Help! I'm the EMS Lieutenant for my station and I'm trying to come up with some fun ideas for hands on training. I'm getting bored so I know they are too. I've done Jeopardy....I want to keep everyone interested but let them have some fun doing it too. We are fire/ems.
Permalink Reply by Jim on November 20, 2008 at 6:38pm
Here are a couple of suggestions that can liven up the training. First you have to be able to separate you personell and shouldn't be done with EMT classes. First set up your scenario and have your personell go in pairs. make sure they have all the info they need for the pt. send them into the room and when they reach the pt turn on some good, load heavy metal music. watch them to be sure they are treating their pt. if you need to give changes in the pt's condition use 4x5 cards. Second is one we do in tactical EMS courses but can be fun in regular training to. Follow the above steps, but instead of using load music drop fire crackers in an empty metal waste basket across the room. These are good high stress training scenarios. Prior to going into the room you cann let your personell know that the scene is safe if you want to use the noise as just a diversion instead of a tactical situation. If done right it will be a total surprise and your people will love it. video tape it and you will have something good for the next Christmas party... have fun, train hard.
EMS or Fire Jeopardy. A firest line cardiac drug used in V Tach. What is EPI
Lincon County Ambulance Dist. in Missouri plays this game and its fun and good learning. They even went as far as to make electronic buttons and a slide screen for the game.
Being one of the training officers for both of the agencies that I work for, We set up scenarios of all types and then respond the crews to different locations to put the crews to the test. since we implemented this type of training, we have noticed that everyone feels more comfortable in performing all skills, either basic or advanced .
Hey moe you asked for some tips on fun, hands on training. when i was in school the greatest training time we had was really simple. choose 2 students and put together a little tech kit for them. like a BP cuf couple stethascyope, charcole, glucose a variety of things that they would need upon arrival to a scene. have the 2 students go out of the room and then get some other students 1-2 or whatever. make up a 911 call. have the student act it out and as the 2 EMT's walk in to the room they will do like there PT assesment and try to narrow down what the problem could be. That was just one i reallyy really enjoyed. But anyways Im Jared a Advanced EMT in Indiana.........:) Delete Comment
Well, you cant get enough of ladder training,and roof opt . I also like to do walk through New business, and Furniture Stores.They can be a bitch to search. And i like to break up into two teams,and have a scavenger hunt through the department house . Where i give them clues to a piece of tool off a truck , tanker ,rescue ,and engine.And it works great for the Jr. And pro beyes
Permalink Reply by Josh on January 30, 2009 at 6:10pm
Moe, Some neat things I have done for EMS Training is turning stuff into a competition. For example, out last training we called "Fun Night", We had different stations and paired up our ems personal into teams. For stations we had. Cot Races: The team was in the rig, They had to exit the rig with the proper equipment with them, such as zoll pack and jump bag, pull the cot out, "Undress the cot and remake it and then put equipment back on the cot and put the cot back into the rig. This was a timed event and many people liked it. Another think we did is made one of our rooms for our on-call personnel to sleep into a 9400 (suicide) room and the team had to identify the possible hazards ( Gun, Drugs, Weapons, Blood, etc) This was based on a points system judged by what they found. Another station was a Game Show station. This is where the "Battle Of The EMS Personnel" took place. We had questions that went from first responder questions up to Paramedic questions. They also seemed to have fun with that. For the winners we got some $10 Dollar gift cards from subway, culvers, etc and many times you will find that businesses like that will cut you a deal for the Fire and EMS Training. Hope i was of any help.
This is not only fun but some valuable training. Contact a local self defense instructor and have them come in and teach your people self defense. See if you can use the local HS gym or Community Center to have access to mats and your people and actually practice these tactics.
I'm big on "situational awareness" and scene size-up. I try and come up with differing scenarios that will make everybody think. One scenario I use is the "live wire" set-up. In a dimly lit area outside, and near a power pole, staple a piece of cable to the pole and drape it along the ground. Have you pt. lay on the cable and then send your responders to the pt. as a "man down in his back yard, has not moved in 15 minutes. See how many will walk up and touch the pt. without looking around. The look on their face when you inform them that they are "dead" due to electrical shock can be hilarious. Another one I used recently was a pt. lying on the floor of our training room. I tossed a few used shell casings on the floor around the pt. and used a bottle cap to burn a small amount of gunpowder. If they responders did not back out and call the SO to clear the scene, they were informed that the psychotic wife/husband just appeared out of the back room and gave them a case of "lead poisoning".
Also, I use post-it notes to write down a set of symptoms and put them on my pt. in the area of the injury so that they should be found during assessment. It makes them examine the pt. and then treat the symptoms. This, coupled with some of the "stressers" list in previous posts can make your training more challenging and fun.