Kansas EMS Transition » EMR

DuoDote Kits

Friesen Group — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 01:21:29 +0000

One of the frequent questions has been about how to acquire DuoDote trainers. Brian Bailey, with Leavenworth County EMS provided me with this contact information this past fall. Bryan Salapong is the account representative for Meridian Medical Technologies, the manufacturers of the kits. Thanks, Brian, for passing this along. A number of people have been able to acquire one or two DuoDote Kits without having to purchase the entire case.

DuoDote Kit Contact:

Bryan Salapong
Account Representative & Distributor Relations Commercial Pharmaceuticals MERIDIAN MEDICAL TECHNOLOGIES®, Inc., a subsidiary of King Pharmaceuticals®, Inc. 6350 Stevens Forest Road, Suite 301, Columbia, Maryland 21046 USA │(443.259.7892│3443.259.7801|*bryan.salapong@kingpharm.com

Medication Placebo Ideas

Friesen Group — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 16:28:09 +0000

Some of you are already into the EMT Transition process. For those who aren’t, but are thinking about how to simulate different medications, here are some ideas.

For NTG we are using Altoids Smalls which are placed into NTG bottles (after they are washed with soap and water and then dried out).

For Aspirin placebos there is nothing as good as Mini M&Ms. We use a baby aspirin bottle that has been washed out with soap and water and dried. (We watch carefully for students overdosing in the corner of the classroom . . . )

A word of caution. Wash those bottles out! We also ensure that people are told that if they have allergies (ASA is a common one) that they should not partake of the placebos!

If you have other ideas that you use, we’d like to hear them so they can be shared as well.

EMR and EMT files posted

Friesen Group — Tue, 11 Jan 2011 03:10:11 +0000

EMR and EMT version 2-1 files for Transition Coordinators have been posted to the shared site. An e-mail with further information was sent to Coordinators earlier this evening. Please e-mail us if you have questions.

Skills for the Transition

Friesen Group — Sun, 17 Oct 2010 17:07:35 +0000

One of the things that has become apparent since we began the Train the Trainer courses is that some of the skills required in the transition courses will be problematic for local services. This is either because of the expense of equipment or because the skill is not expected to be used by services (this may not make sense to you, but is a result of adopting the National Scope for each level as part of our scope). As Friesen Group developed the curricula, we identified this about some specific skills such as mechanical CPR and automated transport ventilators. However, a few additional items came to light and with this in mind we went back to the Board of EMS at their October meeting to request a few additions to the “Optional” list of skills. Bear in mind, these must still be covered in the didactic portion of the transition course – however – the skills are not required for successful completion. Here is the list of optional skills by level.

EMR	EMT	AEMT
Application of ECG patches does NOT require an ECG monitor. It does require patches and ECG limb lead cables	Application of ECG patches does NOT require an ECG monitor. It does require patches and ECG limb lead cables	Administraton of Nitrous Oxide is NOT required

Mechanical CPR device is NOT required (As Adopted)	Use of Automatic Transport Ventilator is NOT required (As Adopted)	Use of Automatic Transport Ventilator is NOT required (As Adopted)

	Use of Manually Triggered Ventilator is NOT required	Use of Manually Triggered Ventilator is NOT required

	Automatic Blood Pressure acquisition is NOT required

	EtCO2 Capnograph/Capnometer is NOT a required skill. Colormetric devices ARE required.

Approved and Moving Forward

Friesen Group — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 01:30:06 +0000

We received approval of the transition course curricula at the August 6, Kansas Board of EMS meeting in Topeka. With this approval, we are moving forward to the train-the-trainer events. Here is some information that persons responsible for the coordination of the transition courses in their communities and services will find useful.

General Information:

The courses were approved by BEMS as competency based, not time based. What this means is that students are doing more than just sitting in class. They must show competency in the knowledge, skills, and abilities. This may take more or less time than is specified in the individual lesson plans. Your local situation may vary depending upon the experience of the teacher(s) and students. Be flexible and understand the importance of obtaining competency for all students.
Only I/Cs and TOs who have attended a train the trainer course this fall will be approved to coordinate transition bridge courses. They may find subject matter experts to teach the materials in the course or may, if qualified, teach it themselves.
Completion of the entire bridge course, with acknowledgement of competency by the instructor and verification by the State Board of EMS will be required BEFORE any technician can use the new scope activities. Local protocols will also need to be in place. This is important to understand. EMS Providers cannot begin using new skills at the end of a given class session or module. EMS Providers must complete the entire course and receive your new certification from the Kansas Board of EMS and the local protocols must reflect the new scope of practice.
Sample course schedules and course hours for EMR, EMT, and AEMT are available on the documents page of this website or by clicking on each link in this sentence.

There have been a number of questions about the process of bridging to the new scope of practice at each level. Here is a summary of the options.

First Responder:

First Responders transition to EMR via the EMR Transition Bridge.
First Responders opt out a transition bridge course and fail to renew certification.

Emergency Medical Technician:

Emergency Medical Technicians transition to EMT via the EMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technicians may choose to transition to EMR via the EMR Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technicians opt out a transition bridge course and fail to renew certification.

Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate:

Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediates transition to AEMT via the AEMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediates may choose to transition to EMT via the EMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediates may choose to transition to EMR via the EMR Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediates opt out a transition bridge course and fail to renew certification.

Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate/Defibrillator:

Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate/Defibrillators transition to AEMT via the AEMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate/Defibrillators may choose to transition to EMT via the EMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate/Defibrillators may choose to transition to EMR via the EMR Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Intermediate/Defibrillators opt out a transition bridge course and fail to renew certification.

Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillator:

Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillator transition to AEMT via an existing EMT – Intermediate Curriculum and the AEMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillator may choose to transition to EMT via the EMT Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillator may choose to transition to EMR via the EMR Transition Bridge.
Emergency Medical Technician – Defibrillators opt out a transition bridge course and fail to renew certification.

Train-the-Trainer Update

Friesen Group — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 15:12:12 +0000

Below is updated information regarding the Train-the-Trainer courses including known locations and links to each Region’s website.

Date	Location
August 28, 29 – 2010	Region I	Oakley
September 25, 26 – 2010	Region III	Hutchinson
October 9, 10 – 2010	Region VI	Parsons
October 23, 24 – 2010	Region IV	Salina
November 6, 7 – 2010	Region II	Garden City
November 20, 21 – 2010	Region V	Overland Park

4 .. 3 .. 2 ..

Friesen Group — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:30:13 +0000

Back from the printer and put into binders. We are on schedule to deliver on Thursday to the Board of EMS! This will be 47 days ahead of the stated contract delivery date of September 1, 2010. This allows the Board of EMS to approve the content prior to the start of the train the trainers.

Finished Product!

It is easy to look at this and feel good about the work we’ve done. The “we” includes a lot of people. This project included many people who participated in the initial focus group sessions, reviewed curriculum, developed components of the curriculum, proof-read hundreds of pages, gave feedback, and otherwise supported the endeavor. This work has the fingerprints of first responders, EMTs, EMT-Is, paramedics, physicians, educators, and even a couple of people completely outside of the EMS discipline.

To all of those who helped out, thank you. This product is better because of all of you.

Getting there through all the details

Friesen Group — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 02:16:46 +0000

Yes, it has been a while since I posted. I’ve been a bit consumed over the past several months as we push this project towards the completion of the development stage and ready for the implementation stage.

As we enter into the final push, we loaded up the laptops and headed to our Colorado branch office to work “off the grid”. It is amazing what you can get done when you don’t have email, the Internet, or telephone distractions. Here is a view from the office we had for a few days. It was nice to get back to the sweltering heat of Kansas after several days of cool, crisp, mountain air.

Colorado Branch Office

I thought you would be interested to know the projected estimates for hours in each of the transition courses:

Emergency Medical Responder - 16 hours (Must be completed in the two-year recertification cycle.) This will be a busy transition course with a lot of enhancements to the EMR scope of practice. Instructors and students should expect to be busy as they work to complete this bridge course in the 16 hour time frame!

Emergency Medical Technician - 24 to 28 hours (Must be completed in the two-year recertification cycle.) Remember, you must have 28 total hours to renew so if your bridge course is only 24 hours you have 4 more hours to complete!

Advanced Emergency Medical Technician - 116 + hours (Approximate. This must be completed over two recertification cycles [4 years].) The estimated time for AEMT is just that, estimated. It really depends upon the knowledge level of the instructors teaching the course and of the students taking the bridge course, as well as the speed with which students pick up the new material. If they have a strong grasp on their EMT-Intermediate knowledge and are enthusiastic about studying and learning, I suspect the course will move along. If they have let their foundational knowledge slip away over time or do not have strong study habits, you will likely need to plan for more than 116 hours.

In the next few weeks we will be finalizing lesson plans, cleaning up media, spell checking task analysis and check sheet documents, and rolling out sample syllabi and schedules. We’ve also got some work to do on pre and post tests for modules. So, we’re down to the details and getting close to the end.

A big “thank you” to the people who have been helping us by reviewing and giving feedback on the development of lessons. It has been very rewarding to have both field providers and physicians who have given strong recommendations to ensure that the lessons are meaningful and on target.

Train-the-Trainer Courses

Friesen Group — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 22:14:44 +0000

Who should attend? Any Kansas TO1, TO2, or I/C who wishes to coordinate Kansas EMS Transition bridge courses will need to complete the Train-the-Trainer course for each level bridge (EMR, EMT, AEMT) they will coordinate.

The scheduled dates for each Region are as follows with locations to be announced on or before July 15:

Date	Location
August 28, 29 – 2010	Region I
September 25, 26 – 2010	Region III
October 9, 10 – 2010	Region VI
October 23, 24 – 2010	Region IV
November 6, 7 – 2010	Region II
November 20, 21 – 2010	Region V

Read more about preparing to teach the bridge courses.

Needs Assessment Documents

Friesen Group — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 01:18:15 +0000

The needs assessment and gap analysis documents for each level have been posted on the documents page. These have been developed based off of the surveys, focus groups, and correspondence that we have received from stakeholders. As well, the root of the needs assessment comes from the Kansas Scope of Practice document itself.

We continue to value constructive input into this process. Our next step is the development of objectives in preparation to begin writing lesson plans.