Events/Training | College Contacts & Locations | EMS History

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EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES EDUCATION

The entire concept of EMS education has shifted from a diagnostic based to an assessment based curriculum within the past five years. for the first time in EMS curriculum writing the Department of Transportation had contracted with educators in the development of curriculum covering First Responder; Emergency Medical Technician - Basic and the soon to be released Intermediate and Paramedic curriculum. The learning objectives have been changed to that of CONTEXTUAL BASED and are reflected as follows:

Affective Objectives: Are written to cover the various emotional issues facing emergency providers while focusing on feelings and emotions.

Example: Describe why it is inappropriate to judge a patient based on a culture, gender, age, or socioeconomic model, and to vary the standard of care rendered as a result of that judgement.

Cognitive Objectives: Are knowledge based and include information based and include information based on the mental processes of perception, reasoning, or intuition.

Example: At the completion of this lesson the First Responder student will be able to: Define the components of the EMS System.

Psychomotor Objectives: Are physically based and the student must demonstrate the particular physical necessary to complete their required tasks at whatever EMS response level they operate at.

EMS Education has also adopted the National EMS Education Blueprint and the EMS Futures Agenda position document both developed by members of the International Association of Fire Chiefs. These new curriculum and other published documents concerning EMS Education have endorsed competency based education as a model project. Students receive credit for what they presently know or can demonstrate successfully. They would also receive "hour" credit when advancing to a higher level of EMS training. This is currently called "bridging."

The standards the EMS Education Community uses come from the U.S. Department of Transportation - National Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in Washington D.C.

Congress made this agency the lead EMS Agency after the infamous presentation for the "White Paper" in 1966 and the passage of the National Highway Safety Act. This Act mandated all states utilize the standards of EMS care and delivery and directed the Governor of each state to set up a lead agency to funnel Federal Block Grants to be utilized for EMS Education and regulation.

NHTSA has the responsibility to issue competitive education grants at regular intervals to update and revise EMS Education and National Standard Curricula. Many professional groups from throughout the United States are called upon to give their input to this process and many become authors and writers for these various educational curricula. Some agencies involved include: Center for Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh: National Association of EMS State Directors; National Council of EMS Training Coordinators; National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians; International Association of Fire Chief's to name but a few. After this extensive process the National Standard Curriculum is developed in implemented nation wide. The following curriculums have been or are currently being developed: