About EPC

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Program Introduction
Pediatric emergency care has traditionally been the most challenging facet of prehospital medicine.  This difficulty has often been attributed to insufficient content and depth of material by initial education programs for emergency medical services (EMS).  In various surveys students have expressed the need for additional training to better understand the anatomical, physiological, and communication challenges surrounding the treatment of children.  In response to these concerns the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) introduced Emergency Pediatric Care (EPC) under it's original name PPC at Outlook 2000 in Reno, Nevada.

 
EPC instructs prehospital providers in the approach of sick and injured children, affords a practical understanding of respiratory, cardiovascular, medical, and traumatic emergencies, and educates about the treatment of children with special health care requirements (such as tracheal ventilation, central venous line management, and gastric feeding tube maintenance).  The program is available in one or two-day educational formats for basic and advanced life support providers.  Its goal is to expand EMS knowledge of emergent pediatric health care through hands-on instruction using case-based scenarios, thus improving patient outcomes.

 History
Development of PPC and the fulfillment of its stated goals required the committed participation of prehospital professionals from throughout the United States with exceptional knowledge in the field of pediatrics.  Dr. David S. Markenson, MD, FAAP, EMT-P led the charge as physician champion of the project by selecting textbook contributing authors, coordinating provider and instructor manual development, and serving as national medical director for this new program.  Course materials and all treatment considerations were based on the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) Model Pediatric Protocols.  Following a multi-year curriculum development process, students from Nevada, Texas, and New York were selected to critically evaluate PPC through “beta-tests” that allowed program planning to be translated into action for the first time.  The success of these beta-tests led to a nationwide rollout of PPC that trained new providers, course instructors, and affiliate faculty.

 With a national education program now underway it became necessary to establish a governing body to manage policy issues, course content, budgetary needs, and ensure proliferation of the program through the education of new faculty.  Critical to NAEMT and Dr. Markenson’s vision that this program meet the needs of prehospital providers, this body, the NAEMT PPC Executive Council, was comprised of representatives of volunteer and career EMS, as well as critical care transport.  Its original members consisted of National Medical Director Dr. Markenson, Chairman Jerry C. Johnston, Dawn Bidwell, Karen M. Caravaglia, James L. Jenkins, Jr., and Pamela Straight.  Following a two-year rollout that saw PPC debut at regional and national conferences, the Council welcomed Dr. Lou Romig, MD, FAAP as National Medical Director, Robert K. Waddell, II as Chairman, and members Kimberly Holmes and Melissa Sally-Mueller.

 Growth and Accomplishment
Since November, 2000 PPC has spread across the North America with entire prehospital systems electing to adopt it as its only pediatric training program.  The course has attracted students and interest from Canada, Portugal, Japan, Argentina, Mexico, and the United Kingdom.  It was the first non-American Heart Association pediatric training program to be approved for PALS renewal and has become a regular component of EMS Expo’s annual pre-conference educational offerings.  In addition, PPC remains the only national prehospital pediatric program that is primarily overseen by EMS providers with the strong guidance of a pediatric emergency physician, rather than a physician-directed course with input from the prehospital community. 

 Conclusion
For several years there has been a need for specialized training in the care of sick or injured children.  NAEMT’s Emergency Pediatric Care program has been carefully designed and extensively tested to provide prehospital providers with the organized approach and advanced knowledge they require to provide the highest quality care possible to their young patients. 

 Please access the web links to the left-hand side of this page to learn more about EPC, what it takes to become an instructor, and how a program can be scheduled in your area.