Precepting EMT Students Rolla Technical Institute/Center Emergency Medical Technician Information for Preceptors & Students Bradley Schafer Director Fire & Rescue / EMT

Objectives Define the role and expectations of the preceptor Define the EMT training programs at RTI/C Review training principles and tools used with the adult learner Review of the paperwork involved for both student and preceptor

Definition of a Preceptor Tutor, Mentor, Teacher, Advisor Adjunct to the EMS educational process Documenter and Communicator of the clinical process Someone who can give Positive and/or Negative feedback to the Student and our EMS program EMT Preceptors – Paramedics, EMT’s, Nurses or specialist who have been functioning independently in their role for at least one year.

Preceptor Roles The eyes and ears of the training program Help with student succeed and confidence Provide guidance to both student and program Share your knowledge and skill with others

Preceptor Roles 1st Your Patients 2nd Your Department or Service Maintain the Highest Degree of Professionalism Relies different sites have different expectations of students and to educate the student upon how things are done at your site and remember be patient as they may have been shown differently Be Responsible to: 1st Your Patients 2nd Your Department or Service 3rd Your Student

Preceptor Role If the student does not meet reasonable expectations or fails a task, procedure, or concept fail them but You need to explain what the failure point was and how to improve the procedure to achieve a better outcome Remember these students are entry level they are not experts, You are there to advise, guide and mold them You, the preceptor must maintain reasonable and realistic expectations of EMT students

Emergency Medical Technician Must be 17 to participate in clinical experience Must pass a background, drug screen, and pre-entrance exam Evening Adult Community Education Two nights a week and one Saturday a month @ 18 weeks starting in August Fire & Rescue Program: every other year has a high school student EMT class (Odd starting school years)

Emergency Medical Technician Seven Divisions of Training: D1. Prep – Roles – Legal – A&P – Vitals- Lifting and moving D2. Airway maintenance, D3. Patient assessments, D4. Medical Emergencies, D5. Trauma Emergencies, D6.Special Populations, OB and special needs patients D7.Ambulance Operations Can provide basic medical and trauma assessments with care to include spinal immobilization, basic splinting, assisting patient to take prescribed medications; Nitro, Epi-pen and Albuterol MDI. They can give Insta-glucose and Activated charcoal. Provide blood glucose testing with finger stick. Apply and transmit EKG’s. Provide oxygen therapy, airway adjuncts. suction oral and nasal. Use Combi tubes, King airways, and BVM. CPR with use of AED. They Can Not do: Endotracheal Intubation, IV starts, or give most medications, Do Not Read or Interpret cardiac monitor can not provide manual defibrillation or cardioversion.

EMT Student Students enter clinical rotation before course is completed, they are observing and learning as they go. These students enter rotations during the Patient assessment section of the course, Division 3, they have 4 more divisions to navigate. EMT students have not yet made it to entry level proficiency, they need your guidance and expertise to put theory into practice. Preceptors need to have realistic expectations of them. Preceptors need to understand EMT education is a foundational course for entering health care. Not every student will become an EMT but every student deserves the chance to try once they have met criteria to enter clinical rotations.

Teaching Principles and Tools for Adult Learners Get to know the student and their needs Use experiences both yours and theirs Tie theory to practice Provide positive learning environment Provide feedback positive if and when deserved, negative if and when deserved as long as you can also provide improvement suggestions Assist the student to find resources and to look up answers, don’t spoon feed, it’s not fair to you or them

What the Adult Learner wants from you Model the expected behavior of the profession Have a positive attitude about your profession and the people you serve by remaining in EMS. Provide environment of support, acceptance, and teamwork Remember the fact that you were once a student. You did not come out of the womb all knowing, powerful, and perfect Share your thoughts tactfully on how they are doing in your clinical setting

Preceptors know learning is: A Process not an Event A Change in Behavior due to Interactions with Environment of Experience The Acquisitions of Habits, Knowledge and Attitudes Both are a Product of and an Active Process with You!

