EMS WORKFORCE FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
To help promote a sufficient, stable, and well-trained EMS workforce for the future NHTSA and the Health Resources and Services Administration’s EMS for Children Program are funding a project which includes a systematic assessment of the Nation’s EMS workforce. The goals of this project are to develop a consensus-based national EMS workforce policy agenda, and to develop priority action steps for assuring a robust EMS workforce. Topics such as turnover, challenges with recruitment, and concern with worker wellness and safety will be among the issues to be addressed.
The Center for the Health Professions at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), is assisting NHTSA by conducting a literature search and reviewing reports, publications, unpublished materials, and Web site information relevant to the EMS workforce. The center has also explored existing data sources and conducted interviews with national EMS experts to explore multiple EMS workforce issues. Summary findings were shared with national EMS stakeholders at a September 11-12 meeting in Washington, DC, where work was begun on development of an EMS Workforce Policy Agenda.
NHTSA OFFICE OF EMS
Drew Dawson , Director 202-366-9966
drew.dawson@dot.gov
Susan McHenry , MS 202-366-6540
susan.mchenry@dot.gov
David Bryson , EMT-B 202-366-4302
dave.bryson@dot.gov
Gamunu Wijetunge , NREMT-P 202-493-2793 gamunu.wijetunge@dot.gov
Laurie Flaherty , RN 202-366-2705
laurie.flaherty@dot.gov
Debbie Boykin 202-366-5440
debbie.boykin@dot.gov
Julie Krueger, Public Health Fellow 202-366-5016
julie.krueger@dot.gov
Jenny Hansen (Contractor) 202-366-5598
jenny.hansen@dot.gov
Cathy Gotschall , ScD 202-366-1282
cathy.gotschall@dot.gov
Address
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
Office of EMS
400 Seventh Street SW. (NTI-140)
Washington , DC 20590
PHONE: 202-366-5440 FAX: 202-366-7721
Web page: www.nhtsa.dot.gov
To order EMS materials and publications, visit the NHTSA Web site at www.nhtsa.dot.gov , and click on “Traffic Safety Materials & Publications” in the Quick Links section. |
We need your input on this on-going project. An “EMS Discussion Blog” site has been established by UCSF at www.emsworkforce.com. We would like input from a broad range of people involved in EMS. Please feel free to post your comments to any and all questions on this site. For more information on the EMS Workforce project, contact Gamunu Wijetunge.
DID YOU KNOW?
Did you know that compared to U.S. national estimates (regardless of gender, age, or race), EMTs are more likely to drive faster and less likely to use safety belts when driving for personal, non-work-related purposes?1
These results were based on data collected from approximately 2,000 EMTs by the LEADS Project (Longitudinal Emergency Medical Technician Demographic Study), and compared with the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System and NHTSA’s Motor Vehicle Occupant Safety Survey. The LEADS Project is a 46-item demographic and attribute questionnaire sponsored by the National Registry of EMTs that has been administered annually since 1999. For more information on LEADS, go to http://www.nremt.org/about/lead_survey.asp or contact Gregg Margolis at greggm@nremt.org or 614-888-4484.
1 Pirrallo, R., Levine, R. and Dickison, P. “Behavioral Health Risk Factors of United States Emergency Medical Technicians: The LEADS Project. Prehospital and Disaster Medicine, July-August, 2005 (20) 4: 235-242. |