EMT Review App

EMTReview.com, a sponsor of EverydayEMSTips.com, announced today that their test prep and skill sharpening product is now available for the Android. Read the full announcement about this fantastic Smartphone App for EMTs and Paramedics.

Fire/EMS Blog of the Year

FireCritic.com announced the Fire/EMS Blog of the 2010/2011 contest sponsored by Black Diamond. Visit the FireCritic.com to learn about the contest, Black Diamond, and how to nominate your favorite Fire/EMS blog.

And, yes, I would welcome a nomination, but would rather have readers support two of my favorite blogs: theEMTSpot.com and theSocialMedic.net.

Read related posts and tips:

1. Voting is Open: Black Diamond Boots Fire & EMS Blog of the Year 2010-2011 Voting is now open for the Black Diamond Boots Fire...
2. Fire/EMS Blog of the Year 2009 (#FCBLOG09) My friend, FireCritic, just announced a contest for blog readers...
3. Finalist: Fire/EMS Blog of 2009 Contest Everyday EMS Tips was nominated by my friend Chris Kaiser...

Browse the online version of EMS Pro magazine to read the article “Our Employee Scheduling Journey.” In the article Sgt. Andrew Blackwood explains his organization’s need for a better scheduling solution and their process for selecting EMS Manager.

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Today I am browsing the vendor booths and meeting clients and friends at the Firehouse Expo exhibit hall at the Baltimore Convention Center. Recently I have been spending a lot of time thinking about and developing programming for using online education for new product training. The training required for new products often times limits and or slows the implementation of those products.

During my run yesterday afternoon on a rails-to-trails path in southeast Pennsylvania I thought of three questions I would like to ask a client before delivering the training for a new a product.

1. What is the top problem you are hoping this product will solve?

Then I can ensure that the training, at a minimum, shows them how the product will solve their top problem. After that anything they retain is icing on the cake.

2. What is your primary concern, stress, or heartburn as you think about implementing this new product?

Upfront I want to understand and acknowledge their worries. There is a strong chance other clients have had that same worry and I can train describing how other clients, using our product/solution, overcame that worry.

3. How will we measure successful implementation and adoption of this new product for your organization?

This is subtly different from solving a problem or overcoming a worry. I want to specifically find out from the client how we will measure success. Then during the implementation process I can show them how we are measuring up to that success goal. When we reach the end of a contract period showing success will enhance the chance of a renewal, upgrade, or referral.

Depending on the value and depth of the information already gleaned from the client I might ask one final question.

4. What is unique about your organization and its relationship with training?

Once I have answers to these three or four questions by phone, email, document, or online survey I will fine tune the standard training program with the specific knowledge I have of the client.

What questions do you want answered before delivering a new product training program?

When you receive new product training does the vendor actually know and understand what is unique about your organization?

How do you know?

Read related posts and tips:

1. New EMS Product Purchasing Questions Jamie Davis, the podmedic and host of the MedicCast, has...
2. Tips for Mass Casualty Incident Training Mass casualty incidents are infrequent for most EMS professionals. We...
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Multi-Language Prompter

I had the opportunity to use a trial version of the Poly-Lingo Translation software recently. Poly-Lingo is a “multi-language prompter program designed to remove language barriers and improve patient care.” I used a laptop version that was installed on my local drive from a CD-ROM. Poly-Lingo was developed by Firefighter/Paramedic Ken Kelly.

Features

Poly-Lingo is programmed for touch screen navigation. I was using a non-touch screen laptop, but I was still able to quickly navigate to the questions I wanted to ask. Poly-Lingo is pre-loaded with about 400 questions in eighteen different patient assessment and treatment categories. When you select a question a short audio file of the question is asked. Since most of the questions are Yes/No questions you don’t need to understand the patient’s language you just need to be able to interpret universal expressions for Yes and No.

