2023 Conference
The National Collegiate EMS Foundation would like to invite you to our 30th Annual Conference, to be held on February 24-26, 2023 at the Westin Copley Place Hotel in Boston, MA. Join over 1,100 EMTs and Paramedics from more than 100 colleges and universities across the United States and Canada for three days of education, skills labs, and networking.
Registration | Schedule and Program | Activities | Submit Presentations | Finance | Hotel | Ground Transportation | Sponsors | Questions
COVID Safety
NCEMSF is committed to the safety of its attendees, Conference presenters, and hotel staff. While we are planning on an in-person Conference in 2023, we are still closely monitoring the public health situation as we develop our plans for 2023. At this time, CDC and local public health guidance does not require any specific COVID-19 mitigation measures, however we encourage all participants to take appropriate precautions in order to keep themselves as well as others safe and healthy. If you are not felling well at the time of the Conference, please reconsider your attendance. Hand sanitizer and face masks will be available for all.
Registration
Conference Schedule and Program
The 2023 NCEMSF Conference will run from Friday, February 24, 2023 through Sunday, February 26, 2023. The Conference will include:
- Twelve Workshop Sessions (Friday 6pm through 9pm, all day Saturday, and Sunday morning through early Sunday afternoon)
- Multiple Plenary Sessions
- Academic Poster Session
- Hands-On Skills Labs
To get the most out of the Conference experience, we recommend arriving in the morning or afternoon on Friday, and staying through early evening on Sunday.
The final program is now available for viewing, but is subject to change.
Workshop Sessions each have between four to nine (or more) different lecture options. Plenary sessions are a single session held in a large ballroom. Lightning talks will be offered at various times throughout the weekend, overlapping with scheduled workshop sessions.
Stryker EMS Skills Classic
The Stryker EMS Skills Classic is an annual event allowing Collegiate EMS providers to showcase their patient care, teamwork, and problem-solving abilities. Teams of up to twelve individuals from the same school complete in a variety of scenarios at either the ALS or BLS level. The Skills Classic requires an additional fee per team.
Online pre-registration is now available. Teams must also pay their fee online (via credit card only) to secure their spot. Fees increase after February 10th, and on-site registration will only be available if space exists.
Activities
Pre-Conference Workshops
NCEMSF is pleased to continue the tradition of offering Pre-Conference Workshops to be held on Friday, February 24, 2023. Pre-Conference Workshops offer the opportunity to take an in-depth dive into a specific topic. Each Workshop lasts at least three hours, and seating is capped to ensure the optimal educational experience for all attendees. Additional Continuing Education credit is also available (issued as paper certificates on-site). More details can be found on our Pre-Conference Workshops page (registration links will only be visible to those who are already registered for the full Conference and who are logged in).
Alumni Mixer and Social
Each year, NCEMSF hosts an Alumni Mixer and Social, which takes place on the evening of Saturday, February 25, after the conclusion of the Awards Ceremony. Alumni Conference Attendees, along with Conference Presenters, are invited to attend this free event. Refreshments and light hors-d'oeuvres will be provided. Tickets to this event are distributed at Conference check-in to eligible attendees.
Other Conference Activities
NCEMSF Conferences are about more than just learning. They are also an opportunity for networking and socialization with other Collegiate EMS Providers and Leaders. Activities will include a Welcome Social sponsored by the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine on Friday evening, Group Introductions and Meet-and-Greet on Saturday morning event (which will also include recognition for squad anniversaries and CPR saves), and a Saturday evening social event. All of these activities are included in your Conference registration fee! Check back for more details as the Conference approaches.
There are also multiple opportunities to celebrate the achievements of your squad and its members. NCEMSF's Awards Program has recognition opportunities for individuals, groups, and activities. Striving for Excellence is a self-evaluative program designed to recognize groups that meet best practices in EMS administration and management. HEARTSafe Campus is a recognition program for groups and schools that have improved the safety of their campuses through CPR education and outreach. EMS Ready Campus is a self-evaluative program designed to promote integration between Collegiate EMS and Emergency Management. NCEMSF also partners with the Sudden Cardiac Arrest Association to issue recognition certificates for collegiate EMS providers who participated in CPR Saves. More details about each can be found by following the appropriate links. The deadline for receipt of all recognition program nominations and supporting materials is February 10, 2023.
Submit Presentations and Academic Posters
Workshop Session Presentations
Presenter submissions for all categories are now closed.
A free NCEMSF website account is required to access the portal. Presenters who have submitted abstracts in the past should use their existing NCEMSF account; contact our IT team if you need assistance locating your username or resetting your password.
Presenters will receive further details on logistics and timing of their lectures in February.
Vomacka Student Speaker Competition
Current students are also welcome to enter the Vomacka Student Speaker Competition. This symposium is a chance for student lecturers to showcase their presentation skills and earn bragging rights for their collegiate EMS organization. The competition is judged on a speaker's ability to deliver a relevant high-quality seminar to their peers. Points are awarded based on strength of the submitted abstract, quality of the delivered presentation, and audiovisual materials. Please see our Vomacka Competition page for additional details.
Academic Poster Session
NCEMSF is pleased to partner with the Journal of Collegiate EMS on our annual Academic Poster Session, featuring original research and case studies in program development/evaluation. Poster authors need not be present at the Conference to be selected, but those who are will have the chance to show their poster in person. Detailed presentation information and required poster templates will be made available later in 2022.
