Why Pediatrics?

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Are you prepared to treat a seriously ill child?

We all know that children are “not just little adults” but did you know that studies have repeatedly documented a low level of pediatric patients by EMS Professionals?

• EMT-Basic classes devote only 3 to 6 hours to pediatrics.¹
• As a consequence of the low volume of pediatric calls, providers often lack necessary experience and confidence.²
• Pediatric trauma is more lethal than trauma in adults³, but mortality could be reduced by improving EMS interventions.⁴
• EMS personnel caring for critically ill pediatric patients often struggle with pediatric dosing¹ and vital signs.
• Training in pediatric resuscitation can boost knowledge and skills initially, but these skills decay rapidly if not revisited. ⁵
• An examination of job satisfaction among paramedics found that pediatric calls were among the most stressful because of their low frequency.⁶

Focus EMS will devote over half of its sessions to the pre-hospital treatment of pediatric patients, potentially doubling the amount of pediatric education received by a new EMS Provider.

**CEUs approved by State Offices in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.  Maine approval pending.

1. Institute of Medicine. Emergency Care for Children: Growing Pains. Washington: The National Academies Press, 2007.
2. Glaser et al. "Survey of nationally registered emergency medical service providers: Pediatric Education." Annals of Emergency Medicine 36, no. 1 (2000): 33-38.
3. Seidel et al. "Emergency medical services and the pediatric patient: Are the needs being met?" Pediatrics 73, no. 6 (1984): 769-772.
4. Ramenofsky et al. "Maximum survival in pediatric trauma: The ideal system." The Journal of Trauma 24, no. 9 (1984): 818-823.
5. Wolfram et al. "Retention of pediatric advanced life support (PALS) course concepts." Journal of Emergency Medicine 25, no. 4 (2003): 475-479.
6. Federiuk et al. "Job satisfaction of paramedics: The effects of gender and type of agency of employment." Annals of Emergency Medicine 22, no. 4 (1993): 657-662.