Tactical medicine--competency-based guidelines.

BACKGROUND: Tactical emergency medical support (TEMS) is a rapidly growing area within the field of prehospital medicine. As TEMS has grown, multiple training programs have emerged. A review of the existing programs demonstrated a lack of competency-based education.

OBJECTIVE: To develop educational competencies for TEMS as a first step toward enhancing accountability.

METHODS: As an initial attempt to establish accepted outcome-based competencies, the National Tactical Officers Association (NTOA) convened a working group of subject matter experts.

RESULTS: This working group drafted a competency-based educational matrix consisting of 18 educational domains. Each domain included competencies for four educational target audiences (operator, medic, team commander, and medical director). The matrix was presented to the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) Tactical Emergency Medicine Section members. A modified Delphi technique was utilized for the NTOA and ACEP groups, which allowed for additional expert input and consensus development.

CONCLUSION: The resultant matrix can serve as the basic educational standard around which TEMS training organizations can design programs of study for the four target audiences.