J Emerg Med
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Comparative Study
The relationship of the level of training and area of medical specialization with registrant performance in an advanced trauma life-support course.
Approved advanced trauma life-support (ATLS) programs were given to 160 residents and practitioners of various specialties, utilizing a standardized 50-item, multiple-choice posttest. Level of training (practitioner v resident) and area of medical specialization with registrant performance on total score and in specific subcontent areas of ATLS were evaluated by subjecting total and subcontent percent scores to a two-way analysis of variance and Newman-Keuls pairwise comparisons. Practitioners outperformed the residents in the subcontent area of abdominal injuries, P less than .05. ⋯ In airway problems, surgeons and internists were outperformed by emergency medicine, whereas in burns, emergency medicine and family practitioners significantly outperformed the surgeons. Emergency medicine outperformed internal medicine, P less than .05, in subcontent area of extremity injuries. We conclude that registrants are likely to benefit from an ATLS course, but preliminary evidence would seem to justify some "tailoring" of the ATLS curriculum for different registrant specialty groups.
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One of the major questions confronting prehospital care services today concerns determining the appropriate level of training for EMS personnel that will provide the most cost effective systems. Unfortunately there are no studies which assess this problem. Various communities have modified or expanded the roles of prehospital personnel beyond the traditional training of EMTs and paramedics. Continuing education and skills maintenance are ongoing problems faced by all EMS systems, which have been addressed in various ways by individual locales.