Raven EMS Education Program ManualRAV-423 Community Paramedicine Modules (CPM) Course
 | The Community Paramedicine course series focuses on the knowledge and skills that paramedics need to succeed as community paramedics (NAEMT, 2024). |
Course Description
As paramedics are increasingly depended upon to provide preventive as well as emergent and urgent care, these courses are outstanding education for all paramedics. The series is also designed to prepare paramedics to take the IBSC Community Paramedic certification (CP-C) exam (page 333). The Mobile Integrated Health Care program is designed for current Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and ambulance service personnel to expand their skills and career opportunities and make a profound difference in the communities where they work. This program will train students to help individuals overcome barriers to accessing and benefiting from health service; serve as advocates, facilitators, liaisons and resource coordinators; provide appropriate care for emergencies, evaluation, triage, disease management and mental health; as well as prevention; and mentor and empower residents, communities and health care systems to achieve positive outcomes and reach optimal wellness (Combined course library, 2024; NAEMT, 2024).
Prerequisites
Course Options
The courses within the series may be taught individually or combined to create a semester-long community paramedicine program. Individual courses within the series include.
- Motivational Interviewing: Motivational Interviewing is a 6-hour interactive classroom course designed to introduce paramedics to the core concepts of motivational interviewing, social and cultural determinants of health, theory of change, SMART goals, and both why and how to establish professional boundaries with patients. Lessons include:
- Introduction to Motivational Interviewing
- Understanding Our Patients
- The Spirit of Motivational Interviewing
- Active Listening
- Ambivalence and Resistance
- Setting Goals and Problem Solving
- Wellness and Nutrition: This 3-hour course teaches students to identify and assist their patients in making healthy food choices. It defines the five food groups, nutrient types, vitamins, and minerals, and the characteristics of a well-balanced diet. Students will learn to conduct a nutritional assessment, develop a food plan, interpret food labels, and identify food safety and handling practices. Students will also be introduced to nutritional considerations for special groups. This course covers the following: nutrition in health; nutritional assessment and planning; and nutritional considerations for special groups. Upon completing this course, students will
- Understand the need for nutrition in health
- Be able to identify the components of a well-balanced diet for a healthy adult
- Understand how to conduct a nutritional assessmentUnderstand how to conduct a nutritional assessment
- Be able to differentiate nutritional considerations associated with chronic conditions and physiologic changes in the older adult
- Hospice and Palliative Care: Hospice and Palliative Care is a 5-hour course that introduces students to end-of-life care concepts and discusses the process of dying. Students will learn to differentiate between palliative and hospice care and identify members of the patient’s healthcare team. Students will discuss the bereavement, mourning, and grieving processes and identify cultural and religious differences in managing end-of-life issues. Students will also learn interaction techniques to use with patients, family members, and children. In addition, students will be introduced to care plans and potential complications and learn to differentiate between types of advance directives. After completing this course, students will:
- Be able to identify the differences and similarities between palliative and hospice care
- Understand the bereavement, mourning, and grieving processes
- Understand the techniques and strategies for interacting with patients, family members, and children
- Recognize the importance of collaboration with other members of the healthcare team in providing end-of-life care
- Be able to differentiate between advance directives, do not resuscitate orders, living wills, and healthcare powers of attorney
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse: As of July, 2024, this course was still under development by NAEMT.
- Geriatrics: As of July, 2024, this course was still under development by NAEMT.
- Pediatrics/Children with Special Health Care Needs: As of July, 2024, this course was still under development by NAEMT.
- Endocrine Disorders: Endocrine Disorders is a 3.5-hour course that teaches students working as community paramedics to assist patients diagnosed with endocrine disorders. The course will provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of endocrine disorders, present case studies on patients with chronic diabetes, review patient education tips, and learn techniques in diabetic care. The course will also explain management techniques for patients with other common chronic, sub-acute, and acute endocrine conditions. Students will participate in guided discussions, role play activities, and identification of community resources. After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Discuss endocrine system anatomy and physiology
- Describe management of chronic, sub-acute, and acute conditions in patients with endocrine disorders
- Identify social determinants of health in patients with endocrine disorders
- Discuss healthcare and community resources, medications, and goals in patients with endocrine disorders
- Discuss approaches to patient education for patients with endocrine disorders
- Respiratory Disorders: Respiratory Disorders is a 5-hour course that teaches students working as community paramedics to assist patients diagnosed with respiratory disorders. The course will provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of respiratory disorders, present case studies on patients with COPD and asthma, review patient education tips, and learn techniques for addressing acute-on-chronic disorders (e.g., pneumonia). The course will also explain management techniques for patients with other common chronic, sub-acute, and acute respiratory conditions. Students will participate in guided discussions, role play activities, and identification of community resources. After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Discuss the importance of self-management for patients with chronic respiratory disorders
- Describe a community paramedic’s role in the monitoring, management, and education of patients with respiratory disorders
- Demonstrate the strategies to employ when assessing a patient with a respiratory disorder
- Identify the signs and symptoms of an exacerbation of a respiratory disorder
- Apply the principles of therapeutic intervention to management of patients with chronic respiratory disorders
- Cardiovascular Disorders: Cardiovascular Disorders is a 3.5-hour course that teaches students working as community paramedics to assist patients diagnosed with cardiovascular disorders. The course will provide students with a more comprehensive understanding of cardiovascular disorders, including acute coronary syndrome, coronary artery disease, heart failure, and hypertension. The course will help students to demonstrate strategies for patient assessment, review case studies on patients with chronic hypertension, discuss patient education tips, and learn techniques in caring for patients with heart failure. The course will also explain management techniques for patients with other common chronic, sub-acute, and acute cardiovascular conditions. Students will participate in guided discussions, role play activities, and identification of community resources. After completing this course, students will be able to:
- Describe the community paramedic’s role in monitoring, management, and patient education for patients with cardiovascular disorders
- Identify best practices in community paramedicine for patients with chronic hypertension
- Recognize signs and symptoms of thrombophlebitis
- Discuss strategies to monitor patients with heart failure
- Neurologic Disorders: As of July, 2024, this course was still under development by NAEMT.
- Role of the Community Paramedic in Mobile Integrated Health: As of July, 2024, this course was still under development by NAEMT.
Change Log (7.25.916.C423)
| Date | Author | Description of Change | Citations |
|---|
| 2025-01-12 | Becker, T.Theron Jack Becker | Moved this course to its own page from x.xx.916. | |
