Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

AMPA

2005; Elsevier BV; Volume: 24; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.amj.2005.01.003

1532-6497

Kenneth J. Robinson,

Travel-related health issues

Maintaining a state-of-the-art transport program requires continuous education. These forums take many forms and may teach a new crewmember important fundamentals of transport medicine or may enable the experienced crewmember to consider an old problem in a different manner and thereby become safer or more efficient. Everyone at every program—communicators, administrators, aviation staff, and medical crew—can benefit from continuous education. While it is easy to become complacent once competence is attained, continuous education must be embraced and sought by all program members and encouraged and supported by administration. AMTC is probably the most common source of further learning in our industry, but the opportunities are not limited there. A number of excellent programs are being offered in the coming months. These include the AAMS Spring Conference, Critical Care Transport Medicine Conference (CCTMC), Medical Transport Leadership Institute (MTLI), and AIRMED 2005 in Europe. The AAMS Spring Conference (www.aams.org) is held in the Washington, DC, area in March. This meeting concentrates on administrative and industry-wide issues, such as interactions with the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid, safety, and relationships with the FAA and NHTSA. It includes a trip to Capitol Hill to visit legislators and update them on issues important to our industry. This meeting is open to all but is most commonly attended by administrators and program directors. The CCTMC (www.ampa.org) visits various cities and usually occurs in April or May. This year the conference involves a cruise from Long Beach, California, to Mexico. The goal of CCTMC is to offer a strong, clinically oriented program. Topics include any aspect of patient care and safety and clinical research. Many associations, such as NAACS, ASTNA, and AMPA, hold preconferences or other types of workshops immediately before CCTMC or concurrently. This meeting is open to all but is most commonly attended by transport crews or those attending the workshops or preconferences. The MTLI (www.aams.org) is a two-part program (1 week each year for 2 years) held in Wheeling, West Virginia, in the spring. This intensive course covers all aspects of the administration of a transport program, including finance, HR issues, budgeting, marketing, and leadership. This course is open to all but is most commonly attended by managers, supervisors, or program leadership. MTLI is also a good learning opportunity for an experienced crewmember who is seeking a broader understanding of the transport industry in a finite, manageable forum. Finally, AIRMED (www.airmed2005.org) is an international air medical transport congress that occurs every 3 years in various countries and at different times of the year. AIRMED 2005 will be held in Barcelona, Spain, in late June. The goal of AIRMED is to share information concerning transport medicine at an international level. The varied topics include clinical issues, safety, aviation, finance and operations, research presentations, and international cooperation. AIRMED is open to all and is not directed at any specific discipline; medical crew, aviation staff, communicators, and administrators will all find something of interest. In addition, some of the U.S.-based associations, such as AMPA and AAMS, hold preconferences or workshops immediately beforehand. Continuous education should be an integral part of any transport program. Although education from one's own institution may be less expensive, learning from others' experiences is invaluable. It is in this way that new safety, clinical care, aviation, or administration ideas may be developed. Continuous education should be budgeted for and encouraged for all members of transport programs.