Behavioral (Communication) Skills

Reference card from New York EMSC (March 2003).

A Position Paper from the National Association of EMS Educators (NAEMSE)

Abstract: EMS personnel in the U.S. continue to be overwhelmingly Caucasian and male, with 75% being male and 85% identifying as nonminority. While the population of the United States becomes more diverse in ethnicity, religion, and race, the EMS workforce remains largely homogenous and does not reflect the diversity of the population it serves. Given the growing diversity across the country, EMS personnel will increasingly be responding to calls for service involving patients with different cultural backgrounds than their own. This growing gap between providers and the population they serve may exacerbate already existing disparities in care.

Free access

This important document will assure prompt and appropriate care for Children with Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN). Now, when these patients present to emergency departments or health care professionals with an acute illness or injury, physicians, parents, EMS professionals, and nurses will be able to use the Emergency Information Form (EIF) as a tool to transfer critical information.

The EIF will ensure that a child's complicated medical history is concisely summarized and available when it is needed most - when the child presents with an acute health problem at a time when neither parent nor pediatrician is immediately available.

Link to ACEP webpage includes the form (PDF & interactive), a sample/completed form, and ACEP & AAP Policy Statements.