First Responder to EMT-Basic Bridge Course
Regional EMS Councils in Pennsylvania are developing and offering a first responder to EMT-Basic bridge training program. Currently the course length is 80 hours of in-person classroom and skills lab attendance. Upon successful completion of the course students will take the PA DOH practical and written examination to become EMT-Basics.
If I were developing a first responder to EMT-Basic bridge I would use this structure:
1) initial in-person meeting with instructor to share expectations, review successful completion criteria, and to ensure access to online materials and lessons
2) course competency assessment by an instructor of important skills from first responder training and practice like BLS, patient assessment, epinephrine administration, splinting, and wound management.
2) optional review of all first responder didactic lessons online
3) mandatory viewing of all EMT-Basic didactic lessons and EMT-B skills demonstrations online
4) skills lab demonstration of EMT-Basic skills especially related to drug administration, back board application, and general patient assessment
Overall, I would minimize the mandatory classroom and skills lab time by use of competency check-offs and online distribution of didactic lessons. It would be especially important that skills lab time was heavily weighted towards as real as possible patient assessment scenarios that include completion of a patient care report, careful instructor observation, and realistic patient scenarios.
Tags: EMT-Basic, First Responder, Hybrid, Pennsylvania, Refresher