The importance of Professional Education in Emergency Medical Services

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) is a critical component in the delivery of quality healthcare services. Being the first line of professionals to respond and evacuate patients to hospitals, paramedics play a major role in influencing the short term and long term health outcomes the clients with traumatic injuries. In this case, there is need to continuously empower paramedics them with up to date skills and knowledge, to enhance their competence in the profession, through continuous professional education and research in emergency medical services. However, lack of adequate repository of knowledge such as books and scholarly research studies in the field is a major hindrance. This study sought to examine the trend in EMS research, by investigating the scholarly research studies published in the filed in the last 10 years. An electronic search was conducted in the various databases to monitor the number of published scholarly research articles in 13 countries across the world. The study found that although there has been a gradual increase in the number of published research studies during the period of review, the number is so far below the required standards. This indicates low interest in continuous professional development of EMS through research, a situation that hinders delivery of improved services in the field. Also, it is shown the significant resource savings with no changes in clinical outcomes or patient, faculty, and house staff satisfaction through professional education.

Available online at https://int-scientific-journals.com