National Association of EMT’s (NAEMT) Advanced Medical Life Support (AMLS) course is the first EMS education program that fully addresses how to best assess and manage the most common medical crises in patients, offering a "think outside the box" methodology.

AMLS is the most comprehensive EMS continuing education course addressing the assessment and management of patients. It is for all levels of practitioners with a strong commitment to patient care, including first responders, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, nurses, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, nurse anesthetists and physicians.

The course emphasizes the use of scene size-up, history, interactive group discussion on potential treatment strategies, and physical exam to systematically rule out and consider possibilities and probabilities in treating patients’ medical crises. The course offers an initial assessment-based approach that progresses to a diagnostic-based approach to quickly develop the best treatment plan.

AMLS is a sixteen-hour, two-day program that consists of interactive lectures, teaching and evaluation stations. The interactive/case based lectures include the following topics: Altered mental status and neurologic disorders, Respiratory dysfunction, Shock, Chest discomfort, Endocrine, metabolic and environmental disorders, Abdominal discomfort, Infectious disease, and Toxicologic emergencies, hazardous materials and weapons of mass destruction. Teaching stations follow the associated lectures each day.

AMLS is endorsed by the National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP). It is accredited by the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for Emergency Medical Services (CECBEMS) and is recognized by the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT). Students who successfully complete the AMLS course will receive a certificate of completion that is valid for four years.
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NAEMT's Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) is recognized around the world as the leading continuing education program for prehospital emergency trauma care.

PHTLS promotes excellence in trauma patient management through global education of all providers involved in the delivery of prehospital care. PHTLS is developed by NAEMT in cooperation with the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma.

PHTLS courses improve the quality of trauma care in your area and decrease mortality. The program is based on a prehospital trauma care philosophy, stressing the treatment of the multi-system trauma patient as a unique entity with specific needs. This may require an approach to the trauma patient that varies from traditional treatment modalities.
PHTLS promotes critical thinking as the foundation for providing quality care. It is based on the belief that, given a good fund of knowledge and key principles, EMS providers are capable of making reasoned decisions regarding patient care. The PHTLS course is continuously updated and revised to keep up with the advances in the field, ATLS Guidelines and feedback from PHTLS participants.

PHTLS programs are developed from the Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) Program, a course for physicians developed by the American College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. They follow the principles of trauma care developed by the Committee on Trauma. The Committee provides the medical direction and content oversight for the PHTLS program.

The program at the SoVT EMS conference will be taught according to the PHTLS Version 7 guidelines.
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As several districts are introducing 12-lead telemetry from the scene to the ED, EMT-Basics and EMT-Intermediates are being called on to place electrodes and make a quick study of an EKG. This course is designed to improve the ability for folks at all levels to look at an EKG (3-lead, 12-lead) and make a quick determination of Good vs Bad. This course would be a good refresher for paramedics, RNs and PAs as well.

The course will be taught by Steven B. Anderson, AEMT-P, CIC, Flight Paramedic, Business Development Coordinator, Air Methods LifeNet of New York and Guthrie Air.
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Archer Mayor is the 2004 winner of the New England Booksellers Association award for best fiction—the first time a writer of crime literature has been so honored. He is the author of the highly acclaimed, Vermont-based series featuring detective Joe Gunther, which the Chicago Tribune describes as “the best police procedurals being written in America.” In addition, Mayor is a death investigator for Vermont's Chief Medical Examiner, a deputy for the Windham County Sheriff's Department.

Archer's topics to our audience will include the brilliant insights of a seasoned professional on the role of EMS at a crime scene. Please visit Archer Mayor's website
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During the recent year, the New England Organ Bank has been reaching out to EMS providers with a story of life and donation that can impact how we practice medicine and how we document our calls. What we do with a critical patient can impact the lives of scores of people. This talk is eye opening and bring new attention to decisions each EMS provider makes with difficult situations.
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Dr Lukovits is the director of the cerebrovascular disease and stroke program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH. He is board certified in neurology and vascular neurology. He roots at Dartmouth go back to his 1993 internship there, he joined the staff in 2002. He has published almost 20 articles on a variety of topics including stroke prevention and the relationships between stroke and diabetes. Dr Lukovits will be discussing the development and changes in the management of stroke by EMS and EMS stroke protocols for the Dartmouth catchment area.
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A member of the Darthmouth Hitchcock Trauma services team will present on the relationship between EMS, community hospitals and DHMC-Trauma. Throughout Rural EMS, there are typically three key types of patients that we transport to our regional level 1 center, these are STEMI, Strokes and Trauma. In each of these calls, there is a clock ticking the seconds between recognition and definitive care. Often, physics of time, space and distance are real barriers for those of us who are 90 minutes or more from definitive care. While, the team at DHMC has not found the key for violating the laws of physics, they can provide insights into our successes and those areas where we all need more training.
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Training Coordinator, Mohawk Ambulance, Albany, NY
With the release of ACLS 2011, prehospital providers saw the first systemic use of therapeutic hypothermia. Although currently limited to return of spontaneous circulation after a cardiac arrest, the studies published during the last decade show that cooling the body protects the neurological system and reduces the cellular demands for oxygen. Mr Beebe will discuss the deployment and benefits of therapeutic hypothermia. Please visit Mr Beebe's website: MedicThink.com
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Harriman’s Restaurant & Bar
Stick around and participate in an informal continuation of the learning activities with peers from the region. We can’t offer any training credits for swapping lies and exchanging ideas… but might be a fine way to spend an evening. Just have a bit of fun, why not? Please socialize resonsibly and do not drink and drive. The rooms are reasonably priced.
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The Basic Disaster Life Support (BDLS) course aims to improve the care and coordination of response in disasters and other public health emergencies and by developing a common approach and language among multiple disciplines in the health care community.

The course targets emergency medical service, personnel, hazardous materials personnel, public health personnel and other health care professionals simultaneously and offers a review of natural disasters, traumatic and explosive events, nuclear and radiological events, biological events and chemical events. Information on the health care professional's role in public health and incident management systems, community mental health and special needs of underserved and vulerable populations is also included in the BDLS course.

The American Medical Association designates this live activity for a maximum of 7.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

The instructor is: David M. Burich, MSN, APRN of the Yale New Haven Health System Center for Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Response
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