At the 2011 National Association of EMS Educators Conference I was asked to share three tips for new EMS educators. What are your tips for new EMS educators?

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In the first video of a new EMS1.com video series paramedic and educator Steve Whitehead talks about two uses for End-Tidal CO2 monitoring. Great video and hope the first of many from Steve.

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Learning to perform procedures correctly is a vital part of EMT and paramedic training.  This requires the educator to provide an environment where procedures can be practiced in as close to real life circumstances as possible.  This can get expensive.  As an EMS educator, I am constantly looking for ways to make equipment and supplies last longer.  Here are a few things I have learned along the way about extending the service life of Combitubes.

The first recommendation I have is to buy Combitube trainers.  They may be more expensive than the single use ones but they last much longer.  Your students will need to be able to practice the skill as close to the way they will do it in the field as possible.  If they partially fill the cuffs in class, they may do the same in the back of an ambulance.

Before using the Combitube trainer, there a couple of things to do to make the Combitube trainer last as long as possible.  Take a strip of duct tape and wrap it around the Combitube just above the teeth marks.  Be sure to have the inflation tubes up against the lumens so that they emerge above the tape.  This will prevent them from being pulled out from repeated use.

The next task is to prepare the syringes.  Take a strip if clear packing tape and cover the numbers on the side of the syringe.  These numbers tend to get rubbed off by all of the hands that touch them during practice.

I hope these tips will help you get the most out of your Combitubes.  Do you have any tricks for making equipment last longer? Please leave them in the comments.

Jeff Anderson is a paramedic and EMS educator from Northwest

Everyday EMS Tips welcomes guest posts from EMS professionals.

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Introduction: I have lived most of my life in Wisconsin. I have followed with great interest the reaction of my neighbors to Governor Walker’s budget proposal to eliminate most collective bargaining rights of public employees. This might be the first of several posts related to the local and national media coverage of the debate in Madison.

George Bush’s 1st Rule: Paradoxical Political Speech

I formulated this first rule many years ago. It is pretty simple and the best example is complaints of President Bush’s cognitive abilities from his critics.

If you believe a) that President Bush is not smart you cannot b) believe that President Bush was an evil genius.

Fans of President Bush were also routinely guilty of paradoxical political speech. For example, if you believe that a) President Bush was brilliant at foreign policy strategist you cannot b) also believe that the aftermath of the Iraq war invasion was part of his brilliant foreign policy strategy.

Teachers Using Sick Time

Many supporters of Governor Walker’s bill have cried foul that many teachers are calling in sick to work, believing teachers are attending protest rallies while on sick time.

This is the paradoxical political speech.

a) If you believe that teachers are over-paid, lazy dolts, poisoning the minds of our children you cannot also believe that

b) It matters that teachers are out sick and school is closed.

If you believe statement “A” you should also logically believe that children are better off at home with their parents and not in the public education system.

Recognizing Paradoxical Political Speech

Paradoxical political speech often has these traits:

1) Delivered in short sound-bites

2) Presented as non-negotiable fact

3) Supported with shallow and flimsy examples

4) Aimed at the person and not the idea or principle

Avoiding Paradoxical Political Speech

My favorite principle from the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is:

Seek First to Understand, Then to Be Understood

I am listening … share your examples of paradoxical political speech. Comment on how we can have a conversation about problems without tearing down the involved parties.

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This is a guest post by Doug Gadomski. If you want to guest post on this blog, check out the guidelines here.

Sessions on the Riverwalk

I attended the first ever National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE) Mini-Symposium on January 22^nd & 23^rd 2010 in San Antonio, Texas. The concept, offering expanded versions of the top-rated sessions from the most recent Symposium (Orlando, FL in this case), is something new for the organization and speaks of a willingness to explore new ideas. I was glad to see it offered for a number of reasons. In all but one case, I had attended other offerings in Orlando and was happy to have the opportunity to get a second chance to see a number of fine presentations. It was also a chance to escape the throws of winter and enjoy a warm weekend (72 º -75ºF) along San Antonio’s Riverwalk with friends and colleagues.

Small Group Sharing

Right from the beginning I got the sense that this Mini-Symposium was different from others I’ve attended. There were roughly 75 people there with a large contingent coming from the host state of Texas. All the sessions were in the same conference room and offered an intimacy that immediately set everyone at ease. The venue also allowed for more conversation-like sessions and made it easy to participate and get more out of each of presentation.

