The AMPA board held its spring meeting recently in Chicago. There are four projects that I want everyone to be aware of: the next edition of the AMPA Handbook, the core curriculum for medical directors, the AMPA preconference at the CCTMC next spring in Las Vegas, and election of officers this fall.
The Air Medical Physician Handbook is nearing the final stages. This project has been primarily driven by Ira Blumen, and he deserves recognition and thanks for his involvement with this endeavor. Almost all of the chapters have been submitted and edited. Presently there are over 60 chapters in this new edition. Once all of the chapters have been edited, the text will be reviewed by the copyeditor and then sent to the publisher. Along with the expansion of the content, the new edition will be in hardcover form, with a CD form also available. The projected date of availability is late November. All AMPA members will receive a CD copy. The price for additional copies of the CD or the textbook has not yet been determined.
AMPA's educational series, Medical Director Core Curriculum, has completed its first full cycle. The core curriculum is a series of lectures covering topics that comprise knowledge essential for medical directors of air medical transport programs and critical care ground transport programs. There are three parts to the curriculum; each is a 1-day preconference offered immediately preceding AMTC. After successful completion of all three parts of the core curriculum, the participant receives a certificate of completion. To date, approximately 15 participants have completed the entire curriculum. AMPA is presently working with CAMTS toward the goal of having the core curriculum incorporated into the CAMTS standards.
We are already starting to plan for the next CCTMC, which will occur in Las Vegas in April 2006. AMPA will hold a preconference focusing on safety. This conference will focus on safety issues relevant to the medical director, as well as all crewmembers, and will cover a variety of safety aspects, such as aviation, operational, and medical. AMPA will sponsor this preconference, but we are hoping for multidisciplinary participation, both for presenting and attending.
Lastly, four positions were open for election this fall—three board member positions and one international board member position. The call for nominations occurred in July and August, and the election was held in late August and September. The results of the election will be announced at the AMTC in Austin.
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