Conference Finance
The NCEMSF Conference remains one of the most affordable EMS conferences in the United States. The registration prices for 2023 are as follows:
- Early Registration: $80 members/$95 non-members and tokens
- Regular Registration: $95 members/$115 non-members and tokens
- Late Registration: $130
For more information, please see our Fees and Policies page.
Conference registrations can be paid individually or as a group, and NCEMSF accepts credit card/purchasing card payment via PayPal, as well as checks (personal or institutional) and institutional purchase orders. You can find financial documents commonly needed by schools when paying via Purchase Order at our Tax Forms Page. Group payment options are described in more detail on our Fees and Policies page.
For groups who have never attended an NCEMSF Conference, groups that were regular attendees in the past but have not attended in the last several years, or groups experiencing financial hardship, NCEMSF offers a Conference Scholarship Program/New Group Initiative. The application period has closed.
Conference Logistics
Hotel
The 2023 Conference will be held at the Westin Copley Place Hotel, 10 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA. Located in Boston's Back Bay neighborhood and connected to the Copley Place Mall, the Westin is ideally situated near historical sites, tourist attractions, restaurants, and shopping opportunities. The NCEMSF room block at the Westin is now full, but another block has been added (see below). Those with existing reservations at the Westin who need to modify them can still do so via the hotel's online reservations portal.
We have opened an additional hotel block at The Colonnade Hotel, located at 120 Huntington Ave, 0.3 miles from the Westin. Rates at the Colonnade are $172/night plus applicable taxes and fees. Reservations can be made online (for one room per transaction) or by calling the hotel at 800.962.3030 and mentioning NCEMSF (for any number of rooms). A limited number of rooms remain available at the Colonnade, and not all room types may be available for all dates.
There is also a third block at The Lenox Hotel, 61 Exeter St, 0.2 miles from the Westin. Rates at the Lenox are $175/night plus applicable taxes and fees. Reservations can be made online or by calling the hotel at 800.225.7676 and mentioning NCEMSF Overflow Block.
NCEMSF strongly recommends booking at one of the Conference hotels to get the most from the Conference experience. If you encounter any issues with your booking process, please contact confinfo@ncemsf.org prior to booking anywhere else.
Note that hotels may set maximum occupancies per room, and that couches and roll-away beds may not be offered due to availability and/or fire code issues.
Ground Transportation
Public Transit
The host hotel is located roughly in the middle of the MBTA Green Line's Copley station and the Orange Line's Back Bay station. Though neither line serves Boston Logan International Airport directly, passengers can take the Silver Line BRT from the airport to South Station, where they can transfer to the Red Line, and then transfer to either the Orange Line (at Downtown Crossing) or Green Line (at Park Street). One-way fares are $2.40. Learn more at the MBTA website.
Airport Shuttles
MassPort offers its Logan Express bus service to and from Logan Airport every 30 minutes. The Back Bay line serves the area nearest the hotel, with a stop adjacent to the Orange Line Back Bay Station, which is a short walk from the hotel. Rides from the airport to Back Bay are free, and the return trip to the airport is $3 (payable online in advance or with card on the bus). Learn more at the MassPort website.
Taxis and Rideshares
The Boston Police Department maintains a list of all licensed taxi companies in the City. Trips to/from any portion of Boston are subject to meter rates, and trips ending at the airport are charged an additional $2.75. Taxis provide service at the airport's Arrivals Level for all terminals except Terminal C, where taxis are in the ground level of the central parking garage.
Rideshare apps also offer service between the Back Bay neighborhood and Logan, though rates are subject to each company's rate scale, plus any applicable surge pricing and surcharges. Please see the MassPort website for information on pickup and dropoff locations for rideshare apps at each of Logan's terminals.
Parking
The Westin Copley Place offers valet parking for $70 per day with unlimited in-and-out privileges ($90 for oversized vehicles). For those wishing to self-park, the hotel recommends the following nearby garages. Please see each garage's webpage for paring rates and additional details.
- Prudential Center Garage, 111 Huntington Ave
- Copley Place Central Garage, 100 Huntington Ave
- Dartmouth Street Garage, 126 Dartmouth St
- Clarendon Street Garage, 100 Clarendon St
Sponsors
NCEMSF offers multiple avenues for companies, organizations, and educational institutions to support the NCEMSF Conference and the Foundation's work as a whole.
On Saturday, February 25, 2023, a vendor and career fair will be held in a prominent area of the hotel. Booths are available to companies marketing products to EMTs and EMS agencies, as well as to medical schools and others looking to recruit. Most of our attendees are current undergraduate students who also serve as EMTs and Paramedics on their college campuses. Many of them hold leadership positions with the groups they represent and are responsible for agency purchases. After graduation, many attendees either continue in EMS, go on to medical school, or complete post-graduate education.
We also offer the ability for sponsorship of specific Conference activities, assisting with one of our ongoing programs, or a named lecture track. For details on becoming a Foundation sponsor and examples of pricing at past events, visit the sponsors section of the website. For more information email sponsor@ncemsf.org.
Questions
Email confinfo@ncemsf.org and a member of our staff will get back with you promptly. You can also check out our Conference Frequently Asked Questions page.
