Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS)

The Advanced Medical Life Support  course is a two-day, in-depth study of medical emergencies developed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians. This course emphasizes a practical approach and format for the assessment and management of medical emergencies encountered in the prehospital environment. The curriculum is designed to allow for an ample amount of hands-on physical assessment of patients through case-based scenarios. The AMLS course is appropriate for advanced care providers such as paramedics and EMS nurses. The EMSLRC awards 16 CEHs for EMS Providers who complete the entire course.

Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS)

The Prehospital Trauma Life Support course is a two-day, in-depth study of trauma emergencies developed by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians and endorsed by the American College of Surgeons. This course emphasizes a practical approach and format for the assessment and management of trauma patients encountered in the prehospital environment. The curriculum allows for hands-on physical assessment and treatment of patients through case-based scenarios. The PHTLS course is appropriate for advanced care providers such as paramedics and EMS nurses. The EMSLRC awards 16 CEHs for EMS Providers who complete the entire course.

Trauma Nursing Core Course (TNCC)

This course is conducted by Emergency Department educators at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and is intended for licensed nurses who work in the emergency care setting (at least six months of experience recommended). Widely recognized by hospitals and trauma centers worldwide, this course taught by qualified emergency nurses, delivers the knowledge, critical thinking skills and hands-on training needed to keep trauma patients safe and improve outcomes, including:

• The latest trauma nursing practice recommendations
• Systematic assessment and application of care
• Rapid identification of life-threatening injuries

The Emergency Nurses Association will issue certification verifying the successful completion of the TNCC course. Expiration of the verification will occur four years from issue date. This course is held in cooperation with the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Department of Nursing, an Iowa Board of Nursing approved provider Number 34. A total of 18.3 nursing contact hours will be awarded at the successful completion of the full TNCC course. The Emergency Nurses Association is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation and qualifying participants may receive contact hours towards Emergency Nurses Association credentials.

Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (ENPC)

The Emergency Nursing Pediatric Course (Provider) program is conducted by Emergency Department educators at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. It is designed to provide core-level pediatric knowledge and psychomotor skills associated with professional nursing care provided to the pediatric patient. The ultimate goal of ENPC is to improve the care of the pediatric patient in the emergency care setting and increase the skill and confidence of nurses who care for children no matter the setting. The Emergency Nurses Association will issue certification verifying the successful completion of the ENPC course. Expiration of the verification will occur four years from issue date. This course is held in cooperation with the University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics Department of Nursing, an Iowa Board of Nursing approved provider Number 34. A total of 13.25 contact hours will be awarded for full-time attendance.

Tips for planning effective continuing education classes

First – make sure your application is submitted with sufficient time for approval. We require at least 30 days in advance of your requested dates to make sure we have time to review and clarify any information prior to approval. Iowa regulations expressly prohibit retroactive continuing education approvals. We cannot, under any circumstances, award continuing education to a class that has already been presented.

Plan what topics you will be presenting and where do they match up with the EMS continuing education topics. We recommend planning continuing education to align with the recertification requirements of both Iowa and the national core content of the National Registry NCCP program (see https://nremt.org/document/nccp).

Will your sessions be lecture, hands-on, or both? Hands on sessions help to reinforce lectures and keep your learners engaged. When considering skills, keep in mind what the skill is used for. For example, a skill session that reviews long bone, joint, and traction splinting would fall into the trauma category. A tabletop or hands on mass casualty drill would appropriately fall into operations.

How will you evaluate your continuing education sessions? An evaluation component of some type is not only required but is best practice. At a minimum, you must obtain an evaluation of the program delivery. We also suggest evaluation of the accomplishment of the objectives by the learners. This could be a pre-test and/or a post-test, short quiz, or a skills evaluation sheet in the case of skills presentations. It is good practice to keep these evaluations on file at your facility. The EMSLRC provides an evaluation of the class form. The course evaluation forms should be sent to the EMSLRC along with the rosters. Please send all the forms, not a summary.