I recently completed a Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS) course taught by Backcountry Medical (www.backcountrymedical.com). This was an intensive course in trauma care which included a few things beyond my EMT-B scope of practice (cricotomy, needle thoracostomy, and endotracheal intubation). I found it good to have a knowledge and understanding of what an EMT-P would be doing so that I can better assist if needed.
The PHTLS course focuses on ABCDE’s of trauma. The “D&E” were somewhat new to the standard ABCs. The D & E stand for Disability (level of consciousness) and Exposure (visualize all the wounds, or the standard trauma, “strip & flip”). Of course the primary focus is still the ABC’s with management of the airway being paramount.
Another important focus of the course was minimizing prolonged scene times (greater than 10 min) for trauma patients. In order to pass the course, we had a scenario where we had to assess backboard & c-collar, treat major bleeding and be ready to transport in less than 10 minutes. This emphasis of reduced scene times forces the EMT to overlook distracting, non-life-threatening injuries and focus on getting the patient to definitive care.
I highly recommend the PHTLS course for EMT’s of any level. I also recommend the Backcountry Medical folks too. One of the instructors was a combat medic in Iraq with the Army and has a unique perspective on treating trauma patients. Additionally, the Backcountry Medical folks are all SAR volunteers so their understanding of the unique challenges of treating patients in the backcountry.
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