Prehospital and disaster medicine
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Prehosp Disaster Med · Jan 2005
Successful development and implementation of' a tactical emergency medical technician training program for United States federal agents.
The emerging need for tactical operations in law enforcement often places personnel involved at risk. Tactical operations often are carried out in environments in which access to emergency care is limited. With the war against terrorism expanding, special operations involving United States federal agents are occurring worldwide. Currently, there are very few tactical medicine curricula training traditional emergency medical services (EMS) providers to operate in these high-risk missions. Trainees in existing programs must have previous EMS experience, and are selected from a wide range of backgrounds. The goal of this study is to examine a Special Agent Emergency Medical Technician (SAEMT) training curriculum developed specifically for federal special agents with prior experience in tactical operations, but without previous medical training. ⋯ The SAEMT Program provides basic emergency medical training to federal special agents with no previous medical experience. The design of this program provides a useful template to meet the expanding demand for tactical emergency medical personnel.