Traffic Tech #92: Emergency Vehicle Operators Course Revised for Ambulances

Number 92                                                             April 1995

EMERGENCY VEHICLE OPERATORS COURSE REVISED FOR AMBULANCES

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) develops training courses that are responsive to the guidelines established by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 as amended. One of these courses is the Emergency Vehicle Operator's Course (EVOC) for Ambulances as part of the National Standard Curricula. The goal of the EVOC is to reduce the incidence of emergency vehicle crashes.

To ensure that the revised EVOC would meet the training needs of the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) community, NHTSA established a Curriculum Develop-ment Group representing five major EMS organizations. The group identified three major goals for the course revision. First, a training task list was developed to identify essential knowledge and skills for the operator. Second, the course materials had to provide enough information so that they could be presented by qualified EVOC instructors in rural and urban organizations. Finally, the format of the lesson guides and participant manual had to be easy to use and include space for state and local requirements as well as standard operating procedures. The curriculum was revised in three separate modules.

Module A contains 16 hours of classroom instruction with 10 separate lesson guides to cover the basic knowledge required for ambulance operators. It includes a sample checklist for both a quick check and full check ambulance inspection, work request forms, hand signals, and test questions. An appendix contains a review of the principles of adult learning and effective presentation techniques. Another appendix discusses some of the training management areas that EMS managers should consider.

Module B takes the training to a driving range where participants practice ambulance operator skills. There are 10 exercises in this module with directions on how to set up the exercises and rate a participant's performance.

Module C builds on the knowledge and skills the participant learned in the first two modules. A participant begins a series of supervised on -the-job training sessions. This training is necessary because there are operational tasks that cannot be evaluated in other than an operational setting. Participants are assigned to qualified partners who coach and evaluate their performance. Upon completion of the module, organizations issue certificates of completion to successful participants.

The course materials were pilot tested in Bucks County, Pennsylvania and Miami, Florida. Both Pennsylvania and Florida have statutes requiring ambulance operators to complete a state approved ambulance operator training program before they can operate an ambulance. The managers, instructors, and participants all gave the course high marks. The revised curriculum combines the technical aspects of ambulance operations with demonstrated performance of the participant.

On about May 30, 1995, the Instructor Guide and Participant Manual of the Emergency Vehicle Operator's Course, Ambulance: National Standard Curriculum will be available for purchase in both hard copy and CD-ROM from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, PO Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954. Telephone orders may be placed at (202) 512-1800.

U.S. Department of Transportation
National Highway
Traffic Safety
Administration
400 Seventh Street, S.W. NTS-33
Washington, DC 20590

Traffic Tech is a publication to disseminate information about traffic safety programs, including evaluations, innovative programs, and new publications. Feel free to copy it as you wish.

If you would like to receive a copy contact:
Linda Cosgrove, Ph.D., Editor,
Evaluation Staff Traffic Safety Programs
(202) 366-2759