Happy New Year (a little bit
late!)
Posted January 25, 2006
I had hoped that, by now, I would be
able to post a review of how the first round of IPEs went
this fall and early winter. Unfortunately, however, not
all the data has yet been compiled.
Generally speaking, though, things have
gone well. The Exam Committee made some changes in
response to early feedback we got. The most substantive
change is that we have gone from a no-retest policy to
one which will allow a person to schedule, at his or her
own expense, a retest in an IPE being conducted by
another course. We have also continued to tweak the forms
in response to suggestions from users. And we will
continue to assess and reassess the IPE, and make changes
as necessary.
For some the presence of all these
changes will be a source of frustration, because they are
longing for a finished IPE product. For others the
changes will be welcome, as evidence that the Exam
Committee and MEMS are responsive to their comments,
concerns, and feedback.
And while I'm on the subject of testing,
apparently on the national level not everybody is happy
with the National Registry written exam as a licensure
testing service. As this article indicates, some states are looking to
alternatives, especially in light of the NR's plan to
convert to Computer Adaptive Testing in 2007.
When I thought I was done with my site
update for this go-round, I decided to use a free link-checking site to make sure that all my links are working.
Each time I'd previously done an update I'd just done
random checks, and had been satisfied with that approach.
What I discovered today, however, is that I had close to
70 bad links! Many of them automatically redirected the
user to the correct pages, but many of them just gave
error messages. So I spent many, many more hours
deleting old links, searching for the new addresses for
those I could find, marking which sites don't work
anymore but which I wasn't willing to delete yet (I'll
give them another chance in case their link was
temporarily down). Please let me know if you
find any other links that aren't working.
Resources for Changes in
American Heart Association CPR and ECC
Published in Spring 2006 issue of
the Maine EMS I/C News
in the April-May-June issue of the Journal
of Maine EMS
Posted January 25, 2006
The American Heart Association recently
released its 2005 Guidelines for CPR and ECC. The winter issue of Currents has an overview of all the changes. It
also includes links to the full guidelines document with
all its references, as well as an article on the evidence
evaluation process.
Circulation, the Journal of the American
Heart Association, has the full detailed articles with all of
the changes. You can view them in either PDF format or in
full text.
You can also find out more about the 2005 changes by
viewing a webcast or listening to an audio file or
podcast by going to the AHA Webcast Briefings page. These
are divided into specialty areas (hospital, EMS, and
corporate/community).
In mid-January, National Faculty were scheduled to be
meeting in Dallas to receive updates on science and
program changes. Regional Faculty will be meeting in
February and March at locations around New England, then
they will be rolling the information out to the Training
Center faculty.
The current plan for release of updated materials is
as follows:
First quarter 2006 (by March 31): BLS for Healthcare
Provider Materials
Second quarter 2006 (by June 30): Heartsaver and Family
& Friends Materials
Third quarter 2006 (by September 30): ACLS Materials
Fourth quarter 2006 (by December 31): PALS Materials
All courses taught after July 1, 2006 will use the new
science. The BLS courses will use the new materials and
format right from the start. The ALS and PALS courses
will use "bridge" materials until the ALS and
PALS materials are published. (These bridge materials can
only be used for a period of 90 days after the final ALS
and PALS materials are published.)
The American Heart Association has set June 1, 2006 as
the deadline by which time all current AHA instructors
shall have taken a Science Update class. They have left
it to the Training Centers as to how they will schedule
these updates, as long as they will be completed by June
1. The American Heart Association requires the following
of renewing instructors:
They will have taught three classes in the past
two years
They will have attended the appropriate Science
Update
They will be able to document current provider status
(either with a current card or by demonstration of
skills and successfully completing a test)
They will have attended a product update for
materials in their particular discipline (BLS, ALS,
First Aid, etc.)
They will meet guidelines for instructor monitoring
of teaching ability.
AHA releases Core Instructor
Course
Posted January 25, 2006
The AHA has also announced the release of a five-module
Core Instructor Course, which will be the basis of
education for all new AHA instructors in all disciplines.
The Core Instructor Course will be the first of three
steps toward becoming an AHA instructor (the other two
steps include completing discipline-specific training and
being monitored during a course.) Delivery methods for
this Core Instructor Course include online study, CD-ROM
study, instructor-led program, and a blend of self-directed
and instructor-lead study. The modules to be covered
during the course are: Introduction, Professional
Foundations, Planning and Preparation, Management,
Instructional Methods and Strategies, Assessment/Evaluation,
and Conclusion.
