1 FP Newsletter For Critical Care Paramedics November 2014 From the President… It’s hard to believe that another Air Medical Transport Conference has come and gone already. During our Board of Directors meeting, we welcomed Kevin Collopy, Hugh Gilmore, and Matt Pratt as the new members of the IAFCCP Board of Directors. During the conference, I enjoyed speaking and meeting the many attendees, IAFFCP members, and prospective members that came by our booth to visit. The attendance at AMTC this year was up, and the event floor vendor space had sold out. The early indicators overall seem to point towards a successful AMTC. Justin Chain (country music artist and past contestant on The Voice) highlighted our leadership reception on Monday night with his live Musician Justin Chain at the IAFCCP performance. Justin also gave a moving short speech and thanks to Leadership Reception in Nashville our profession for the role an air ambulance played in helping save his life after a 2008 motorcycle crash. Members and guests enjoyed a relaxing night socializing and enjoying the food and beverages graciously sponsored by Golden Hour. For our General Membership Meeting on Wednesday, Kyle Faudree, Regiment Physician Assistant 160th Special Forces Operations Aviation Regiment, was the featured speaker and gave an engrossing speech on his experiences in military transport medicine. During the membership meeting, we also recognized (with much humor) Mike Shown for his many years of service to the IAFCCP as a Board Member. Our members in attendance also got to hear the state of the IAFCCP and various projects in our annual report. After the conclusion of the meeting, the rotation of leadership continued as Richard Childress moved to the position of Past President, Jim Cole to the position of Vice President, and myself Cont’d to the position of President for the next year. on page 2 Mike Shown, Richard Childress at the IAFCCP Membership Meeting 2 In addition to the 150+ educational sessions offered during the Tim Hynes Foundation SMTA conference, the IAFCCP partnered with Erlanger Health Scholarship Program System, LIFE FORCE Air Medical, and PHI Air Medical to provide a critical care cadaver lab on Wednesday. This was the second year the IAFFCP has worked to provide attendees with The THF is accepting a critical care-learning lab and it was a huge success. The Safety Management feedback from attendees was overwhelmingly supportive, and it Training Academy reflects the desire from our members to continue these offerings (SMTA) scholarship in the future. applications through December 31, 2014. The The Board of Directors is already diligently researching what first scholarship will be awarded to an IAFCCP member educational opportunity we can provide at AMTC 2015, but we so they may attend SMTA in June of 2015, and again in need your help. We would love thoughts, feedback, and 2016, to finish their safety credential. suggestions either by email, Facebook, or in person at other conferences. SMTA is a comprehensive overview of the science of safety taught by safety industry experts. The program is Moving forward, 2014 has been a year of projection designed to give the attendees the necessary knowledge completions for the IAFCCP. Our two biggest projects and skills to implement safety practices within their own concluded were the revision and release of the Critical Care program or agency using the same language as their Study Guide and the completion of a interstate paramedic colleagues everywhere. The recipient of this scholarship compact licensure proposal (along with the NAEMT, will receive full tuition including room and board so they Homeland Security, and other agencies). Both of these projects can begin to speak the same language as everyone else have tremendous potential for the association and our members when it comes to safety. in the future. Complete scholarship information is available on the In 2015, I anticipate that the association will examine what IAFCCP website. The application criteria includes a two- projects to work with next. As always, we want suggestions part essay describing “why” the applicant believes safety is and feedback from our members because the end goal of the important and then what they will do with the association is to represent our members and work for the information they learn at SMTA to help others in the betterment of the profession. critical care transport learn the language of safety. Regards, Remember, it’s “For Your Safety” regardless of the Kelly language you speak. By John R. Clark, THF President IAFCCP International Liaison Statement There are flight and critical care paramedics all over the world. You will find us in the Canadian arctic, in the busy skies above London UK, over the Alps in Europe, and all the way down to the Blue Mountains in Australia. Flight and critical care paramedics everywhere are providing excellent and safe patient care in some of the most challenging environments imaginable. Recently the IAFCCP decided to focus more attention on international flight and critical care paramedics. With the creation of the International Liaison position on the board of directors, and the hard work of my predecessor Jurgen Gollwitzer, the IAFCCP is moving towards engaging its international membership more consistently. There are a multitude of issues the international membership faces including safety, representation of the profession amongst local professional associations and organizations, government legislation and oversight, and a myriad of clinical issues. Paramedics in every region of the globe face challenges. And every region will have its own unique issues. To truly put the “International” into IAFCCP I need to hear from paramedics around the world. Specifically, I need to hear how the Association can help grow this profession worldwide. It’s a daunting task to try to get the entire membership to feel represented by their organization. It will start with dialogue. Please take the time to talk to your Association representatives. Tell us about the issues you are facing as flight and critical care paramedics. There are many things the IAFCCP can do to strengthen this profession globally, but it needs to start with you, the membership, letting us know what’s important to you. We also want to hear about your experiences as flight and critical care paramedics. Stories, pictures, video, social media are all of interest to us. The capacity to share knowledge is so accessible today, and it is wonderful to see how your peers operate in other places around the world. There are always lessons to be shared. Hugh Gilmour International Liaison 2 IAFCCP AMTC Leadership Reception It was a warm Nashville evening after a jam packed first day at AMTC, but over 50 people attended the IAFCCP Leadership Reception sponsored by Golden Hour. The event was attended by members, their significant others, and friends of IAFCCP. Country Singer Justin Chain and his band provided live music for the event. Justin had been a trauma victim whose life had been saved in part by the helicopter service from his community. "I am lucky to be alive, and thankful to those who rescued me and to all of you who work in the air medical profession," said Chain. He had been one of the contestants on Season 5 of "The Voice" and has almost fully recovered from his injuries after being told he might never walk again. Government & Legislative "This is just a wonderful turn out from our quickly growing Affairs Committee Update association," stated outgoing President Richard Childress. "Our association is so much more than information and benefits, it's a growing team of critical care 4th Quarter Update from GLAC paramedics from around the world." By the time you have read this, the US Election Day Be safe, 2014 will have come and gone, with some changing of Chris Hall the guard at all levels of government, for better or for Past President worse, depending on one’s perspective. Some results will likely be undecided as well, as there are some very close races that may result in extended vote counts and run-off elections. Of course, your home country may have already completed its round of elections (in which New Critical Care Exam case you have already witnessed the spectrum of political theater) or your home country has this in the Review available on Kindle future (in which you have yet to experience again the pleasure of political entertainment/drama in your future). Depending on your location, timing, and results, congratulations or condolences are extended. The GLAC wishes to thank those who responded to our call to serve on the committee. Your letters were received and have been reviewed by the IAFCCP Board, and it was remarkable to see the level of interest that created a competitive field for participation on GLAC! We look forward to contacting you soon to offer you a spot on the committee. While this matter is extremely important, other items demanded greater urgency. Please look to the future for correspondence, as the Board announces the names of the candidates selected. This new study guide, available on iBooks, Kindle and For our international members, if you have items that in printed form on EMSBooks.com offers a convenient fall under the government/regulatory banner, please way to prepare for the FP-C® and ® feel free to share with your International Liaison, Hugh CCP-C examinations! The iBooks study resource Gilmour, or with the GLAC Chair, Chris Hall. If we matches the broad content divisions of the FP-C® an ® can start the conversation, we can then discuss how the CCP-C exam outlines, and features over 400 critical IAFCCP may be able to help (or how the IAFCCP can care transport questions as well as detailed rationale listen and learn, at least).