
group’s medical officer will maintain documentation for all CEs offered in-house. Rangers
attending CE classes off site must obtain documentation and provide a copy to the medical
officer. Failure to maintain current EMR and CPR (for a health care provider) certifications can
lead to disciplinary action, up to and including termination.

New rangers who do not already possess the minimum required medical certifications will work
with the ranger medical officer to find appropriate certification classes. These certifications
should be obtained as soon as possible after successfully completing the PTO training process.
Rangers must have EMR and CPR certifications within one year of completing the PTO program,
unless there are approved extenuating circumstances.

Boulder County EMS Protocols

When rangers provide medical care, they do so under the city medical director’s license. The
medical director provides protocols that must be followed when providing this care. Rangers are
required to know and follow Boulder County’s EMS protocols:

The Boulder County EMS protocols are based on the protocols developed by the
Denver Metro EMS Medical Directors group. They have been further revised by the
Boulder County Protocol Committee and Boulder County EMS Physicians to meet
the specific needs of the Boulder County EMS providers. These protocols define the
standard of care for EMS providers in the Boulder County area, and delineate the
expected practice, actions, and procedures to be followed. No protocol can account
for every clinical scenario encountered, and the Boulder County EMS Physicians
recognize that in rare circumstances deviation from these protocols may be
necessary and in a patient’s best interest. Variance from protocol should always be

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