Need for EMS education stressed

Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz College for Emergency Medical Services organized the first Saudi forum on emergency medical services (EMS) Education on Sunday, with Minister of Higher Education Khaled Al-Anqari as the guest of honor. The forum's focus was on EMS educational programs from different parts of the world, including the United States, Australia and South Africa, emphasizing selected local experiences from different Saudi universities. The Saudi Commission for Health Specialties standards will also be announced during the forum. The dean of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz College for EMS at King Saud University, Khaled Fouda, said that the forum was a long-awaited event that offered valuable information and future vision for EMS education in Saudi Arabia. In his message, Fouda said that as the Kingdom embarked on industrial and commercial expansion in the wake of population growth, the need for a supply chain network to respond to emergency situations became a logical outcome. Hence, the requirement of EMS to minimize the impact of accidental mishaps and injuries had become imperative. “The remarkable development in the science and mechanisms to provide emergency medical services in developed countries facing the impact of civil and industrial development needs to be accessed and experience transferred to serve the noble goal sought by the government of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for the purpose of reducing the effects of accidents and medical emergencies,” he said. On the services of Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaiz College, he said they underlined the importance of the college, which is one of the first specialized colleges in the Kingdom as well as the Middle East to meet the growing need for specialists in EMS. Hence, the mission of the college is “regional leadership and excellence worldwide in the preparation of competitive outcomes and creativity in the specialties of the science of medical emergencies.” This can be achieved by providing competencies qualified to extend emergency medical services of high quality through the educational environment, supporting remarkable scientific research, continuing medical education, employment of modern technology, the optimal use of available resources and effective partnership, he added. He hoped that the first Saudi forum on EMS education would be an excellent opportunity to exchange knowledge and experience in EMS education. Among the keynote speakers were William Raynovich, associate professor of emergency medical sciences and director of EMS Education Creighton University, USA; Lloyd Denzil Christopher, head of EMS department at Cape Peninsula University of Technology and member of the Executive Committee of Health Professions Council of South Africa; William Lord, associate professor and discipline lead for the paramedic program at the University of Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia; Ron Gui, director of the Australasian Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians; Swaminatha Mahadevan, associate professor of surgery/emergency medicine and associate chief at Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. The first session of the forum dealt with emergency medical services education from the perspective of international experience, with each speaker focusing on his country’s experience: William Raynovich on the United States, William Lord on Australia, Lloyd Christopher on South Africa, and Daifallah M. Razeeni Al Mutairi on Saudi Arabia. The moderator was Ahed Al-Najjar. In the second session, the topics under discussion were emergency medical services education: the national experience, moderated by Mohamed Al-Douah; the Red Crescent’s perspective by Dr. Saif Abu Zaid; the National Guard’s experience by Abdullah Al-Anezi; and Umm Al-Qura University’s experience by Al-Ghamdi. The following is the program for Monday: Pre-Hospital Emergency Care Programs, moderated by Michael Krtek; Simulation in EMS education by William Raynovich; EMS bridging program by Swaminatha Mahadevan; Field and Hospital-Based Training in EMS Education by Lloyd Denzil; Post graduate EMS education (needs & future direction) by William Lord; EMS program accreditation by William Raynovich.