ABSTRACTS
Retrospective Analysis of the Study Programs International Paramedic Registry (IPR) Training Centers of Prehospital Care in Latin AmericaAuthor: Andrés Cairol Baquero | | Associate Authors:
Introduction The International Registry of Paramedics (IPR) is a certification entity that defines and evaluates the knowledge and minimum skills required for the practice of prehospital medicine at the international level. IPR does not grant permission to provide services but it does create a way for providers to demonstrate their competencies through impartial and rigorous verification processes at the first responder, basic, and advanced levels. The educational standards were developed in the United States and then compared with standards published by the governments of Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. The standards are also analyzed by the committees of each country before being implemented in such a way that they are contextualized to their reality. Objective To generate a starting point in prehospital research that allows the development and advancement of the quality of prehospital training provided in Latin America. Methods IPR has a database of its authorized centers, and information from its different centers and study programs were compiled in a matrix. The data generated from this information were analyzed with Jamovi using normality tests, descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and hypothesis tests. Results From the 32 centers from which information was obtained and that dictate the IPR exam in Latin America, 56% provide the basic level, and Mexico is the country with the largest number of Centers with 78.12%. In relation to the length of the program in months, the average for the advanced level is 25.1 months (SD 12.7) and the basic level is 12 months (SD 4.3). There is an important difference between the duration of the centers because the range of the advanced level is 36 hours with a coefficient of variation of 50.59%, and in the basic level 18 hours with a coefficient of variation of 5.8%. Conclusion Paramedic training is often strongly inclined toward technical or motor skills or competencies. That was also observed in this study, with 60.54% of the hours of the different study programs being dedicated to skill development. There was a lot of variability between centers with the same level of IPR, and even in the same country, with regard to program length and contents and composition of the training program. This makes it difficult to guarantee that basic- or advanced-level providers will acquire the needed skills.
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