Paramedic Continuing Education

By Carson Gregory "Greg" Taylor

Providing paramedic service is an undertaking which should not be looked at lightly.

Maintaining paramedic licensure requires a minimum of 48 hours of continuing education every two years. Is this sufficient to maintain skill levels in an industry where mistakes can mean the difference between life and death? Most paramedics can attest to the fact that this number may be sufficient if they are running an adequate number of calls requiring patient assessment and treatment decision skills. However, in an area where it may potentially be days between patient evaluations, I feel 48 hours is no where near enough.

It would be prudent for the Half Moon Bay Fire Department to develop additional theoretical and clinical skills programs. These programs should be aimed at allowing new as well as experienced paramedics in the ranks to maintain a skill level suitable for a department with such a low call volume. Given the high ratio of EMS calls to others such as cliff and water rescue, the benefits of improving the skill level of employees in this area are innumerable. At a minimum, the time spent on EMS training should be in the same ratio with other training as the time spent running EMS calls. It seems this is a small price to pay to ensure the quality of emergency medical care provided to Coastside residents.