Are we part of the problem or the solution?

[Ridryder 911]

A while back Dust had a interesting post about "if you were in charge of an EMS Education Program, what would your entry requirements be". This brought out some very interesting points.

Being interested in education, I "Googled" and searched many EMS training and education sites to check vacancy of EMS instructors and faculty openings. Interesting results on the requirements and qualification of becoming an instructor at these varied sites. After viewing several I can clearly see why EMS is in the alarming condition it is in.

Inquire for yourself and you will see that a over whelming majority of the programs are taught by part-time instructors only. There are very few "full time faculty amd staff". Out of the several sites, I was only to find two that required a formal education (most of those were for program coordinators). However it appears to be some beginnig to show an interest for at least an associate degree, but alas this was still in the minority not majority. Most only required the "State or National EMS Instructor Course" and preferred to have a state license of that level, and field experience was limited from 3 to 5 years, very few required any past educational experience. The application process was only an application to be filled out. As well, I found very few programs that apparently had "supplemental staffing" such as administrative assistants or lab instructors.

So my question is: How are we ever going to resolve educational issues to field personal, when our educational system is in crisis and apparently has a DNR ?

How is your educational/training programs requirements ? If you were in the position to write specific requirements or develop programs, what would they consist of ? This is for the educators and faculty positions and associated programs as well.

Are you actively participating in your local education arena, such as advisory councils, or hiring/employment committees, etc. ? How is instructors selected in our areas, and is local EMS management involved in the educational system?

What can we do to increase the levels or should we even consider it ?

R/r 911

[JakeEMTP]

Hey Rid. There was a position for EMS faculty on the NCEMS website that I thought required a lot of " letters " after ones name. Here is the link.

http://www.ncems.org/employment.htm#Posted 22-May .Just scroll to the Davidson college posting.

The program I am currently in required post-secondary reading and mathamatic skills ( all candidates were tested prior to acceptance into the program ) as well as A&P 1. Previous EMS experience was not required, but was beneficial.

[RaceMedic]

Hey Rid,

i know what you mean by the lack of requirements for instructors. I was told more than once that the reason the instructors were part time is that the belief was they were hiring Medics that were still working the streets that way they would still be in touch with what is happening in the industry rather than sitting behing a desk collecting dust. Now im not saying that i agree with that philosophy. However the program i graduated from has done something that i found very odd yet progressive at the same time. They hired a full time Paramedic instructor and then when a new coordinater and director was needed they were replaced by part time personel.

How is it working ? I'll let you know it has been less than a yr since these positions have been filled in this fashion.

Your right to be a paramedic instructor/coordinator you only have to have a degree and Training officer I and II proir to the I/C course. there is no EMS experiance required nor do you even have to be a paramedic ... this cert. is open to RN's and Physicians with out EMS experiance.

I am currently working towards my I/C certification and if things work out i will have it in the fall. if not .. well ill be a TO II till the next I/C class opens, we all know how politics work ...

Race

[AZCEP]

An interesting topic that is probably long overdue. Way to go Rid!

The state of AZ requires three levels of program administration for all EMS programs.

At the top is the program medical director, who must show competency or be board certified in emergency medicine.

Next is the program director. This individual must be a paramedic or higher for all ALS courses, and most programs prefer RN or better. The paramedics must have more than 2 years of field experience, though most will have more than 5. The RN's don't have to have any actual clinical experience to direct a program.

Finally is the lead instructor, which must follow all of the same guidlines as listed above. The only real difference between the levels, is the amount of paperwork that each is responsible for.

The program that I manage has an RN program director with 30+ years of clinical experience and 20+ years of EMS educational experience. Extremely valuable when dealing with the upper levels of state administration. Our medical director is an Air Force Reserve Lt. Col, and has spent 15+ years as an ER physician, both military and civilian.

I'm the low man on the experience totem with 12 years of EMS experience and a little over 5 years of ALS teaching experience so far. I've done most of the work with the full support of the upper administration, and make sure that I use/abuse their knowledge base before making decisions on the direction that I will take.

We run a lenient program that forces our students to actually learn how to think through a problem. We require a minimum of 80% to pass the course, and we also give plenty of assignments that the students have to think about, rather than just look things up in the textbook. We are currently dragging the present class through pharmacology kicking and screaming the entire way.

I refuse to allow anyone to complete this program if I think for a moment that they will be dangerous. When they begin clinical rotations, my wife and in-laws staff the ICU so I get frequent reports on how they are performing. Anyone not holding up is dismissed rather quickly.