National EMS curricula: guidelines or policies for practice?

Medical Director, State of Wisconsin USA As the Medical Director of Emergency Medical Services for the State of Wisconsin, I feel compelled to share the results of our review of the new [U.S.]National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)-sponsored Curriculum for the training of Paramedic-level emergency medical technicians (EMT-P). A Committee of nurse and physician educators from each of the Wisconsin Paramedic Training Centers has been reviewing and evaluating the proposed national paramedic curriculum, line-by-line, since April 1996. As the review process progressed, it became apparent that implementation of the proposed paramedic curriculum would not meet the needs for paramedic education in the State of Wisconsin, and thus, the Committee began a lengthy process of editing and re-writing the material included in the proposed curriculum.