NEEMS announces changes to
their BLS continuing education schedule
Trisha Coleman, Northeast EMS
Posted January 25, 2006
Due to low attendance at our
monthly BLS nights we have decided to hold quarterly BLS
Update days instead, using the same format as our ALS
Update days. These CEH classes are designed to not only
keep our responders current in the latest advances in EMS,
but also to meet their continuing education needs for
relicensure at the state and national levels. Both BLS
and ALS Update days will be held on Saturdays from 8 a.m.
to 4 p.m. on a quarterly basis.
Following is the schedule for
2006:
BLS Update Days
March 18, 2006
June 3, 2006
October 21, 2006
January 20, 2007
ALS Update Days
February 4, 2006
May 13, 2006
September 23, 2006
December 9, 2006
For more information contact NEEMS.
One man's perspective on the
proposed EMS Scope of Practice
Posted January 25, 2006
If you haven't seen this article by Dr. Bryan
Bledsoe, it's worth a gander.
EMS Magazine and Firehouse
Magazine now under one cover
Posted January 25, 2006
EMSResponder.com is the new home of both Emergency Medical
Services Magazine and Firehouse Magazine's online EMS
content.
Two Sources for Continuing Education for Tri-County
EMS Services
Published in January/February/March issue
of the Maine EMS I/C News in the Journal of
Maine EMS
Central Maine Heart and
Vascular Institute
From May 2005 News & Notes from Tri-County
EMS
The staff of the Central Maine
Heart and Vascular Institute is willing to come to EMS
services throughout the Tri-County region and provide
education on the cardiac system. The three-hour in-service
they are offering is called “12 Leads in 12 Seconds.”
The program features:
*A review of the anatomy and physiology of the heart
*A review of 12 lead EKGs
*Focus on the rapid interpretation of a 12 lead including
identifying which arteries are involved and what symptoms
to expect
This program is available free of charge. To make
arrangements for this program to come to your service
contact Anne Fereday RN, Director of Cardiovascular
Services at Central Maine Medical Center, at 753-3979.
St. Mary's Regional Medical
Center
From May 2005 News & Notes from Tri-County
EMS
The staff of St. Mary’s
Regional Medical Center is willing to come to EMS
services throughout the Tri-County region and provide
education. The programs currently available are:
*Prehospital AMI Care
*Lytic therapy vs. PCI
*Updates on Cardiac Care
*Cardiac Pharmacology
*Reading and Interpreting 12 Lead EKGs
*Case Reviews: you bring the cases and find out what the
expert opinion is
*Emergency Care: perspectives from the physician
viewpoint
These programs are available to TCEMS services free of
charge. To make arrangements for programming to come to
your service contact Russ Donahue at 777-8263.
EMS
Recruitment Video?!
Posted January 25, 2006
Have you seen this
video, designed as a recruitment tool by
Pennsylvania EMS? It's been showing in theaters there
statewide.
What do you think of this approach?
Heartstuff
Posted January 25, 2006
Heartstuff.com is a site
devoted exclusively to cardiac care; it has flash cards,
12 leads, quizzes, articles, teaching cases, and so on. A
good place to go for a cardiac review.
National Incident Management
System
Posted January 25, 2006
According to the FEMA NIMS web page: "NIMS
was developed so responders from different jurisdictions
and disciplines can work together better to respond to
natural disasters and emergencies, including acts of
terrorism. NIMS benefits include a unified approach to
incident management; standard command and management
structures; and emphasis on preparedness, mutual aid and
resource management."
In order to receive federal preparedness funding
assistance in fiscal year 2007, jurisdictions will be
required to meet the FY 2006 NIMS implementation
requirements. Jay Bradshaw says MEMS anticipates that the
New England Council for EMS MCI program will meet this
requirement, and that they are working on getting
certification on that detail.
Motorcycle Crash
Posted January 25, 2006
This site has photos of a pair of vehicles that were
involved in a motorcycle/automobile crash in Sweden. It
was reported that the bike was traveling approximately
155 mph upon hitting the side of a slow-moving car at an
intersection. The motorcycle and its driver were found inside
the car, along with the car's two occupants. Swedish
police suggest that, at the speed the motorcycle was
traveling, the driver would not have even had enough time
to apply his brakes.
The End of the Virtual Hospital
Posted January 25, 2006
Virtual Hospital/Virtual Children's
Hospital closed its virtual doors after 13 years of
serving the Internet community. They have moved many of
their resources to new sites. You can visit this
page for a summary of the new
sites.
Miscellany
Posted January 25, 2006
The National Center for Emergency Medicine
Informatics web site is a
conglomeration of search tools and other useful items. It
even includes a diagram of how to tie a bow tie, always
important for the average EMSer.
