Aim: The purpose of this study was to provide an overview of the evolution of emergency medical services (EMS) in Saudi Arabia to describe its history, organisational service providers, governance, EMS statistics and the educational development of the field with the disparity of educational approaches. Background: The EMS is an important part of the healthcare system as it is often the first point of contact for medical emergencies. The EMS in Saudi Arabia has seen a number of positive changes over the past decade, some of which include the development of several university and college programs dedicated to teaching EMS, the evaluation of the profession from a post-employment first aid model into a pre-employment bachelor's degree model, the generous governmental scholarship grants overseas and the official accreditation of EMS as a profession. It has been approximately nine years since the first EMS bachelor's degree programs were developed in Saudi Arabia, some of which were directly adopted from universities in developed countries such as Australia. Despite these positive changes, the current EMS system in Saudi is faced with many challenges, both organisational and educational, including the lack of research, community involvement, the educational status of practitioners and the inconsistencies of statistics relating to response time and rate of transfer. This paper describes the history of EMS in Saudi Arabia with a specific focus on identifying the disparity in the educational outcomes and approaches adopted by colleges and universities in the Kingdom. Methods: The data utilised for the research of the EMS profession in Saudi Arabia were obtained from the literature using search tools such as MEDLINE, Google Scholar, Saudi health journals, Saudi university websites, government reports and statistics. Conclusion: The EMS profession in Saudi Arabia has advanced greatly in the past 12 years. Yet there is still scope for considerable improvement, especially with regards to developing empirically identified core competencies for EMS bachelor's degree graduates. There is also the need for providing more outreach to the public to improve awareness of current services and available training, building more collaboration between the industry employers and academic institutions and investing further in EMS research through the development of Saudi-based postgraduate master's and PhD EMS degrees. This paper is the first to provide an overview of the EMS service in Saudi Arabia, for institutions and researchers to gain a better understanding of the history and current standing of the service from an educational and operational perspective.

No abstract

Trauma is a major public health problem in Saudi Arabia and a leading cause of mortality and morbidity in young age groups. In 2018, traumatic injuries caused by road traffic accidents were the leading cause of death after ischemic heart diseases. Therefore, a new road safety system is important to reduce the incidence of road accident trauma. First aid care by bystanders to road accidents must be improved to become an effective part of pre-hospital care and avoid aggravation. Moreover, trauma centers need further training and education to provide a high level of trauma care. However, literature about trauma care in Saudi Arabia is lacking. Thus, this paper aims to provide an overview of the Saudi trauma system, emergency medical services, and healthcare providers’ training and education efforts.

IntroductionThe emergency medical services (EMS) education in Saudi Arabia has evolved considerably during the past decade and this rapid improvement has seen a disparity of educational approaches. Therefore, a core competency framework which aligns with the requirements of Saudi EMS education should be identified and accommodated. The aim of this study was to obtain professional group consensus on the desirable core competencies for EMS Bachelor degree graduates in Saudi Arabia in order to develop a core competency framework for Saudi Arabian EMS.MethodsA two-round Delphi method using a quantitative survey with a purposeful sampling technique of expert information-rich participants was used. The instrument comprised 40 core competency statements (rated on a 1-10 Likert scale, with 1 being ‘not important at all’ and 10 being ‘extremely important’) and an open-ended question. An international systematic scoping review and local national review informed the items in this study.ResultsAt the end of the second round, the response rate was 70%, and the sample demonstrated diversity in terms of qualifications, expertise and discipline. All core competencies achieved a majority and stability in the first and second rounds. Core competency items achieved the 75% consensus requirement.ConclusionThis study provided consensus on 41 core competencies specific to Saudi EMS industry requirements. However, the findings do not represent a definitive blueprint model for alignment into EMS curricula. Further research and statistical modelling for the core competencies are highly recommended.

IntroductionInternationally, emergency medical services (EMS) are an essential access point to the healthcare system. Building an understanding of the professional, educational and demographic profiles of an EMS workforce is important. The aim of this study is to statistically test the professional profiles of EMS providers against the Saudi ParamEdic Competency Scale (SPECS) model factors.MethodsHealthcare providers working for the Saudi Red Crescent Authority (SRCA) were surveyed using a cross-sectional study design with purposive sampling technique. The independent variables were tested against the five SPECS model factors of ‘Professionalism’, ‘Preparedness’, ‘Communication’, ‘Clinical’ and ‘Personal’.ResultsOf the 1260 surveys distributed, 909 surveys were returned (72.14% response rate). A total of 927 EMS healthcare professionals contributed to the study of whom 866 (93.4%) were male and 61 (6.6%) female. Of the participants, 552 (59.5%) were aged 29–39 years and 508 (54.8%) had 5–9 years’ experience. ConclusionThis is the first national study to explore and contextualise the diverse professional stakeholders in Saudi EMS. The study was able to employ the professional profiles of the participants in understanding the different perceptions of the SPECS model. We recommend that future research address the specific differences identified in the demographic, professional and educational aspects of this study.