Section 641.137.3. Continuing trauma education for Iowa’s trauma system.

Continuing trauma education is required every four years of physicians, physician assistants, advanced registered nurse practitioners, registered nurses, and licensed practical nurses who are identified or defined as trauma team members by a trauma care facility and who participate directly in the initial resuscitation of the trauma patient.

       137.3(1) Topics for all or part of the continuing trauma education hours may be recommended to the department by TSAC based on trauma care system outcomes.

       137.3(2) General requirements for continuing trauma education.

        a.           Sixteen hours of the required continuing trauma education hours may be informal, determined and approved by a trauma care facility from any of the following:

        1.            Multidisciplinary trauma case reviews;

        2.            Multidisciplinary trauma conferences;

        3.            Multidisciplinary trauma mortality and morbidity reviews;

        4.            Multidisciplinary trauma committee meetings;

        5.            Trauma peer review meetings;

        6.            Any trauma care facility committee meeting with a focus on trauma care evaluation; and

        7.            Critical care education such as ACLS course, PALS course, NRP course, or equipment inservices.

        b.           Eight hours of the required continuing trauma education hours shall be obtained through any formalized continuing education programs.

       137.3(3) Specific requirements for each provider category are as follows:

     a.              Physicians:       24 hours of continuing trauma education is required, with a minimum of 8 hours as formal education.

       (1)             Physicians who treat trauma patients in the emergency department but are not board-certified in emergency medicine must maintain current ATLS^® certification.

       (2)             Surgeons who are not board-certified in general surgery must maintain current ATLS^® certification.

       (3)             The designated trauma service medical director, regardless of board certification, must maintain current ATLS^® certification.

     b.              PA and ARNP: 24 hours of continuing trauma education is required, with a minimum of 8 hours as formal education. Of the 8 hours of formal education, current ATLS^® certification is required.

     c.              RN and LPN:   16 hours of continuing trauma education is required, with a minimum of 4 hours as formal education based upon the trauma nursing course objectives (2007) recommended by TSAC.

       137.3(4) Continuing trauma education is required of certified emergency medical care providers every two years as follows:

        a.           EMR, FR or FR-D: 2 continuing education hours.

        b.           EMT, EMT-A, EMT-B, EMT-D: 4 continuing education hours.

        c.           AEMT, EMT-I: 4 continuing education hours.

        d.           EMT-P, PS, Paramedic: 6 continuing education hours.

[ARC 1081C, IAB 10/2/13, effective 11/6/13]