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When the Classroom is the Workplace
Published in Michael J. Madson, Teaching Writing in the Health Professions, 2021
In most areas of the health professions, providers develop many essential, lifesaving skills, such as intubating patients, suturing, and performing a physical assessment. As first responders, EMS providers learn these skills and earn their training and licensure through accredited programs offered through fire departments, private EMS agencies, community and technical colleges, or 4-year colleges and universities. Depending on the program structure and licensure level offered, the programs last between 3 months to 4 years. Basic EMS training covers foundational elements of prehospital medical care, such as anatomy and physiology, patient and scene assessments, and trauma and medical care. Advanced EMS training at the paramedic level covers more complex medical skills and decision-making, such as pharmacology and advanced airway management. Regardless of training level, all EMS providers are required to take state exams to earn their licensure. Some providers complete national-level exams to earn national licensure, allowing them to practice EMS outside their home state.
Anaphylaxis
Published in Pudupakkam K Vedanthan, Harold S Nelson, Shripad N Agashe, PA Mahesh, Rohit Katial, Textbook of Allergy for the Clinician, 2021
In particular, for anaphylaxis, it is essential to identify, remove or discontinue the anaphylaxis trigger if exposure is ongoing (i.e., medication, latex, food ingestion, stinging vespid, exercise). Secondly, anyone responding to anaphylaxis should call for immediate help (such as 911 or an emergency medical service or resuscitation team).
What Diminishes Joy
Published in Eve Shapiro, Joy in Medicine?, 2020
EMS is the name of the field—emergency medical services. When people use the term “EMT” they’re talking about emergency medical technicians who practice EMT basics, which is what I do. Being an EMT requires taking a three- to four-month class to learn the general skills. There’s a different level called “paramedics,” which is usually a course of about a year or so; that is a bit more rigorous, allowing them to deliver more advanced levels of care. Paramedics and other EMTs work together in the general realm of EMS.
Initial Prehospital Rapid Emergency Medicine Score (REMS) as a Predictor of Patient Outcomes
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2022
Remle P. Crowe, Scott S. Bourn, Antonio R. Fernandez, J. Brent Myers
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) often serve as first medical contact with severely ill or injured patients who have acute, complex, and dynamic conditions. Few standardized objective measures exist to help EMS systems reliably classify patient risk for hospitalization or death using evidence-based criteria. Risk stratification is a valuable operational tool to predict the urgency and resource requirements for individual patients or classes of patients (1). Risk stratification can help inform prioritization of patients when demand exceeds capacity, such as in the case of severe disease outbreak like the COVID-19 pandemic. Accurate prediction of patient disposition also enables a better match between patients and facility capacity, which represents an important consideration with the introduction of the Emergency Triage, Treat, and Transport (ET3) model that allows reimbursement for EMS to transport patients to destinations other than hospitals or to provide treatment in place (2).
Demography of the National Emergency Medical Services Workforce: A Description of Those Providing Patient Care in the Prehospital Setting
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2021
Madison K. Rivard, Rebecca E. Cash, Christopher B. Mercer, Kirsten Chrzan, Ashish R. Panchal
Emergency medical services (EMS) play a key role in the provision of healthcare across the United States by providing patient care in the prehospital setting. The field of EMS was developed in the 1960s due to the incidence of traffic incidents and has continued to evolve (1). As there were more than 20 million EMS activations between 2012 and 2016, this is an active workforce who are treating both acute injuries and chronic diseases (2,3). EMS often serves communities in the intersection of healthcare, public health, and public safety. EMS is a common entry point into the healthcare continuum and as such, the professionals who make up this workforce and provide necessary medical care in the prehospital setting are an important workforce to better understand (4). Additionally, there is also a need to define the practice settings (e.g. type of agency and level of service) in which EMS professionals are working in. As EMS professionals are providing patient care every day in the prehospital setting throughout the United States, there should be further research into the demographic and job characteristics of this population.
Strategies to Handle Increased Demand in the COVID-19 Crisis: A Coronavirus EMS Support Track and a Web-Based Self-Triage System
Published in Prehospital Emergency Care, 2020
Theo Jensen, Mathias Geldermann Holgersen, Mads Seit Jespersen, Stig Nikolaj Blomberg, Fredrik Folke, Freddy Lippert, Helle Collatz Christensen
On March 11, 2020, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) was categorized as a pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO) (1). In such emergencies, it is vital for citizens to be able to contact emergency medical service (EMS) (2). Based on previous events, the EMS will witness a dramatic increase in call volume and consequently have reduced availability. Such a surge lead to increased line queues, missed calls, delayed EMS or hospital responses and psychological barriers that lead callers to avoid contact (3–5). In addition, attempts to limit transmission using effective rapid triage systems are adversely affected if callers are forced to wait for extended periods. It is argued that rapid and frequent adaptations from the prehospital EMS is warranted (6). The triplication of call volume observed at the beginning of the COVID-19 EMS burden in Italy February indicated what could be expected elsewhere (7). Similarly, an increase in 9-1-1 call volume have been witnessed in the United States of America during the early part of the COVID-19 impact, although at same time a decrease in the number of EMS activations compared to the prior same time period in previous years (8).