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| AAP's
Official PEPP Newsletter • June 2002
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PEPP
Renewal Course Rolls-Out in Dallas, Texas At the EMS for Children Third National Congress on Childhood
Emergencies in Dallas, Texas, on April 17, 2002, the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) launched the innovative new PEPP Renewal Course! The first step in the PEPP Renewal process is completion
of the Online Education component, entitled Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies.
The Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies module was developed by the PEPP
Steering Committee and reviewed by over 95 PEPP Course Coordinators nationwide.
The second step in the PEPP Renewal process is completion of the On-Site
Skills component, to refresh pediatric skills with a local PEPP Course
Coordinator. The AAP wishes to extend a special thanks to all those who
took part in the review of the course material. As a post-conference event, the AAP held the first On-Site
Skills component of the PEPP Renewal Course. Participants represented
almost every type of EMS service including urban, rural, paid, and volunteer
services, from as far away as Alaska. All of the participants were experienced
EMS instructors, and by the end of the session, a focus group provided
a great deal of helpful feedback. The participants were impressed with
the amount of innovative thought that had gone into the development of
the course. The On-Site Skills component covers the skills from the
initial PEPP Course by presenting the student with different scenarios
requiring use of PEPP skills already learned. As the scenario is presented,
the faculty provides remediation and demonstration of skills. An administrative
guide to the PEPP Renewal Course is available free of charge on the PEPP
web site to PEPP Course Coordinators. Faculty for this event included distinguished PEPP Steering
Committee members Bob Wiebe, MD, FAAP; Michael Panté, NREMT-P;
and Patti Kunz-Howard, RN, MSN; who represent the AAP Committee on Pediatric
Emergency Medicine, National Association of EMS Educators, and the Emergency
Nurses Association respectively. Thank you to all who participated. As demand for the PEPP Renewal Course grows, so will the
AAP’s understanding of what EMS providers need to deliver it. Remember,
the goal is education. Every EMS provider should have access to the best,
most up-to-date information that will help treat the ill or injured pediatric
patient. The AAP strives to provide excellent customer service
with the PEPP program. Your feedback and input on the PEPP program often
translate into regular updates and changes. The AAP welcomes your comments,
suggestions, complaints, or compliments. Please send you feedback to PEPP@aap.org.
The two day PEPP conference had been meticulously scripted by Trevor McNulty, a resuscitation officer at the Royal Hospital in Belfast, with the help of Bob Taylor, a pediatric critical care specialist at the local children’s hospital or the "Royal Kids". The cast of instructors included three representatives from the highly successful PEPP courses introduced last September in Kent and Maidenstone, England, by US National PEPP Steering Committee member Sue Fuchs, as well as the ambulance director for the Irish Republic, several emergency physicians and anesthesiologists, and a local pediatrician. I chuckled out loud on the first morning, when the veteran PEPP instructors in PEPP t-shirts greeted each other smiling, with their fingers forming a new universal salutation of the international PEPP family: the sign of the Triangle! The two days were
intense. These guys meant business! (I kept hoping we were going to stop
at 5 pm and finish the afternoon discussions at the local pub.) The primary
goal of the Belfast course was selection of an elite international instructor
pool for PEPP out of a large class of paramedics, nurses, and physicians.
I learned right away that the Irish Republic had adopted PEPP as its primary
pediatric instruction for all of the south, and that Northern Ireland
was also intending to train all of its paramedics in PEPP over the next
few years. (I was surprised to later hear that the dentist organizations
were also asking for PEPP instruction.) A large contingent of observers
from law enforcement, local health departments, and basic life support
units were also in the Belfast student group. Only half of the hand-picked
educator candidates were to make the final cut as Course Coordinators,
to carry forward the good word to paramedic and nurse and dentist organizations
throughout the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.
