Prehospital emergency care : official journal of the National Association of EMS Physicians and the National Association of State EMS Directors
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Introduction: Becoming an EMS professional in most of the United States requires successful completion of the National Certification process. While multiple attempts are allowed, some candidates who are unsuccessful on their first cognitive examination attempt do not return despite personal investment. Objective: We describe the demographic and testing characteristics of EMT and paramedic candidates that do not return for a second examination attempt after an initial unsuccessful attempt on the National EMS Certification Cognitive Examination. ⋯ Conclusion: Many EMTs and paramedics who were unsuccessful on the National Certification Exam did not retest. Factors identified that impact the choice varied between EMTs and paramedics but included age, sex, length of initial examination, and time from course completion to that initial examination. These characteristics may present actionable items for EMS educational programs and stakeholders to support EMT and paramedic graduates at risk of not entering the workforce.
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Objective: EMS clinicians work in shifts to provide 24-hour care. Shift work is linked with metabolic disease and over 70% of EMS clinicians report having overweight or obesity. Inability to store food in their vehicles combined with limited overnight dining establishments, and unpredictable job demands leads to reliance on convenience and fast foods. ⋯ Night shift workers had fewer steps (p = 0.045), more sedentary time (p = 0.053), and less moderate activity (p = 0.037) during a shift compared to day workers. Conclusion: Among EMS clinicians, night shift is associated with greater energy intake, and decreased physical activity during shifts. This may contribute to positive energy balance and weight gain overtime, increasing risk for metabolic disease.
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Objective: To assess comparative benefits and harms across three airway management approaches (bag valve mask [BVM], supraglottic airway [SGA], and endotracheal intubation [ETI]) used by prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) to treat patients with trauma, cardiac arrest, or medical emergencies, and how they differ based on techniques and devices, EMS personnel and patient characteristics. Data sources: We searched electronic citation databases (Ovid® MEDLINE®, CINAHL®, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Scopus®) from 1990 to September 2020. Review methods: We followed Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Effective Health Care Program Methods guidance. ⋯ Conclusions: The currently available evidence does not indicate benefits of more invasive airway approaches based on survival, neurological function, ROSC, or successful airway insertion. Strength of evidence was low or moderate; most included studies were observational. This supports the need for high-quality randomized controlled trials to advance clinical practice and EMS education and policy, and improve patient-centered outcomes.
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Introduction: The emergency medical services (EMS) system was designed to reduce death and disability and EMS training focuses on saving lives through resuscitation, aggressive treatment and transportation to the emergency department. EMS providers commonly care for patients who have life-limiting illnesses. The objective was to explore EMS provider challenges, self-perceived roles and training experiences caring for patients and families with life-limiting illness. ⋯ In the face of situations where the course of action was not immediately clear, EMS providers voiced two frames for their role in caring for patients with life-limiting illness: transportation only ("transport people") versus a more "holistic" view, where EMS providers provided counseling and information about available resources. Conclusions: EMS providers interface with patients who have life-limiting illness and their families in the setting of traumatic events where the course of action is often unclear. There is an opportunity to provide formal training to EMS providers around grief counseling as well as how they can assist patients and families in in the moment decision-making to support previously identified goals and align care with patient goals and preferences.
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Background: Interfacility transfers (IFTs) are an essential component of healthcare systems to allow movement of patients between facilities. It is essential to limit any delays in patients receiving the care they require at the receiving facility. The primary objective of this study was to assess whether IFT response time was reduced after implementation of an AutoLaunch protocol, in which an ambulance is dispatched to the sending facility prior to acceptance of the patient by the receiving facility. ⋯ Of the 996 AutoLaunch transfers, there were 215 incidents (21.6%) in which the IFT ambulance had to stage, and the median staging time was 10.1 minutes (IQR: 4.9, 24.2). Conclusions: Implementation of our AutoLaunch protocol resulted in a significant reduction in ambulance response time for interfacility transfers. Further studies are needed to assess whether the reduction in response time is associated with improved patient outcomes for certain conditions.