Pediatric Education and Training of Prehospital Providers: A Critical Analysis

Providing pediatric-specific education and training to prehospital providers is felt to be essential in improving emergency medical services provided to children. This review critically examines the current state of prehospital provider education in pediatrics and the recent literature published in this field. Optimal methods to teach, train, maintain, and evaluate the knowledge, attitudes, and skills requisite for prehospital providers of pediatric emergency care will be discussed. Although there have been several studies conducted on pediatric prehospital education, these have been preliminary in nature and lend themselves to additional inquiry to best define the optimal approach to the pediatric education and training of prehospital emergency medical personnel.