Issue 2003
Winter

Gene Hemsworth

Version V Instructor Upgrade programs
being offered in

- Mississauga
Nov. 23 - Dec. 14

- Edmonton
December 8

- Calgary
November 20

- Victoria
Ongoing Basis

The year 2003 is fast drawing to a close and it has been the most eventful year that EMP Canada has experienced since we established an entity here in Canada during January of 1991. It has also been an extremely eventful year in the first aid industry as there is much change that has and is still taking place as we evolve and take on more sophisticated course curriculums.

The whole MEDIC FIRST AID® industry is moving toward a greater involvement in occupational first aid training. This brings with it new opportunity and greater accountability which emphasizes the need for continuing education and the ability to accept change. It also emphasizes the ever-increasing need for our Training Centres, Trainers and Instructors to secure insurance coverage and this especially applies to the occupational first aid instructional members.

We understand that Red Cross has already made it mandatory for their instructor members to be insured, which is part of their instructor renewal process. In this regard, we have now secured an insurance opportunity for our Training Centres, Trainers and Instructors which I will give greater focus to further on in this report.

During this year, we have introduced the EMP Canada version V training materials and we are presently promoting instructor upgrade courses all across Canada. Version V includes all of the new and revised guidelines that the American Heart Association publishes in "Guidelines 2000 for CPR and ECC International Consensus on Sciences" and accordingly, the version V videos, instructor guides and student manuals reflect those changes. The materials are even easier for the students and facilitators to use and the updated design enables the instructor to create unique training solutions based on the needs of the student. The very strong core program containing the essential knowledge and skills required by first aid providers can now be enriched with additional specific first aid topics. Supplements include Automated External Defibrillator, Emergency Oxygen, Infant and Child Emergencies, Bloodborne Pathogen as well as the updated Care Plus CPR course. All of these are available to meet the various client needs and regulatory requirements.

As we have already stated, we are very excited about the positive aspects of the MEDIC FIRST AID® version V training program. It retains the instructional design of the current EMP Canada programs while at the same time, it is supported by a cleaner print look and completely new scenario setup. It is an excellent new program that will be easier to use and provides more flexibility for the facilitators/instructors. However, it does not prohibit you from continuing to use your Mark III although we will be moving towards a phase-out of those materials as we progress through the year 2004. In regards to Mark IV training materials, we have for the most part phased those out and will cease to support that product line by January 1, 2004. Further into this report you will find an article describing Home-Study Version V Update Package as well as dates, locations and contacts for version V instructor updates being conducted across Canada.