Emergency Medicine 1: Street Ready
Emergency Medicine 1 ('Street Ready') is based on the National Standard Curriculum for EMS and is part one of a two-part program designed to certify students as US DOT First Responders. EM-1 focuses on many of the most critical skills in the US DOT First Responder program including legal issues, airway and breathing management, circulation, and intervention for illness and injuries. Incorporated within the program are additional skills to expand the scope of practice of the First Responder and enhance self-reliance to reduce risk of patient death from non-fatal injuries.
To receive US DOT First Responder certification, students must complete Emergency Medicine 2: First Responder (EM104-OS) following successful completion of this course.
Topics include:
The EMS System • Well-Being of the First Responder • Legal and Ethical Issues • Lifting and Moving Patients • Adequate/Inadequate Breathing • Foreign Body Airway Obstruction • Recovery Position • Patient Assessment • Medical Emergencies • Burn Injuries • Bleeding and Soft Tissue Injuries • Injuries to Muscles and Bones
Prerequisite
All students attending this course must possess a current CPR/AED certification from the American Heart Association or American Red Cross. AHA CPR/AED certification can be obtained by completeing the S2 CPR & Heartsaver AED course (EM102-OS).
Group On-Site Option
This course may be presented to private groups as on-site training. For details about hosting this course, contact:
Craig Gundry, CPS, CHS-III
DIrector of Special Projects
Email: cgundry@s2institute.com
About the US DOT First Responder Program
The U.S. Department of Transportation (D.O.T.) recognized a gap between the typical eight hours training required for providing advanced first aid (as taught by the Red Cross) and the 120 hours typical of an EMT-Basic program. Also, some rural communities could not afford the comprehensive training and highly experienced instructors required for a full EMT-Basic course. The First Responder training program began in 1979 as an outgrowth of the "Crash Injury Management" course.
In 1995 the D.O.T. issued a manual for an intermediate level of training called "First Responder." This training can be completed in forty to sixty hours. The first responder training is intended to fill the gap between First Aid and EMT-Basic.
First Responders in the US can perform a variety of medical techniques not available to First Aiders.
- Oxygen Therapy
- Childbirth
- Triage and Multiple Trauma
- Airway Management
- Moving Patients
- Assisting Patients in using medications such as inhalers, auto-injectors, nitroglycerin pills, etc.
- Transportation of Patients
- Assisting medical professionals
Lifesaving skills in the first responder course include recognizing unsafe scenes and hazardous materials emergencies, protection from bloodborne pathogens, controlling bleeding, applying splints, conducting a primary life-saving patient assessment, in-line spinal stabilization and transport, emergency defibrillation, when to call for more advanced medical help, and the use of oxygen and airway adjuncts. First Responders can recognize and treat a wide variety of ailments, including, but not limited to, strokes, heart attacks, poisonings, shock, hypo- and hyperglycemia, and heat- and cold-related emergencies. First Responders are also trained to assist with the delivery of babies. However, a first responder does not have an EMT's skill at patient assessment and evaluation. They also lack the basic pharmacology training EMTs receive, and are thus not allowed to administer oral Glucose and Activated Charcoal, or assist with Nitro or inhalers. First responders do not have enough training to be the highest level of certification on a BLS ambulance, but may be present, although this is not their primary duty. They serve as secondary providers with some volunteer EMS services. A certified first responder can be seen either as an advanced first aid provider, or as a somewhat limited provider of emergency medical care.

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