Test Results Reveal Potential Deficits in EMT-Basic Educatio

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Test Results Reveal Potential Deficits in EMT-Basic Education

By Philip D. Dickison

Posted 7/19/2004 www.nremt.org

Evaluation of the current versions of the NREMT-Basic written examination indicates EMT-Basic students are having significant difficulty in identifying and managing airway, oxygenation, and/or ventilation problems in pediatric and adult patients. The deficits in EMT education are related to recognizing the differences between signs and symptoms associated with oxygen deficiency and the signs and symptoms associated with ventilation deficiencies. In addition to these areas, the test results indicate the current EMT-Basic has difficulty answering items requiring an understanding of airway and ventilation issues related to the current CPR Guidelines.  

Similar deficits were identified more than two years ago and resulted in the development of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's 2002 EMT-Basic Supplemental Airway Module. States requiring their instructors to use this supplemental airway module have reported significant improvement in examination scores, unfortunately there does not appear to be widespread use of the valuable education tool within EMS classrooms. EMS educators may download a copy of the 2002 EMT-Basic Supplemental Airway Module by clicking here.  

Educators should be cautious of assuming that the students who possess a current CPR card are proficient in the entire domain of basic cardiac life support. The EMT-Basic educator should incorporate the basic cardiac life support principles included in the American Heart Association's "Guideline 2000 for CPR and ECC" within the educational support materials utilized in their CPR courses.

[Guest alsfirefighter]

Well well, finally a document that supports many of the concerns that several of us on here have discussed. I always try to stress to BLS and ALS students the difference between respiration and ventilation. I also was never a fan of the new curriculum's complaint based assessment and treatment that generalizes conditions into symptoms, where instead of "asthma or COPD" they were "difficulty breathing" and DCAPBTLS instead of point specific problems being delivered through education. The hallmark of every Paramedic is there BLS education and experience and the Paramedic curriculum requires point specific knowledge of conditions and diseases in order to deliver appropriate treatments.

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Does anybody feel they (or some courses) are "dumbing down" the EMT course??????

IMO, some of the current classes are JUST teaching EMT's what they need to know to pass the test, and not anything to be agressive, competent, well educated providers.

[mikerabbit 2]

I too believe the EMT class is being dumbed down. Very little A&P is taught now and many Westchester EMTs become medic dependant.

Mike

[DMA327 12]

I agree big with this argument.

I took my EMT class a couple years ago and many of the people who came out of my class are afraid to do anything. They start filling out the PCR and give O2 and wait till the medic gets there to do anything. My class only spent two hrs out of one night practicing and learning how to take a blood pressure, we didn't learn anything about PCR's and we very much lacking in most main topics in the whole course. The class was always getting out early when the instructors had something they would rather do and we didn't even meet every saturday when we were supposed to. Luckily i ride once in a while with a VAC with many people who really know what they're doing which helps me.

In all however, i too believe that the EMT curriculum is becoming way to lax and people are not learning enough of what they are supposed to. Hopefully this will change!