Screenshots

Check out these Screenshots from Poly-Lingo.com to see the friendly user interface.

iPhone App

According to Poly-Lingo.com an iPhone app is being developed. An app will allow individual providers to access and use Poly-Lingo without the delays and difficulties of making a system wide software purchase and installation of Poly-Lingo to tablet PCs or mobile data terminals inside the ambulance. A smartphone app will also allow users to easily take the software with them to the patient.

For more information on purchasing visit Poly-Lingo.com.

Would you like your EMS product, service, book, or event reviewed for EverydayEMSTips readers? View our product review guidelines.

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Everyday EMS Tips readers looking for a shift calendar application for your Blackberry check out BBShiftCal from Gasda Software. The software description states, “The Blackberry Shift Calendar is a simple monthly view of a Firefighters platoon style shift calendar. You will find the layout very similar to the paper calendar’s you are already used to. You can advance through the months, even show shifts years from now. No more waiting for next years calendar to be printed when your trying to schedule the vacations in the beginning of the year.”

Between now and November 26, 2009 Gasda Software is giving all BBShiftCal sales proceeds to the Chronicles of EMS pilot episode filming, editing, and production.

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Screen casting could be used to demonstrate:
1. Use of punching into a computer time tracking clock
2. Process to transfer data from a cardiac monitor data card to an electronic PCR
3. Proper entry of patient history information
4. Annotation of patient injuries on a body diagram
5. Logging into and selecting a course from an online continuing education program
6. Entering work availability or vacation requests into electronic schedule
7. Joining and participating in your organization’s social network group at Facebook or EMSConnect.com

As you can see the possible uses for screencasting are only limited to the process you want to capture.

Screenr is the screencasting tool I use the most.

Have you made a screen cast for an EMS related software process?

If you are a software vendor and want me to review your software product with a screencast contact me greg dot friese at everydayemstips dot com.

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2. Screencasting Tips for EMS Educators Screencasting has many potential applications for emergency response educators and...
3. Make your Own Screencasts A screen capture tool records the actions on your computer...

Screencasting or capturing using free and easy to use software is a simple technique to make short videos of software processes. Every paramedic shift I use computer software to punch into work and order supplies. On every call my partner and I use a mobile data terminal to find the patient’s locations and track our response times. After every patient contact we document our assessment and treatment using an electronic patient care report. When new features are added to our computer software I receive emails or a short introduction in a quarterly training meeting.

Unfortunately it is difficult to use a text email to describe or teach a visual procedure. Seeing a software process once during a training meeting does not create a lasting resource that I can refer back to when I actually have an opportunity to apply the software process. The screencasting software captures the action on my screen as I open windows, click on dialogue boxes, type text, or otherwise enter data. Many screen casting applications also capture audio input. I use a simple USB microphone headset to describe the actions I am doing as they are performed on screen.

Watch this short screen cast to see how I added a movie to ParamedicTV.com.

This is the video I added at ParamedicTV.com during the screencast.

If you are a software vendor and want me to review your software product with a screencast contact me greg dot friese at everydayemstips dot com.

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For a few hours today EverydayEMSTips.com was out of service. I apologize to any users that visited and found the dreaded, “sorry for any inconvenience this website is down for maintenance.” The mistake was simple. I attempted a website software upgrade beyond my scope of knowledge and when it did not work I was in a bind.

Based on today’s experience here are some Everyday EMS Tips to prevent a service outage:

1. Understand your capabilities. My knowledge of computer programming is limited. When the software was asking questions I did not understand I should have turned around instead of forging forward.

2. Always have a back-up. Fortunately I made a back-up of all of the important files that keep EverydayEMSTips.com running. The solution to today’s problem required re-installing some of the back-up files.

3. Build a support system before you need it. EverydayEMSTips.com is made strong by a team of supporters that understands our site and delivers outstanding customer service. During today’s service outage I was able to call on Jim Kukral at the BizWebCoach.com and Jesse Proudman at BlueBoxGrid.com for rapid assistance. I always appreciate the great customer service they have always provided me.

What are your Everyday EMS Tips for preventing a service outage when installing new computer software or hardware?

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