Training & Curriculum

Training & Curriculum Development

"Do you guys have a training program we can adapt for our people?"

One of the most common questions I was asked after any software implementation was whether or not I had a training manual, slides or a video that I could leave for the customer to use in training their staff.  Sadly, the answer was always no.  This is due to the incredibly configurable nature of CAD systems.  An air medical provider and a volunteer EMS agency will utilize the same CAD application in very different ways.  This is why it's important to develop a training program and materials customized for your agency.

Interactive Computer Based Training

The nature of emergency communications is such that it relies heavily on "on the job" training.  There has never been a substitute for actually doing to job live...until now!  Using the latest tools such as Adobe Captivate and Camtasia it is possible to develop lifelike, scenario-based interactive training.  This training can run the gambit from simple call handling workflows all the way to managing mass casualty incidents.

You can even include quizzes throughout the training and a cumulative test to document competency.  

Training Videos

Interactive computer based training is perfect for complex workflows that require problem solving.  What about simple processes that a large group of people need to learn?  The classroom setting is a perfect option of course, but in a 24 x 7 x 365 environment it can be extremely difficult and costly to get every single employee together for an in-person class. This is where training videos can be worth their megabytes in gold.

Maybe you're implementing a new time and attendance system and need to teach your staff how to request vacation or you recently upgraded your MDT software and need to teach everyone how to login.  It's teaching these simple tasks that a 5 - 10 minute video can take care of with a minimum disruption to your operation.

Most agencies enjoy the greatest return on training video investment when added to their onboarding program for new employees.  A video can teach anything from HIPAA compliance to how to operate a two-way radio.  Information that everyone needs to receive, but may not justify the expenditure of valuable classroom resources to deliver.

Training & Reference Guides

Classroom training is an invaluable resource, but studies on adult education have shown that any one delivery method (lecture, reading, demonstration, etc) alone has a much smaller rate of retention than a multi-mode delivery approach.

Combining a training guide that incorporates note-taking, review material, quizzes, pull-out references and the like can drastically increase trainee subject matter retention.  Often students will take a well formatted training guide and use it as a base upon which they build knowledge over time.  I once had a recruit in my CTO program who referred to her training manual as her "dispatch bible"; you never saw her without it!
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