EMT 219 - ALS Foundations

1. Identify the roles and responsibilities of an Emergency Medical Technician.
2. Identify the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) components to include:
   1. Well-being
   2. Illness and injury prevention
   3. Ethics
   4. Medical and legal considerations.
3. Identify the credentialing and regulatory organizations within the industry.
4. Identify the components of initial and continuing education requirements.

1. Describe the role of the ALS professional today as compared to the “ambulance driver” of yesterday.
2. Describe key historical events that influenced the development of National Emergency Medical Services (EMS) systems.
3. List the EMS provider levels.
4. Identify the benefits of national EMS group involvement.
5. Explain the components of education, both initial and continuing, for ALS professionals.
6. Describe the recognized levels of EMS training and education leading to licensure and certification in Arizona.
7. Describe the attributes of professionalism that are applied to the role of ALS professional.
8. Identify the responsibilities of the ALS professional.
9. Describe the role of the EMS physician in providing medical direction.
10. Identify a system for continually evaluating and improving care.
11. Analyze the role of continuous quality improvement with respect to continuing medical education and research.
12. Identify the three components of wellness.
13. Define Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM).
14. Describe the common needs when dealing with death and dying.
15. Identify ways to prevent disease transmission.
16. Identify and define terms used with epidemiology.
17. Describe the leadership activities of the ALS professional.
18. Identify the legal issues involved in the decision not to transport a patient.
19. Synthesize ethical concepts and apply to different environments.

1. Introduction
   1. Role of the ALS professional today
   2. Professional activities
   3. Roles and responsibilities
2. Current EMS System
   1. Network of coordinated services
   2. Work as a unified whole
   3. Standards of an EMS system
   4. EMS system operation
   5. EMS provider levels
3. National EMS Group Involvement
   1. Development, education, and implementation of EMS
   2. Benefits of involvement
   3. Roles of various EMS standard setting groups
   4. Licensure
   5. Certification
   6. Registration
   7. Education
   8. Professionalism
   9. System Quality: Continuous Improvement
4. Medical Direction
   1. Services provided
   2. Physician extension
   3. Physician authority
   4. Role of the EMS physician
   5. Benefits of medical direction
   6. Interacting with a physician on scene
5. EMS Research
   1. Benefits of research
   2. Basic principles
   3. Conducting research
   4. Examples
   5. EMS providers and their role in data collection
   6. Evaluating and interpreting research
6. Wellness
   1. Components
   2. Implementing lifestyle changes
   3. Enhancing personal wellness
7. Stress
   1. Phases of stress response
   2. Triggers of stress response
   3. Physiological and psychological effects
   4. Causes of stress in EMS
   5. Reactions to stress
   6. Stress management techniques
   7. Critical incident stress management (CISM)
8. Dealing with Death, Dying, Grief and Loss
   1. Patient and family needs
   2. ALS Professional needs
   3. Developmental considerations
9. Preventing Disease Transmission
   1. Terminology
   2. Common sources of exposure
   3. Protection from air/ blood borne pathogens
   4. Periodic risk assessment
   5. Documenting and managing an exposure
10. Resuscitation Issues
    1. Withholding and stopping resuscitation
    2. Advance directives
    3. Potential organ donation
    4. Death in the field
11. Documentation
    1. Importance
    2. Patient care report
    3. Patient’s hospital record
    4. Maintaining appropriate records
12. Ethics Overview
    1. Ethics defined
    2. Answering ethical questions
    3. The need for an out-of-hospital ethical code
    4. Ethical impact on individual practice
    5. Ethical impact on institutional practice
    6. Ethical dilemmas
    7. Ethical tests in healthcare
    8. Ethical issues in contemporary paramedic practice