By Nathaniel D. Sweet
The development of an Academy for Anderson County Emergency Medical Services is phase one of a three-phase plan to improve how we can find the best professionals to provide the best care to achieve the best outcomes for every patient. This plan will add to what is already considered one of the most thorough hiring processes for an ambulance service in Tennessee. Currently, we conduct an initial assessment center that is comprised of a 100-question written test, a driving test, medical scenario, a timed physical agility test, and a panel interview.
Passing candidates are scored and placed in order for a job offer, and once a job offer is accepted, the candidate then must go through a fingerprint background check, DMV record check, and physician-performed physical with urinalysis. In the past, once this was all concluded, the candidate would go through two office training days and a month of orientation on the ambulance with a field training officer before being cleared to perform their duties unassisted.
Sadly, this process is much more aggressive than most EMS systems in Tennessee. That doesn’t mean we are content with it; we have identified holes that we are working to improve with an even more thorough process.
Starting in June 2015, we will launch our pilot Academy to achieve our goal of developing a comprehensive process that will identify the best candidate and prepare them to perform all duties once they have graduated and are released to full duty. The pilot Academy will consist of two weeks in class covering a lot of essential topics and training, many of which are not currently covered initially but spread out during their career. It is our intention to expand this academy up to four weeks, which would follow phase two of our improvement process.
Phase two will consist of improving our capabilities to train in areas we are currently lacking. We will bring in a train-the-trainer course for self-defense that is specific to EMS professionals, a field training officer course to improve our current program and increase our ability to teach additional medical and professional courses in house.
Our final phase it to restructure and define the field orientation time with an extension from one month to three months.
So why don’t others do this, and why didn’t Anderson County EMS do this years prior? Primarily for one reason: cost. This process is going to take significant money to develop and maintain. Considering the training costs to get our staff to the point they can teach these functions, plus the cost it will take to pay the newly hired professionals and those teaching them for the amount of time they are being trained, the vacant shifts these professionals are being hired for must be filled with overtime and part time staff until they are ready.
We have reached a point where we believe it is no longer acceptable to not do this. How can we continue to provide the best patient care if we are not hiring the best and training them to be the best? It is our belief that our patients want the best providers when they call 911, and they deserve it!
Nathaniel D. Sweet is director of the Anderson County EMS.
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