By the end of the
second day, the students had the concepts down. I was spending most of
my instructor time listening to them, and enjoying how clearly they articulated
their assessments, interventions, and decisions to stay or go. And I was
especially liking the civilized afternoon tea time – when I would
hear so many thoughtful comments about the course and its future in their
countries. The Belfast PEPP course ended after I presented the Course
Coordinator portion to the selected group who met the faculty’s tough
standards, and after a special tour through the new "Pediatric Respiratory
Emergencies" PEPP online refresher course, set up for broadcast to
Belfast with help from our publisher Jones and Bartlett. As Patty and I left
Belfast the following day with our address books much fatter, I recognized
that we had witnessed a significant expansion of the international PEPP
family. I had been lucky enough to experience once again the excitement
of growth and improvement in PEPP. And I also felt resolved that with
the immediate and substantial requirements throughout Northern Ireland,
the Republic of Ireland, and Britain for PEPP, that we needed to further
assist and integrate our international colleagues by working with Jones
and Bartlett to produce an international version of PEPP—a version
that will reflect the nuances of international prehospital pediatrics
in the Commonwealth countries, including our forthcoming international
partners in New Zealand and Australia.
Introducing
the Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies Module at PEPPsite.com! It may be hard to believe, but it has been almost two
years since the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) launched Pediatric
Education for Prehospital Professionals (PEPP) Course. On April 17th, at the Third National Congress on Childhood
Emergencies, the AAP and Jones and Bartlett Publishers (J&B) launched
the PEPP Renewal Course! When the initial PEPP Course launched, the PEPP Steering
Committee vowed that it would be subject to ongoing review and modification,
in concert with changes in the science of emergency pediatrics and advances
in EMS educational design and methodology. As a result of their hard work
and dedication, they have created a new Online Education module entitled
Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies. It is certain to have a profound impact
on the field of EMS education! The PEPP Steering Committee has created an in-depth and
highly interactive Online Education module to enhance and expand the knowledge
and skills of PEPP providers. There are three steps in the PEPP Renewal Course:
The Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies Online Education
module can be used to renew your PEPP Provider status, or as a stand-alone
course for additional continuing education credits. Each section of the module will provide a brief overview
of the concepts presented in the initial PEPP Course, followed by an in-depth
look into pediatric respiratory emergencies. Providers must complete the
interactivities at the end of each section, and then proceed to the final
online exam. After successfully completing the Online Education component
and passing the final online exam, users will be asked to refresh their
hands-on pediatric skills with a local PEPP Course Coordinator. The On-Site
Skills component of the PEPP Renewal Course will review all of the skills
learned in the initial PEPP Course. It will provide students with another
opportunity to handle and size the equipment, and to perform skills under
direct supervision. A Renewal Course Resource Manual for the On-Site Skills
component is available in the Course Coordinator section of www.PEPPsite.com. For more information, or to enroll in the Pediatric Respiratory
Emergencies module, please visit www.PEPPsite.com,
or contact the Division of Life Support Programs at 1-800-433-9016 ext.
4795. On-Site
Skills Component of the PEPP Renewal Course The PEPP Renewal Course is the first nationally standardized
pediatric continuing education course to combine the innovate technology
of the Internet with face-to-face on-site group learning. The On-Site Skills component of the PEPP Renewal Course
consists of small group scenario-based sessions that review pediatric
assessment, treatment, and transport skills, followed by a written evaluation.
Every American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) approved PEPP Course Coordinator
may administer the On-Site Skills component and submit students who are
successful to the AAP for new PEPP Course Completion Cards. In keeping with the PEPP Course policy, a medical advisor
is required for the On-Site Skills component and the faculty-to-student
ratio should be 1:6 or less. We have designed the On-Site Skills component
to be approximately three hours in length. How to Administer the On-Site Skills Component: Step 1: PEPP Course Coordinators can either download
the complete PEPP Renewal Course Resource Manual from www.PEPPsite.com
or call the AAP Division of Life Support Programs at 800-433-9016, ext.
4785 for a hardcopy of the Resource Manual. The Resource Manual will provide
PEPP Course Coordinators with information on administering the PEPP Renewal
Course, learning objectives, equipment list, and the scripts for each
small group scenario-based session. Step 2: Once the PEPP provider has completed the
Online Education component of the PEPP Renewal Course, they must contact
a local PEPP Course Coordinator to arrange an On-Site Skills session.
