I just returned from the National Association of Emergency Medical Services Educators (NAEMSE) Symposium in good ol' Hollyweird. What a place to host a national conference the attendees got a little bit of everything -- Wil Smith taping a movie on Highland and Hollywood Blvd. with explosions and car wrecks. Jamie Fox getting his star on the walk of fame. Superman, Jimmy Hendrix, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, people begging for food right off your plate, a house moving down the 101 on Saturday until it got stuck under an overpass and caused an outrageous traffic jam. Just to name a few of the events outside the conference. If the attendees didn't leave California thinking we're all nuts I would truly be surprised.

Reporting from the educational side of the conference -- over the next year you will have the opportunity to give input on the new national EMS curriculum standards for EMR, EMT, and Paramedic. These standards will replace our current National DOT curriculum and will be reflected in the National Registry testing about a year after the curriculum is adopted.

There were several break out sessions devoted to assessing student achievement and progress, regulatory issues, current research, instructor resources, vendor displays, as well as applications for various types of classroom technology (i.e. flash, pod casting, and adding spice to your PowerPoint presentations).

Next years conference is in St. Louis, MO., September 9-14, 2008. Go to NAEMSE.org for more information.