title: Evaluation of a sequential structured educational curriculum for emergency medical technicians in airway management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Emergency medical technician (EMT) training programs for certification vary greatly from course to course, but it is necessary that each course at least meets local and national requirements. It is reasonable to expect that EMTs' performance should improve after a structured educational curriculum. We hypothesized that EMTs' performance in airway management would improve after a sequential structured educational curriculum involving airway, followed by cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) modules, beyond what is achieved after only the airway module.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate this, 76 EMTs were assigned to a 2-week airway module with a structured curriculum. This was followed by the 2-week CPR module, and the EMTs were tested before (preCPR test) and after (postCPR test) the CPR modules for improvement in their airway skills. EMTs also completed a questionnaire to evaluate the curriculum.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PostCPR test mean scores were higher than those of the preCPR test (P < 0.05) except for the bag valve mask domain. EMTs evaluated the curriculum and gave a score of 3.7/5 for perceived achievement of goals of the syllabus for improving their airway skills.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Thus, a sequential, structured curriculum in airway management followed by CPR, improves EMTs' performance levels above what they achieved after only the airway module, except for bag valve mask ventilation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Puducherry, India.
authors.forename: Satyen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Parida
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Puducherry, India.
authors.forename: Sandeep Kumar
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesiology and Critical Care, JIPMER, Puducherry, India.
authors.forename: Ashok Shankar
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: Badhe
keywords: Airway management; emergency medical technician; structured educational curriculum