I was looking through the ems facebook page and i found a question similar to this one. Most of the responses were peds, ob, hare traction splints and interpreting 12 leads.... So my question is, what do you think you need more training on? Any input is welcome!
Continual review of all skills is a good thing as to keep skills sharp,however I think training for traffic accidents would be one area. Not so much with trauma assessment and packaging but scene saftey and setting up of resources on Interstates and on major highways
Mike E
I agree... I've been on more then a few MVA's where the EMT's/medics on scene are doing more harm then good because they just get themselves in the wrong place at the wrong time. I know pt. care is priority but trying to get to the pt. when they are still completly trapped/entangled or not paying a bit of attention to scene safety is just plain dangerous for all responders on scene.
I would have to agree with the facebook responses, especially peds. It's just something that you don't see that much of, at least I dont. There are plenty of old folks who can't breathe and middle aged men who have severe back px but how often do you recieve a call for a child with an actual medical problem. Most of the calls I have seen with kids are all trauma.
I believe what TJ Stone means is that we sometimes get into the habit of looking at the pulse ox, the cardiac monitor, the this and the that, and forget our basic physical exam, history, and general impression of the pt., which is never going to lie, unlike technology, which will sometimes fail us for one reason or another.
We have to take everything in together and form the whole picture of our pt.'s.
I try to stay current on a broad variety of things, and take classes every year instead of the required 2-4 years that the certification is good for. A year is plenty long enough to forget the little things and finer points. This is my annual breakdown, and it works pretty well for me.
classes: AMLS, PHTLS, PEPP, PALS, ACLS, ACLS-EP, 12-lead, GEMS, TBI, BCLS, and skills labs
reading: monthly subscriptions to JEMS and EMS magazines
other: LMA, web-based con-ed courses provided free of charge by the state, connect.jems.com
If you go for the minimum your service or state requires (most states, most services, that is), you will fall behind. There's far too much to remember, and far too much that changes, to do the minimum and expect to be at the top of your game.
EMS more than Fire, Over the past 5 years our dept. has trained more extensively on MVA'S we cover part of US 41 which is a 65 mile per hour freeway ( and how many are doing the speed limit) . Those of us that our both Fire and EMS are usally on their A game, however those who are strictly EMS sometimes get tunnel vision. This has recently been addressed , and is a work in progress.