As we begin the
21st century, enormous changes in the way health care
providers are trained and supported in rural areas of the U.S. and
around the world are on the verge of blossoming. Evidence continues to
mount that distance learning is plausible and effective. Self-study is
proving to be as effective as more traditionally-based approaches for
health care providers and the public they serve. Telemedicine and telehealth projects allow rural health care providers to see and talk
with colleagues in urban health care centers thousands of miles away. As
challenges concerning band-width and transmission speeds are resolved in
rural areas, the internet stands poised to change the face of rural
health care forever. CIT has long been a leader in this ever-evolving
distance learning revolution for rural health care providers. We
continue to have our sights firmly fixed on the future.
Rural Medical Director's Training Project
The Critical Illness and Trauma Foundation is leading a strong
collaborative comprising the Montana State University’s – Burns
Telecommunications Center, the National
Association of State EMS Directors, the National Association of EMS
Physicians, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the
Rural EMS and Trauma Technical Assistance Center and the Indian Health
Service in the development of a web-based medical directors training
program. The project will migrate the existing NHTSA medical director’s
training program from a print based to an interactive web-based format.
Key features will include an expanded section on the medical director’s
role in the preparation for and management of all hazards events, along
with a strong mentorship network and state specific training modules.
The three year project will develop the curriculum, establish the
mentorship network and field test the product in several rural states.
This grant was awarded to CIT through the HRSA/Office of Rural Health
Policy, Rural Health Outreach Program. For additional information
contact the project director, Teri L. Sanddal at
tsanddal@citmt.org.
Community
Planning and Integration
This project grew out of a realization that as requirements change for
EMS providers, communities need to take an active role in determining
the type of EMS agency that best suits their needs. The resulting
step-by-step Community Planning Guide is a tool to help EMS agencies
evaluate their strengths and weaknesses and to provide a clear
understanding of their customers, the needs of those customers, and how
to meet these needs within their community.
Although
initially intended for use by EMS agencies, it is proving valuable for a
wide variety of community-based organizations.
JumpSTART Triage
(click for more)
In cooperation with the National
Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT), CIT evaluated
the effectiveness of JumpSTART training in changing prehospital and/or
registered nurses’ (from school-based settings) performance in triaging
pediatric patients involved in a multiple casualty incident immediately
post-training and at a 3-4 month follow-up interval. A convenience sample
of participants was selected from three divergent geographic locations.
This study was published in
Pediatric Emergency Care.
Sanddal, T.L., Loyacono, T., & Sanddal, N.D. (2004). Effect of JumpSTART training on immediate and short-term pediatric performance.
Journal of Pediatric Emergency Care, 20(11), 749-753.
Iowa
Pediatric Cardiac Care
Some of the
most neglected of all health care providers are the emergency medical
technicians who are the first to encounter a child in a cardiac emergency.
After their initial training and certification, they struggle to stay
current with the constant changes in emergency medical care. These
providers, many of whom work in rural areas of the country, often must
travel long distances to attend training in the latest protocols.
Distance learning shows promise for overcoming the barriers that distance
and isolation can create for these volunteers. A web site devoted to this
important issue, combined with a web-based training course for emergency
medical technicians would serve both to increase awareness of the issues
surrounding pediatric cardiac arrest and to offer in-depth training and
data collection for those who choose to participate. This was a joint
project with the Iowa
Emergency Medical Service for Children and Critical Illness and Trauma
Foundation. See www.kidsdefib.org
for more information.
Family Centered Care
Under a contract with the Federal Emergency Medical Services
for
Children’s (EMS-C) Partnership for
Children Program the
National Association of
Emergency Medical Technicians partnered with the Critical Illness and
Trauma Foundation with the to develop
a CD-ROM training program for EMS personnel focusing on family centered
care. For more information about the CD-ROM, click on its cover.
TENKIDS
(click for more)
One of CIT's most celebrated projects has been the development of an
electronic community that improves communication between EMS
professionals throughout Montana. CIT conceived of a state-wide
electronic community that would breach the barriers of geographic
location and limited funding that hamper sparsely populated areas.
Location of TENKIDS' computers in Montana.
The TENKIDS
study was published in JEMS.
Dawson, D.,
Sanddal, N.D., Pullum, J.D., Threet, K.L.,
DeTienne, J., Obbink, K.K. (1999). TENKIDS: A virtual EMS Montana links
it EMS organizations. JEMS, 24(12), 44-45,47-51,78.
Interactive Desktop Video
Conferencing
(click for more)
Using the unique TENKIDS electronic community as a foundation, the
Interactive Desktop Video Conferencing project provides a link between
prehospital care providers and doctors to improve the quality of service
performed by Emergency Medical Technicians. Ambulance services can also
hold video conferences, as well as exchange computer files (such
as visual patient care records).
Interactive CD-ROM Training
Programs
(click for more)
These CD-ROMs provide interactive training for EMS providers. The
programs use video examples, textual explanations, and on-line testing
to convey critical prehospital concepts.
Here to Help
Domestic violence is a prevailing problem in our society, yet
prehospital providers get little training on how to handle these
volatile calls. Ambulance personnel are often the first people a
victim sees when he o r she needs medical attention. CIT and the
Montana Board of Crime Control created the Here to Help project out
of the realization that those providers have a unique opportunity, not
only to give the victim the immediate help needed, but also to provide
that first helping hand in showing the victim the way out of the vicious
cycle of violence. Additionally, because these providers must often
enter the home of the victim and the perpetrator, it is vital that they
learn how to protect themselves. Here to Help includes an interactive
CD-ROM training program, a print manual and Resources
to Help, a companion web site. For more information about the
CD-ROM, click on its cover pictured above.
Distance Learning
CIT is committed to expanding distance learning for the emergency
medical professionals, taking advantage of the many technologies that
are available and being developed.
The Programs that CIT has conducted
include:
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