Is online pediatric continuing education effective in a rural state?

Area of Science:

• Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
• Pediatric Education
• Continuing Medical Education

Background:

• Prehospital emergency medical technicians (EMTs) require specialized pediatric emergency training.
• Effective and accessible continuing education is crucial for maintaining and improving EMT skills.
• Online platforms offer a scalable solution for delivering EMS education statewide.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a statewide online pediatric education program for prehospital EMTs.
• To assess knowledge gains in pediatric emergency care among EMTs.
• To analyze differences in training access and knowledge improvement based on EMT level and geographic location.

Main Methods:

• Development and statewide dissemination of online EMS continuing education modules focused on pediatric emergencies.
• Comparison of pre- and posttest scores to measure knowledge acquisition.
• Analysis of results stratified by EMT level, rural vs. urban location, and module performance.

Main Results:

• A total of 539 EMTs completed the program, with 38.0% working in the sole urban county.
• Mean posttest scores (11.6) were significantly higher than mean pretest scores (8.5).
• EMT-Basic participants showed the greatest improvement in scores (mean change = 3.4), and rural EMTs accessed the training more frequently than urban EMTs.

Conclusions:

• The online pediatric continuing education program effectively enhanced EMTs' cognitive knowledge in pediatric emergencies.
• The program demonstrated greater reach in rural areas compared to urban settings.
• While initial knowledge varied by licensure level, the training led to more comparable posttest scores across different EMT levels.