WA DOH EMS EDUCATION WORKGROUP

MEETING NOTES

December 9, 2011

Attendee’s: Patty Courson, Dane Kessler, Mike Routley, TJ Bishop, Lisa Breitinger,

Candace Hamilton, Norma Pancake, Joe Simmons

  1. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER MEETING NOTES
  2. Approved by Mike Routley, seconded by Patty Courson.
  3. STATE REPORT (provided by Dane Kessler)
  4. MPD conference was held: CPAP and 12-Lead placement training was approved for MPD’s to institute if they so desire in their areas.
  5. IV Therapy skill curriculum was forwarded to Candace and will be forwarded to the Education Workgroup for review. Please have your comments in to Dane by December 12th.
  6. Supraglottic Airway curriculum is Dane’s next project; he will work on this in January.
  7. IV Therapy and Supraglottic airway course exams are local exams that are MPD approved.
  8. Instructor Manual
  9. Will be policy
  10. Norma, Cindy and Dane will provide the finishing touches on the document; these will most likely be completed sometime in January. Completed document will be forwarded to Education Workgroup.
  11. EMT Course Schedule (updated version from DOH)
  12. Dane: updated EMT course schedule form to be completed for DOH can be filled in and completed on instructor’s computer and re-submitted with any minor adjustments from course to course.
  13. Discussion was held on the new form, there has been one complaint that was worked through. Concerns that the form is even longer now than before. Dane expressed that he is attempting to reduce the number of forms and that this was is designed to be the most complete, showing all necessary objectives.
  14. OLD BUSINESS
  15. PHTAC
  16. CPAP/12-Lead placement approved for MPD’s (TJ will forward materials on this that he already has)
  17. Yakima’s online EMT course was approved for 1 student as an individual case to be reviewed. Online EMT courses in general were not discussed by PHTAC.
  18. Discussion was held on the fact that online EMT courses are happening in various areas around the Nation and will be a topic that the Education Workshop will need to consider at some point.
  19. Transition Training
  20. Dane – can most likely be handled through CME/OTEP and we have 4 years to complete it. Not sure yet if letter of completion will be from the State or local MPD. Dane will advise as he learns more.
  21. NEW BUSINESS
  22. DOH Website “conferences for 2012”
  23. WREMS changed the format from prior conferences – the SEI roundtable has been moved from an evening event to an afternoon event. Roundtable is called “Best Practices, Lessoned Learned” however; the National Registry skill sheets will also be discussed at this event.
  24. EMS Instructor Course is being held on Feb. 24th from 9-5pm as a pre-conference. This course is listed on the DOH website.
  25. NREMT BLS Skill Sheets
  26. Norma – NR BLS skill sheets have some typos and in addition are missing some skill sheets that we utilize in WA State. Discussion was held on whether or not to include all of the WA State sheets or some of them. It was also discussed that we should modify the existing NR skill sheets to fit our needs.
  27. Dane would like to see the revisions happen quickly rather than over a year or two. The Education Workgroup agree’s. Using NR skill sheets as a template may help speed up the process.
  28. Discussion was held on end-of-course comprehensive exams and how testing with large groups of students at one time can be a poor way of evaluating each individual student’s performance. It was discussed that using EMT certified silent partners in the group can be a better format, so that the single student can be clearly evaluated. It was also discussed that a similar format to a formal NR exam can be good as well with a single student – to one evaluator per testing station.
  29. Dane – NR skill sheets are shared by groups for example the EMR/EMT skill sheets might be utilized together. The evaluator would just evaluate the sections appropriate for the level being tested. The AEMT/paramedic skill sheets might be used together as well with the paramedics just having more to do per sheet. This might help keep the continuity in training from one level to the next.
  30. There are Examination Coordinator Manuals available on the NR website that can be helpful when setting up a end-of-course final practical exam.
  31. MOTION – Norma made a motion to add the traction splint, epinephrine by vial/ampule to the NR BLS Skill Sheets and to NOT add nasal airway and suction, and mouth-to-mask. Motion was seconded by Patty Courson and approved.
  32. Norma – discussion regarding “Patient Assessment” skill sheet. This needs to be worked on, possibly be a sub-group. Joe, Patty, Norma and Candace will have a webinar to review the patient assessment skill sheets on Friday, January 6th at 10am, and will present their revisions to the Education Workgroup at the next Jan. meeting.
  33. Testing process for Supra-glottic and IV training
  34. MPD approved exams
  35. IV training utilize “Appendix D” by the State which has skill sheets such as Medical Assessment, Trauma Assessment, Bleeding Control & Shock, etc. The course is not just IV therapy skill only.
  36. Online initial education for EMT
  37. Currently, Yakima has an experienced EMR provider with several years of experience with a local fire department doing an online initial EMT course, with the exception of practical sessions which he attends with the traditional EMT course students. Candace will review the outcome for this student, and will provide feedback to the Education Workgroup on how the course went overall. Yakima is attempting to provide an alternate way of providing the initial EMT course in order to capture those providers who’ve already shown several years of commitment to a local fire department but logistically, due to work or other reasons are unable to attend a traditional EMT programs schedule.
  38. NEW TECHNOLOGY
  39. Candace – had a great meeting with Norma, Dane and Cheryl last month. They provided Candace with lots of feedback regarding changes to the format of the website. Candace will be working on making those revisions over the next month.
  40. GOOD OF THE ORDER
  41. Joe Simmons – question for Dane regarding AEMT course that is upcoming and the clinical requirements. Concern on the availability or lack thereof of resources for students to complete the clinical requirements. Dane replied the course has been approved and the instructor is permitted to get creative with the resources that are available in order to meet the requirements.
  42. Joe Simmons – IRAP for SEI candidate, revisions, when will this be completed and available. Dane commented that he is working on that but it will be a little bit longer before those are available. In the meantime, Dane stated to do the best we can with the current IRAP and he will work with us and our SEI candidates.
  43. MEETING ADJORNED AT APPROXIMATELY 11:40 AM.