b'Continued CompetencyA partnership to celebrate: Prehospital Guidelines Consortium Because weve always done it that way is history.evaluate and implement prehospital evidence-based guidelines. Evidence-based guidelines are the future. That led to creating the Prehospital Guidelines Consortium (PGC) with more than 50 organizations facilitating the collaborative effort For many years, the treatment that patients received in theto develop, implement, and evaluate prehospital evidence-based prehospital setting was taught in class, gleaned from textbooksguidelines that benefit patients and improve their outcomes. or protocols based on previous procedures that had, quite simply, worked.Using rigorous and proven tools when planning, developing and instituting new evidence-based guidelines is essential. Among By the late 1990s, it was becoming evident to the EMSthose tools are the National EMS Information Systems (NEMSIS) community that inject more science into the care provided toand the National Registrys Practice Analysis. Both inform the most patients in the field. There was a need to investigate procedurescommon conditions and procedures encountered in the prehospital that worked and separate those from the ones that did not.setting and information that would show the impact on evidence-That, in turn, led to an increase in prehospital research andbased guidelines.improvement of the evidence-based clinical care provided by EMS practitioners. As guidelines evolve and the science behind them, so will the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed to maintain competencya The number of guidelines quickly multiplied. Soon after that, thedirect impact on the National Registry by way of examinations and National Association of EMS Physicians (NAEMSP) developedEMS research. the National Prehospital Evidence-Based Guidelines Strategy to 16 17'