Core Concepts & Takeaways

Objectives of the course are

• Define culture of safety
• Identify and explain the six core elements necessary to advance an EMS Culture of Safety
• Identify the role of the EMS providers in establishing a culture of safety within EMS organizations

An excerpt from the course Paramedic Recert EMS Care | 23-MCIT-F3-4129 | EMS Culture of Safety 

High priority will be given to standards that support safety not only from an operational or technical viewpoint, but from a cultural perspective as well. Possible items for consideration include the following:

• Physical fitness for practitioners (may be preferable for this to initially emerge as recommendations or guidelines rather than standards).
• Shifts/fatigue
• Categorizing and reporting violence against EMS personnel; model legislation outlawing such acts; standards for training to prevent/counter violence and prevent injuries to EMS personnel and patients.
• Checking driver records and similar employment screening.
• Quality improvement and supervision.
• Medical equipment and patient-moving equipment; making equipment loads manageable.
• Ambulance design, maintenance, etc.
• Dispatch standards: Encouragement of prioritized dispatch protocols, for ground and air, to ensure that the response is commensurate with the nature of the emergency and that unjustified risk is minimized.