16 - Infectious Diseases & Toxicology

Infectious Diseases & Toxicology is the sixteenth title of Action Training Systems' Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) series, and SkillsTrain, the authorised ATS distributor in South Africa, supplies it locally as part of that series. It combines infectious disease awareness with the recognition and treatment of poisoning, including nerve agents.

The title presents infectious disease awareness, explaining the routes by which disease is transmitted so a responder can protect themselves and others. It discusses carbon monoxide poisoning, the colourless gas that starves the body of oxygen, and the role of the national poison control service in guiding treatment. It presents poisoning by nerve agents, describing the exposure routes, the assessment findings and the management considerations. It also presents nerve agent antidote autoinjector kits, including when treatment is indicated and the steps for administering an autoinjector. The module is aimed at emergency medical responders and first responders who reach a patient before an ambulance crew who may face hazardous exposures alongside everyday infection risk.

The content follows the United States National EMS Education Standards for the Emergency Medical Responder level. As an Action Training Systems EMS title it sits in a library that ATS accredits through CAPCE, the Commission on Accreditation for Prehospital Continuing Education, where each online interactive course carries one hour of continuing education and counts as Distributive Education under the National Continued Competency Program of the NREMT, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians. It uses the ATS teach, test and track model: the learner is assessed as they work through the material, and any section answered incorrectly is replayed before they can move on. The programme runs about 19 minutes and SkillsTrain supplies it on USB or as a classroom streaming option, on its own or as part of the complete 25 title Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) series, with an online interactive version deployable to a learning management system (LMS).

Within the same Emergency Medical Responder (EMR) series, SkillsTrain also supplies Blood Sugar & Dialysis Emergencies, Cold, Heat & Submersion and Respiratory Compromise, so the related modules can be studied together as one progression.