SAN FRANCISCO — The San Francisco Paramedic Association, a nonprofit EMS advocacy and education organization, is pleased to announce the release of a new, innovative and flexible education program designed to promote critical thinking and decision-making skills so important to the clinical practitioner.
Emergency Medical Patients: Assessment, Care and Transport (EMPACT) is a sixteen hour training program that emphasizes group discussion, case studies, and Socratic method to help new and veteran practitioners alike better understand and refine the differential of the medical patient. Realistic imagery and facilitated learning form the basis for a supportive, low-stress environment to explore the depth of a medical complaint to the extent not previously seen in other medical assessment programs.
The course content is supported by Brady/Pearson Health Science’s EMPACT textbook, written by the well-known EMS author team of Joseph Mistovich, Daniel Limmer, Alice “Twink” Dalton and Howard Werman, MD. This ground-breaking text explains in simple yet effective ways of why medical conditions form and how pathophysiologic processes form the signs and symptoms of the disease.
The course will be released first in its full “brick and mortar” configuration, with all hours being facilitated by instructors. By late summer a hybrid option will be available, with students learning up to eight hours online, with the remainder in the classroom in small group discussions. The online portion is a video-based production being developed in partnership with the Chronicles of EMS (CoEMS), a pioneering organization dedicated to the education of EMS providers through social media. The online portion of EMPACT is the first of many initiatives between the SFPA and CoEMS to develop online education content that is interesting, relevant and innovative in delivery.
EMPACT is designed to be reproducible, and can be taught at a variety of levels and locations. Institutional access will be conducted through a streamlined, online interface accessible through multiple browsers. Instructor rollouts will be done in a variety of formats, including online and in-person options.
The initial rollout of the program will be held at the Howard County Community College (Columbia, MD) on March 1st and 2nd, 2011. Participants will be exposed to the entire course, and will be provided information detailing how to teach the program in their own institutions. Several components of the online sessions will be available for preview. EMPACT instructors will be available at the Pearson/Brady Publishing Booth at the EMS Today Conference and Trade Show, being held in Baltimore March 1-7, 2011.
For more information about EMPACT, please contact Ed Sawicki, EMPACT Program Manager at esawicki@sfparamedics.org.
About the SFPA
Established in 1986, the San Francisco Paramedic Association’s mission is to improve the delivery of emergency medical services through professional and public education. The SFPA and its staff are committed to providing a fun and enjoyable environment to work and learn for all; consistently providing high-quality education; adhering to the highest ethical standards, treating people with dignity and respect, and placing a premium on the needs of our clients and members.
About Chronicles of EMS
The Chronicles of EMS is now part of the First Responders Network, a WebTV network dedicated to producing original programming for the EMS and Fire industries. CoEMS combines entertainment, education, technology and worldwide collaboration, that gives FRN an edge in the first ever social television for the First Responder industry. CoEMS brings its high production capabilities to its partners to enhance their message and create content worth watching.
About Pearson
Pearson has global-reach and market leading businesses in education, business and consumer publishing (NYSE: PSO).