Comprehensive Evaluation of Critical Thinking Skills and Attitudes of Paramedic Students in an Emergency Medical Services Program

Abstract

in support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)sponsored project entitled Poverty Alleviation and Humanitarian Assistance in the Tumen River Area, which is adjacent to North Korea. Before launching the program, a survey and field assessment were done that identified a large knowledge and skill gap between city hospitals and rural clinics, and a lack of disaster preparedness, even after the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). The program was divided into three phases fostering full participation from January 2003 to January 2005. Each phase followed four steps: (1) needs assessment/planning; (2) curriculum development/customizing; (3) implementing; and (4) evaluation. The first phase consisted of a 10-day workshop to train 30 trainers from eight countries in the Yanbian area as key partners. In the second phase, 300 doctors and nurses from eight counties participated in a five-day workshop consisting of lecturing, arranging, and evaluation by the participants from the first phase. Between the first and second phases, the researchers and local lecturers published a Chinese textbook on Emergency and Disaster Preparedness, which was the first in China. The third phase was a two-day workshop for approximately 900 rural doctors who dealt with emergency cases. Since the educational background of rural doctors varies from elementary school to bachelor's degrees, another five-day train-thetrainers session was conducted for 32 rural doctors prior to the main sessions, with the curriculum and language customized to meet their educational levels. Remarkably, the participants of each session expressed >90% satisfaction of the training and materials, and showed a significant improvement between pre-test and post-test scores. Participants were involved positively during Morning Recap (recapitulation) time and role-play. Throughout the training program, strong cooperation and participation was seen between Yanbian governmental officials and participants. In conclusion, small control and large autonomy motivates a strong partnership and sustainability in emergency care.