Specialty Courses

INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT (ITLS)
Basic Trauma Life Support for Paramedics and Advanced EMS Providers is a 16-hour comprehensive course covering the skills necessary for rapid assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and transportation of trauma patients. Created for the advanced EMT, paramedic and trauma nurse, the primary objectives of the course are to teach the correct sequence of evaluation and the techniques of resuscitation and packaging a patient.

INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT FOR BASIC EMT'S
Basic Trauma Life Support for the EMT-B and First Responder is a 16 hour hands-on training course offering basic EMS personnel complete training in the skills necessary for rapid assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and transportation of trauma patients. The course is designed for those providing initial evaluation and stabilization of the trauma patient.

INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT INSTRUCTOR
This 8-hour course is designed to train qualified Basic Trauma Life Support providers as instructors for the BTLS course. Topics covered include the history of BTLS International, organization of the South Carolina BTLS Chapter, instructor methodology, BTLS course management, and a five minute mini-lecture by each of the participants.

INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT (ITLS) REFRESHER
TheInternational Trauma Life Support refresher course is an 8-hour course for experienced ITLS providers who wish to renew their provider status. New research and techniques are discussed and the skills necessary for rapid assessment, resuscitation, stabilization and transportation of trauma patients are reviewed.

PEDIATRIC INTERNATIONAL TRAUMA LIFE SUPPORT
Pediatric International Trauma Life Support is a training course designed to train EMS and nursing personnel in the proper assessment, stabilization and packaging of a pediatric trauma patient. Recognition of the need to care for the patient's family during an emergency situation as well as the patient and communication techniques to be used with pediatric patients and their family are stressed in this course. This 8-hour course is designed for providers who must initially evaluate and stabilize the pediatric trauma patient. The one-day course format ensures a fast-paced learning environment that focuses completely on the pediatric patient. Lifesaving techniques are taught or reviewed through practical exercises and conditions that cannot be stabilized in the field are discussed so that the student is able to identify victims who must be transported immediately. The course teaches participants the assessment and approach skills required to treat the pediatric trauma patient.

EKG12 SEMINAR
The EKG12 class is a one-day workshop that will provide paramedics, nurses and other medical professionals the basic tools to read and interpret 9, 12 & 15 Lead EKGs. For too many years, paramedics, nurses and other medial professionals weren't being trained in this critical area because the medical establishment felt it was too difficult for them to comprehend. Paramedics and other medical professionals have been either listening to what the doctor tells them or the EKG machine's interpretation of the rhythm. It is time to step up to the plate and acquire this valuable evaluation tool. Bob Mixter, Operations Manager for Berkeley County EMS, is the developer and instructor of the EKG12 Class and will guide you in the use of both 3 lead and 12 lead machines to find a multitude of problems. The EKG12 Class will assist the practitioner in finding and identifying hemi blocks, bundle branch blocks, isolating myocardial infarctions, locating hypertrophy and much, much more.

EMS INSTRUCTOR
The forty-hour EMS Instructor Training Program focuses on those skills necessary to successfully present any of the Certificate EMS courses. The course provides a solid foundation in learning theory, yet moves directly into hands on application. With the emphasis on practical skill development, instructor trainees will complete this course with the confidence and skills necessary to teach any EMS course. This course is designed as a series of interactive lessons facilitated by an instructor trainer. Included throughout the course are group discussions, individual exercises, and scenario based role plays that allow participants to apply their developing instructor skills. The EMS Instructor course is required for anyone wishing to be considered for training as a First Responder Instructor, EMT Instructor, EMT-I Instructor or Paramedic Instructor.

Geriatric Education for Emergency Medical Services (GEMS)
Geriatric Education for Emergency Medical Services (GEMS) is a program developed by the American Geriatric Society. This is a one and a half day course is designed for EMT’s on all levels. This course is designed to address the special needs of the older population. A high percentage of the patients’ seen by EMS personnel are comprised of an aging population with their own needs. The elderly patient has experienced many changes in their body and has unique responses to illness and injury. Paramedics who attend the course will meet the requirements to become a course instructor.

FARMEDICSM
Agriculture consistently ranks as one of the nations most dangerous occupations. Each year, approximately 1,500 deaths and 170,000 disabling injuries occur from farm accidents. This 14-hour course is designed to prepare fire, rescue, and EMS personnel to respond to and manage a farm related emergency. Traditional fire, rescue, and EMS training does not expose personnel to the agricultural setting. This lack of training leads to considerable frustration on the part of rescue personnel when they attempt a rescue on the farm because they are not familiar with farm equipment and practices. Each year many rescuers are injured or killed because they are not familiar with agricultural situations. Offered in conjunction with the FARMEDICSM National Training Center at Cornell University, FARMEDICSM training is designed to teach fire, rescue and EMS personnel the potential dangers associated with farm related emergencies and the proper procedures to use in extrication and rescue on the farmstead. The nature of farm related emergencies taxes the abilities of both rescue and EMS personnel. The differences in farm machinery, its varied locations and the work habits of the agricultural community will provide a wide range of circumstances for rescue personnel. The FARMEDICSM provider course includes lectures on Understanding Farm Accidents, Structure Response, Machinery Response, Farm Chemicals, Machinery Entanglements, Agricultural Trauma and Pre-Hospital Care and Machinery Related Injuries. The course also includes a farm tour and a series of hands on practical extrication evolutions. Space is limited to the first 25 paid registrants.

PEDIATRIC EDUCATION FOR PREHOSPITAL PROFESSIONALS (PEPP)
Presented in cooperation with the American Academy of Pediatrics, this program is designed specifically to teach prehospital professionals how to better assess and manage ill or injured children. The Pediatric Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP) course is an exciting, first of its kind program that represents a comprehensive source of medical information for the emergent care of infants and children. The two-day PEPP Course is a comprehensive, innovative and highly visual pediatric course for both BLS and ALS providers featuring Case-Based Lectures covering many different aspects of pediatric care, Live Action Videos containing real-life footage from the field, emergency departments, and operating rooms, demonstrate step-by-step procedures for assessing and treating pediatric patients, Hands-On Skill Stations to help students practice the hands-on aspects of what they have learned by reading the Student Manual, listening to the lectures, and watching the PEPP Videos. Skill Stations give students an opportunity to handle the equipment, to size the equipment, and to perform the skill under direct supervision, and Small Group Scenarios help students apply information from all aspects of the PEPP Course. Students are presented a scenario and must work together to assess and manage the child appropriately.