Mini-Symposium Speakers

Heather Davis reprised two of her presentations, “Changing the World 30 Students at a Time” and “Coaching & Counseling for EMS.” Both offered excellent thoughts and practical tips on ways to improve your teaching (along with student outcomes) and approaching difficult student-educator interactions. Deb Cason talked about our new “National EMS Education standards – a year later.” The take-home message: Stop Training and Start Educating!

David Foster talked about “Building Successful Teams”. I was blown away with the statistic that only 3% of groups gel into a team! He gave many examples of the differences between groups and teams and what makes a truly effective team. This really helped me understand where I can work at team building with my students.

Baxter Larmon spoke about his favorite subject – Research, but specifically regarding “Putting Research Into the Classroom.” Many say “EMS needs to do more research…” but Baxter puts that into action. Think of it something like science class in your paramedic classroom. Something as simple as having your students actually measure the time it takes to administer a liter of fluid through various sizes of catheters and tubing and plotting the results on a chart. Yes the answer is in the textbooks, but it really sticks when they do the experiment themselves! It also teaches them that research doesn’t have to be overly complex. Bottom line: we often fail to educate our students about research.

David Page repeated his presentation about “Excellence in Clinical Education.” He did an outstanding job of getting us thinking about how we prep students for field and hospital clinicals. Remember that the new educational standards mention clinicals for EMT & AEMT levels too. The audience shared a large number of best practices that help make their own programs successful and David shared his recipe for success.

Ron Willis (Green Porch Swing Productions) was the Mini-Symposium guest/keynote speaker. His inspiring talk, “If You Find Yourself On Top Of The Mountain Just Remember You Didn’t Fall There: The Importance of Partnership,” was a terrific reminder that we all need to be thankful to all those that are part of our lives and that in the business of helping other people we should work hard to take care of ourselves and each other.

Summary

I enjoyed the first NAEMSE Mini-Symposium. The presentations and the venue were top-notch. I hope NAEMSE will continue to offer this choice to us in the future. A two-day offering is more affordable for many educators and no doubt easier to fit into a busy schedule. Visit the NAEMSE website for details about the 2010 International Symposium in September (Schaumburg, IL) and other terrific offerings!

Doug Gadomski is an EMS educator, paramedic, distance learning and simulation specialist, and long-time member of the National Association of EMS Educators

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Everyday EMS Tips readers, November 9 at midnight is the deadline for submitting an application to present at the 2010 National Association of EMS Educators symposium in Chicago, Illinois. Here are three Everyday EMS Tips reasons for you to apply to present:

1. Everyone is an expert at something. As an educator what can you share? What do other educators ask you to teach or explain to them?

2. Teaching your peers is a significant and rewarding professional challenge. Explaining how to teach what you teach will improve your skills as a teacher.

3. NAEMSE presenters are invited to a special faculty only event. Year in and year out this is one of the most fun events I attend at any conference.

Learn more about the symposium at NAEMSE.org. Also check out my posts for EMS educators from the 2009 NAEMSE Symposium.

Have an idea for a NAEMSE presentation and want my feedback? Just shoot me an email.

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EMT and Paramedic students spend too much time standing around waiting for their turn to use a high fidelity patient simulator or run through an instructor led patient assessment scenario. Good educators open lots of stations. Great educators program the waiting time. Here are 10 Everyday EMS Tips activities for the waiting time.

1. Read a CE article relevant to the scenario.
2. Write the narrative for previous patient assessment scenario.
3. Review a series of drug cards before starting the scenario.
4. Answer 10 multiple choice questions.
5. Write 10 multiple choice questions.
6. Listen to a podcast segment.
7. Measure their partner’s vital signs.
8. Create 10 review flash cards.
9. Find a medical reference website.
10. Prepare two questions for review session.

Add your ideas and tips in the comments area.

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Two weeks ago I asked, “If you were to able ask two interview questions of the candidates being interviewed for a Paramedic instructor position what would they be?” I asked for readers to share the questions they would ask for a future blog post.

These are the questions I submitted and the contributions of Everyday EMS Tips readers:



1. Our local EMS medical director has issued a six month ultimatum; either our area medics improve at intubation or he is pulling the tubes. No more ETI. How would you rapidly assess current competency, deliver refresher training and competency assessments, document and communicate that program to medical director and other concerned stakeholders?

2. After finishing the autonomic nervous system lecture (or some other complex topic with chemistry/general science emphasis ) a student says, “I still don’t get it. Can you explain this to me one more time in a way I will understand?” In about 5 minutes give us your explanation to this question.

My bonus questions:
1. Name the professional organization of EMS educators, its mission, and at least two of its primary programs.
2. Have you heard of and listened to the EMSEduCast?

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