ASTM_F_1552_-_94_2016.pdf

Designation:F155294(Reapproved 2016)Standard Practice forTraining Instructor Qualification and Certification Eligibilityof Emergency Medical Dispatchers1This standard is issued under the fixed designation F1552;the number immediately following the designation indicates the year oforiginal adoption or,in the case of revision,the year of last revision.A number in parentheses indicates the year of last reapproval.Asuperscript epsilon()indicates an editorial change since the last revision or reapproval.INTRODUCTIONThe emergency medical dispatcher(EMD)is the principal link between the public requestingemergency medical assistance and the emergency medical services(EMS)system.The EMD plays akey role in the ability of the EMS system to respond to a perceived medical emergency.The benefitsof specifically trained emergency medical dispatchers are far reaching.Through medical dispatch,specific education,and compliance to medically sound policies and procedures,the EMD is able toaccurately interrogate the caller,dispatch the appropriate responders,provide pertinent information toresponders,and give instructions to aid patients via the caller.This practice provides direction for the training and certification of emergency medical dispatchersto assist them in making appropriate decisions about EMS responses in a safe,consistent andnon-arbitrary manner.EMS systems with emergency medical dispatchers trained to this practiceprovide pre-arrival instructions to the caller to assist the patient until pre-hospital care arrives.TheEMD concept provides for safer vehicle response configurations and modes.It may reduce operatingcosts by preserving specialized EMS resources for those emergencies requiring them.The EMD training curriculum is not intended to furnish all inclusive telecommunications educationrequired for the emergency medical dispatcher or public safety telecommunicator.EMD trainingprovides only the additional education affecting the practice of dispatching emergency medicalresources such as ambulances,rescue units,first responder units and other types of responding unitsof an emergency medical nature;coordinating these response units with those of other public safetyagencies;and providing instructions to the calling party to assist in preserving life prior to the arrivalof responding units.The curriculum is intended to provide specific knowledge and medicalinformation above that required of a previously trained and educated basic public safety telecommu-nicator.EMD training is only one module of education required of emergency medical servicestelecommunicators.It is a subspecialty of both public safety communications and emergency medicalservices systems that is required within a comprehensive public safety communications center whereother disciplines of communications are practiced and should be present in all EMS systems.Additional disciplines include law enforcement,fire,and aeromedical telecommunications.This practice is one of a set of applicable standards relating to the emergency medical dispatchfunction.The reader is directed to obtain related ASTM documents that encompass the administrationof EMD programs and Practice F1258.1.Scope1.1 This practice covers the training structure and primaryfunction of emergency medical dispatchers.The primary func-tion of the emergency medical dispatcher is the management ofcalls for emergency medical assistance as outlined in PracticeF1258 and NAEMSP Position Paper on emergency medicaldispatch.Training as an emergency medical technician,paramedic,nurse,physician,or basic telecommunicator doesnot prepare a person to function as an EMD.The emergencymedical dispatching functions have become so specialized thatonly an individual with dispatch specific medical training canperform the required tasks.This practice will delineate thetraining structure for the essential role of emergency medicaldispatcher.1This practice is under the jurisdiction of ASTM Committee F30 on EmergencyMedical Services and is the direct responsibility of Subcommittee F30.02 onPersonnel,Training and Education.Current edition approved June 1,2016.Published June 2016.Originallyapproved in 1994.Last previous edition approved in 2009 as F1552 94(2009).DOI:10.1520/F1552-94R16.Copyright ASTM International,100 Barr Harbor Drive,PO Box C700,West Conshohocken,PA 19428-2959.United States1 1.2 This practice is intended to outline the basic areas ofknowledge required for an EMD,and to standardize theexpectations and training between the various educationalsettings that are available to deliver the EMD training.Thispractice is not intended to serve as a curriculum for a trainingagency.All curricula developed or selected shall include thekey components outlined in this practice.1.3 It is understood that each agency may possess specialand unique needs related to the training of EMDs.However,those specialty training areas that lie outside the scope of thisstandard shall not be included in selected 24 h minimumcurriculum del