Medical Director Core Curriculum I - coming soon online
This activity is jointly provided by Medical Education Resources and AMPA.

Target Audience: 

This conference is designed to promote networking and discussion amongst physicians regarding clinical and administrative topics that are applicable to their current practice.

Educational Objectives:

After completing this activity, the participant should be better able to: 

• Explain transport utilization issues relevant to medical direction including indications for medical transport.
• Discussmanagementissuesfacingthemedicaldirector, includingtheroletheyplayinthesuccessofthetransportteam.
• Defineflightphysiologyanditsimpactontransportcrewmembersandpatients.
• RelatetheimportanceandvalueofCAMTScertificationstandardsastheyapplytothemedicaldirector.
• Describe the impact of infectious disease processes on transport team members and explain how to maintain safe practice guidelines.
• Outline the history of air medical transport and how military applications transfer to present day civilian use.
• Describe the types of scans possible in flight, and the steps necessary to have a robust ultrasound program.
• Show how proper pain control makes the patient more comfortable as well as facilitates a more accurate history and physical exam.
• Describe regulations impacting air medical critical care transport that the medical director needs to know.

Virtual Sessions 

1. History of EMS
2. Flight Physiology
3. Utilization Review 
4. Crew Rest/Crew Safety
5. QA/QI/QM 
6. Management 101
7. PIAP/AMRM 
8. Pain Management 
9. Training Effective Teams 

Faculty

Brittney Bernardoni, MD

Ira Blumen, MD, FACEP, FAMPA

Michael Jasumback, MD

Benjamin J. Lawner, DO, MS, EMT-P, FACEP 
Dr. Lawner's interest in emergency medicine began at an early age. He considered paramedics Johnny Gage and Roy DeSoto as childhood friends and was often spotted at daycare donning a plastic "squad 51" fireman's hat. After "Emergency!" was cancelled, he inexplicably clung to the TV set for career counseling. Ben promptly looked toward Howie Mandel (St Else where's Dr.Wayne Fiscus) for further inspiration. True to his out-of-hospital roots, Ben completed EMT school in 1994 and secured his first pair of trauma shears. Until 2001, Ben worked for Alachua County Fire Rescue as a lead paramedic / firefighter. Fortunately for the population of north central Florida, Ben was never detailed to a fire suppression apparatus and remained "stuck on the box (ambulance)." He graduated from Nova Southeastern University's College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2005 and completed his emergency medicine residency training at the University of Maryland. He served as a Chief Resident and Faculty Development Fellow for the 2008-2009 academic year and completed an EMS fellowship jointly sponsored by UMBC, UMD, and the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems (MIEMSS). Ben's current academic interests include medical education, critical care transport, and resuscitation. Dr. Lawner currently serves as the Medical Director for the Baltimore City Fire Department and the Maryland ExpressCare Critical Care Transport program. Ben was the recipient of the National Junior Faculty Teaching Award from the American College of Emergency Physicians. In 2018, JEMS recognized Dr. Lawner with the John P. Pryor Street Medicine Society Award for his contributions to prehospital medicine and education.  

Michael O'Brien, MD, FACEP, FAEMS, CCEMT-P
Dr. O‘Brien is a veteran critical care paramedic, EMS educator, and EMS physician. His clinical practice is split between shifts in the Emergency Department and operational medicine/field response. He provides medical direction to Erie Community College‘s EMS training programs and the Niagara County Sheriff‘s Office Emergency Response Team. He responds with the Town of Tonawanda Police Department's Emergency Medical Unit.  He is a sworn New York State police officer.  Additionally, he is the Associate System Medical Director and Flight Physician for Mercy Flight of Western New York.

Dr. O‘Brien‘s interests center around prehospital resuscitation and extracorporeal life support (ECLS). He is a subject matter expert in Emergency Medical Services, aeromedical evacuation/retrieval, and tactical medicine/active threat incidents. He is a frequent speaker on topics such as out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, operational/austere medicine, and the ethics of emergency care. He is double board-certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine in Emergency Medicine and Emergency Medical Services. He serves on national committees with both the National Association of EMS Physicians, the American College of Emergency Physicians, and the Air Medical Physician Association.

Charles Sheppard, MD, FACEP, FAAEM
With over five decades of dedication to medicine, my journey in healthcare extends from practicing medicine for 50 years to over 40 years in Emergency Medical Services (EMS). As the Life Line medical director for over a quarter-century, I've been honored with prestigious awards, including the RR Hannas Award for Outstanding Emergency Physician in Missouri (2017) and the AMPA President’s Award for contributions to educational programs (2012). Recognized as the Medical Director of the Year by the Air Medical Physicians Association in 2006, I also received the Critical Care Medical Transport Conference's Charles W. Sheppard Educational Award in 2021. My passion for EMS has led me to lecture at numerous national and regional conferences, including the Critical Care Medical Transport Conference, Air Medical Transport Conference, and EMS World, among others, where I share my expertise in prehospital care.

Doug Swanson, MD
Dr. Swanson has over 20 years of experience as an air medical transport medical director for a hospital-based program with a BLS, ALS, and critical care ground, rotor-wing, and fixed-wing transports.  Additionally, he is the medical director for a large, urban 911 EMS system.  Dr. Swanson is ABEM boarded in emergency medicine and emergency medical services and is a fellow of both the Academy of EMS and the Air Medical Physician Association.  He is a clinical professor of emergency medicine with the Wake Forest School of Medicine, has 10 years of experience as an EMS fellowship program director, and nearly 30 years as faculty physician at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, NC.  Dr. Swanson has presented locally, regionally, and nationally on numerous occasions and has published multiple articles related to out of hospital care.    

Continuing Medical Education Accreditation Statement for the AMPA Medical Director Core Curriculum: Part I 

In support of improving patient care, this activity has been planned and implemented by Medical Education Resources (MER) and AMPA. MER is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team

Physician Credit

Medical Education Resources designates this live activity for a maximum of eight (8) AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.

Disclosure of Relevant Financial Relationships

Medical Education Resources insures balance, independence, objectivity, and scientific rigor in all our educational activities. In accordance with this policy, MER identifies all financial relationships with its instructors, content managers, and other individuals who are in a position to control the content of an activity. Reported relevant financial relationships are mitigated by MER to ensure that all scientific research referred to, reported, or used in a CE activity conforms to the generally accepted standards of experimental design, data collection, and analysis. MER is committed to providing learners with high-quality CE activities that promote improvements or quality in health care and not the business interest of an ineligible company.

All faculty have reported no financial relationships with ineligible companies whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity.

All planners and managers from MER and AMPA have reported no financial relationships with ineligible companies whose products or services may be mentioned in this activity.

Disclaimer

The content and views presented in this educational activity are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of Medical Education Resources and AMPA. The authors have disclosed if there is any discussion of published and/or investigational uses of agents that are not indicated by the FDA in their presentations. Before prescribing any medicine, primary references and full prescribing information should be consulted. Any procedures, medications, or other courses of diagnosis or treatment discussed or suggested in this activity should not be used by clinicians without evaluation of their patient’s conditions and possible contraindications on dangers in use, review of any applicable manufacturer’s product information, and comparison with recommendations of other authorities. The information presented in this activity is not meant to serve as a guideline for patient management.

Instructions to receive credit:

Complete the registration form and pay applicable fees. During the period May 22, 2025 through May 22, 2027 participants must 1) read the learning objectives and faculty disclosures, 2) study the educational activity, 3) complete the evaluation form.

Visit XXXXX to complete the evaluation form and receive a certificate.