Wei Lun Wong¹, Richard Wong She², Tracey Perrett³

¹ Auckland Regional Plastic Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Private Bag 93311, Auckland 1640, wongweilun@gmail.com
² Auckland Regional Plastic Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Private Bag 93311, Auckland 1640
³ Auckland Regional Plastic Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Private Bag 93311, Auckland 1640

Intro

An evaluation of the EMSB course was performed in 2011 when participants were recruited from 5 different EMSB courses and pre- and post- course surveys and MCQ were completed along with a 6 weeks follow up. The results showed an improvement in participant’s knowledge and confidence in the management of severe burns, and hence highlighted the effectiveness and quality of the EMSB course. A follow up study was performed to assess their knowledge, competency and confidence in managing severe burns and whether these knowledge and skills were maintained after 4 years.

Method

Participants were asked to complete an online survey in 2015 and their response analysed.

Results

The participants’ confidence in burns management in the follow up were significantly lower than their confidence after the course, and their current MCQ scores were similar to the pre-course scores. A large majority agree that there is a need for a refresher course, with a suggested time frame of 3 years.

Conclusion

Although the EMSB courses are effective in improving knowledge and confidence in managing severe burns, as incidence of severe burns are low, these knowledge and skills gained are often not utilised and can decrease. For practitioners working in areas with lower severe burns incidence, a refresher course needs to be considered to maintain these knowledge and skills.

Key Words

EMSB, Evaluation

Biography

Dr Wong currently works as a plastic surgery registrar at Middlemore Hospital, Auckland. He is a graduate of the School of Medicine, University of Auckland, and aspires to become a plastic surgeon.