Evaluation and Communication Observe the students interactions, thinking abilities and treatment of patients, family, bystanders, and the receiving staff Talk with the student about the patient contact, the overall interaction and treatment Actually Read the Documentation and Grade appropriately for the situation E-mail, Call, or Text- I expect Preceptors to make contact feedback both positive and negative of the student – never hesitate if questions, concerns or accolades to E-mail, call, or text As a preceptor your responsibility is to improve the student ability through direct observations, interaction, quality feedback and guidance Catch Problems as they are developing, head them off early before they become insurmountable - If you the preceptor only grumbles about it, without feedback to student or program, remediation process may be lost

Paperwork Clinical Books Life line of the student but belongs to the program Preceptors signature and grade validates the skills obtained and the hours completed by the student Used as an evaluation and grading tool Used as a documentation tool Used as a communication and remediation tool Is considered a legal document for the program, is subject to audit by the Medical Director, BEMS, NREMT, or any other agency that has the rights and request in writing.

Hours Log Each shift the students hours in the hospital or on the ambulance will be logged by a preceptor Date, location, number of hours, and preceptor signature are required. If a preceptor signature is not present the hours will not count toward the minimum qualifications required. A minimum of 8 hours in the hospital and 40 hours on an ambulance is required.

Clinical Skill Requirements Certain minimum clinical skills must be documented by the student in the hospital or on the ambulance and will be evaluated by a preceptor Please make sure the proper clinical skill is being documented with the date, proficiency, location, and preceptor signature are required. If a preceptor signature is not present the hours will not count toward the minimum qualifications required.

Patient Assessments Each patient contact will be documented by the student in the hospital or on the ambulance and will be evaluated by a preceptor Patient refusals or patients the student does not interact with do not count toward the 10 minimum patient assessments required. Space on the back of the patient contact report can be used for preceptor comments, please take advantage and share your insight with the student and the program.

Patient Contact Reports Documentation of patient contact The SOAP format is preferred however documentation that covers the required objectives of the encounter will be accepted The evaluation is not a letter grade or %, it is more an evaluation of the current level of competence of the EMT student Gives early insight to BLS strengths and weakness’s Gives early insight to documentation strengths and weakness’s

Daily Professionalism Each shift the student has in hospital or on the ambulance will be evaluated by a preceptor It is a line by line item. Please evaluate each area. Space on the back of the sheet for preceptor comments, please take advantage of sharing your insight with the student and the program.

Clinical Site Evaluation Student will evaluate the clinical site once they have completed their clinical rotation The information will be used to evaluate the clinical site to make sure the highest level of training is achieved The evaluation will help the program and clinical site key in on trouble spots and correct them in a timely manner This is a tool to help all parties involved both present and future to have the best experience possible

Event Reports/Complaint Reports Your service or department has a process for complaints, follow your chain of command. Any preceptor can contact the clinical coordinator or program director with concerns. Remember in real life if it isn’t written down, it didn’t happen. Rumors and hearsay have no validity, grumbling and gossip have not validity. If you have a problem with one of our students and wish us to act on it, you need to advocate enough for your profession to put the complaint or the concern in writing. Is the complaint personal or professional? The same goes for students, if they have a problem with a preceptor they need to advocate enough for their education to put the complaint in writing. They can be an effective tool for Behavior, Communication, Remediation, Documentation, Reprimands, and/or student Removal from site or program.

Summary Preceptors are the life blood of any EMS training program, Please remember we respect you and need you. We expect the clinical site to assign students to appropriate experienced preceptors, when in doubt call me The students need you to be active preceptors, counselors, teachers and motivators Our expectations are for you to be our eyes and ears, to teach, evaluate, remediate, document Please Communicate, through good communications all things are possible Additional information and clinical documentation visit the web site http://rolla.k12.mo.us/schools/rtirtc/programs/emt_basic/ Thank you !!! Bradley Schafer RTI/C FIRE & Rescue / EMT Director E-Mail: rticemt@gmail.com / office: 573-458-0160 ext.16198