It is the responsibility of the PEPP provider to follow through and complete
the On-Site Skills component within 90-days of completing the Online Education
component. Step 3: After successfully completing the On-Site
Skills component, PEPP Course Coordinators submit course rosters to the
AAP in the same manner as the initial PEPP Course. The only change is
to select either "ALS Renewal" or "BLS Renewal" as
the course type. You can find additional questions and answers regarding
the PEPP Renewal Course in the Quesion and Answer section of PEPP Talk.
For more information on the PEPP Renewal Course, please visit www.PEPPsite.com
or contact the AAP at 800-433-9016, ext. 4795. The
PEPP Web Site Has a New Look—Visit PEPPsite.com Today! Over the past few years, your feedback and suggestions
have helped us to improve the PEPP web site, making it more user-friendly
and easier to navigate. Today, we are happy to announce the launch of
a re-designed PEPPsite.com. To help you navigate quickly throughout the site, we have
designed a navigation bar that appears on the left-hand side of every
page. At the site, you simply click on one of the blue navigation buttons
and you will automatically see all of the resources available for that
area with brief descriptions. At the top of every page, there are quick
links to the most popular pages available at PEPPsite.com including Find
a PEPP Course, Find a PEPP Course Coordinator, and Course Coordinators
Only. A remarkable change to PEPPsite.com is the addition of
PEPP Community. This section offers the ideal setting to exchange information
with other members of the PEPP Community around the world. Here, you can
pose questions, post information, or recruit instructors for an upcoming
PEPP Course. You can also add yourself to the PEPP Broadcast list serve
to receive important announcements from the American Academy of Pediatrics
(AAP). One of the most popular pages on PEPPsite.com has been
What’s New. Now, you will find this area within PEPP Community. What’s
New contains the latest information about the PEPP Course and the PEPP
Renewal Course, along with current events and news items. You will also
find the most current What’s New items posted right on the home page
of PEPPsite.com. A link to the Online Education component of the PEPP Renewal
Course is available on the home page of PEPPsite.com. With one click,
you will be on your way to earning continuing education credits with the
new PEPP Online Education module on Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies.
This module also represents the first step in the innovative new PEPP
Renewal Course. Thanks to your feedback and suggestions, it is now easier
than ever to navigate PEPPsite.com. The AAP encourages you to post your
upcoming courses, exchange information with other members of the PEPP
Community and the AAP, and to keep up-to-date on PEPP current events. We hope you enjoy the new PEPPsite.com. As always, we
welcome your feedback and suggestions. Please send you comments to PEPP@aap.org.
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The
spelling "Paediatric" in the big PEPP sign at the Belfast conference
center left no doubt that we were not in Kansas anymore. And at the reception
dinner for PEPP’s debut into the "green isle" on April
11, 2002, we could not decide what we loved more—the friendly accents,
the "champs" (a delightful local cuisine of Irish potatoes,
cream, butter, and chives), or the home-grown Guinness. PEPP had arrived
for its second appearance in the United Kingdom, and the 12 person faculty
for the course were determined that PEPP was to become the standard for
prehospital pediatrics in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland,
the southern portion of the island. I was there to help usher in the flagship
course in Belfast, and my wife Patty came along to join the fun.
The
course followed the American PEPP standard quite closely, with adjustments
for British nomenclature and minor differences in units of measurement
and drug therapies. The response to the course was fantastic. The students
were terrific. The atmosphere was electric. While I came ostensibly to
help teach, explain, and plan, in the end, I probably learned more from
them than they learned from me. I really appreciated their attention to
individualized, interactive education. For example, as part of the basic
organization of the course, Trevor had identified "Mentoring Groups",
small groups of about six students with two instructors assigned to each
group. During the course, the mentoring groups met several times each
day for the purpose of further explanation, interpretation of PEPP material
and discussion of local implementation. I immediately identified this
useful improvement as something to take back with me. Moreover, the instructor
group met repeatedly during the course to discuss each student individually,
and to formulate customized teaching strategies. No one was going to finish
the course without basic PEPP comprehension and pediatric skills.