1. Within the medical community, the provision of emergency medical care is seen as a
specialty that begins with treatment at the location of an incident, illness or injury,
and continues to the care given at a medical facility. Members of the St. John Ambulance
Brigade are a vital link in this emergency health chain. Often first on the scene, Brigade
members are responsible for decisions which will affect the emergency and continuing care
a patient receives.
2. The BTS has been designed to ensure that our patient care providers are qualified to
provide competent patient care services as expected by the challenges of today’s
society. The evalutation or assessment phase of the BTS, known as the Brigade Assessment
Process (BAP), enables St. John Ambulance to protect the public and the Brigade member
alike by ensuring that the quality of care provided is of an appropriate standard and is
suited to meet the needs of the communities in which we serve. The BAP involves the
evaluation of the Brigade member’s practical patient care skills and theoretical
knowledge and the evaluation of Instructors, course content and instruction.
3. Knowledge required for successful completion of the BAP will be gained as Brigade
members attend patient care training sessions as defined in the Brigade Training System
Reference Text for Patient Care Services at the specific level.
4. The BAP is designed to measure the quality of instruction a Brigade unit provides as
well as the competency of each Brigade member. The BAP addresses remedial learning needs
of the individual Brigade member, and determines corrective action for Brigade units with
inferior training practices.
5. Remedial learning opportunities are an integral part of adult education. By allowing
the Brigade member the chance to improve on identified weaknesses in theoretical knowledge
or practical skills and then be reassessed, the BAP may be used as an individual learning
tool. It is this opportunity for improvement and reassessment that can help to remove many
of the stress factors felt by Brigade members during their initial assessement. To assist
the Brigade member in successful completion of the BAP, and the related sense of
accomplishment, Training Officers and Evaluators must be sensitive to the individual
learning needs of all Brigade members within their unit.
6. The Brigade Assessment Process must be completed each calendar year. Adult Brigade
members affirming their patient care competency through the BAP are entitled, pending any
other restrictions, to provide independent patient care
services. Those members who are unable to do so remain entitled, pending any other
restrictions, to provide patient care services, but only under direct supervision.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS
7. As a minimum, a candidate for membership as a patient care provider must hold a
valid St. John Ambulance Standard Level First Aid Certificate or equivalent (see StJCI
2-3-1). Each member who intends to provide independent patient care services must
re-affirm their competency through successful completion of the BAP each calendar year.
8. Members who are unsuccessful in meeting the requirements of the BAP must maintain as
a minimum St. John Ambulance Standard Level First Aid certification. They will be
permitted to provide patient care services only under direct supervision, provided they
successfully completed the Standard Level First Aid course and examination annually, until
they have had the opportunity for remedial learning sessions and a re-assessment resulting
in successful completion of the BAP.
9. Members in administrative positions in patient care service units, Officers of youth
units, and Crusaders may choose to maintain a valid St. John Ambulance Standard Level
First Aid Certificate through a process of annual re-examination as minimum membership
qualifications. Members so choosing will be permitted to provide patient care services
under direct supervision only.
10. Direct supervision means supervision by an adult member (age 18 and over) who has
successfully completed the BAP within the past calendar year.
EVALUATION
11. The ongoing delivery and monitoring of the BTS will confirm that the training
being given is meeting the needs of the community. The evaluation step involves both
evaluation of the Brigade member and of the instruction, course content and course
components.
12. Evaluation of the member and the effectiveness of training are responsibilities of
the Unit Training Officer. These responsibilities are carried out by administering the
skills and knowledge as listed in the Brigade Assessment Process.
ADMINISTRATION
13. All BAP materials will be produced and issued to each Council by National
Headquarters on an annual basis.
14. The BAP will be administered by the Provincial/Territorial Training Officer under
the authority of the Provincial/Territorial Commissioner.
15. Each Council will maintain policies and procedures with reference to the
administration of the BAP which will incorporate the following:
a. The maximum number of assessment sessions permitted in each Brigade unit, dependent
upon the human and physical resources available in each geographical region of the
Council.
b. Identification of accredited Supervising Evaluators who will be assigned to
supervise the administration and delivery of the BAP. Such Supervising Evaluators should
not be from the Brigade unit being assessed.
c. Identification of accredited Evaluators who will be assigned to implement the BAP.
Ideally, such Evaluators should not be from the Brigade unit administering the BAP. If
however, due to geography or available human resources, this is not practical, the
Provincial/Territorial Training Officer may, on a unit by unit basis, authorize the use of
internal Evaluators.
d. As the BTS certificate is issued by the Council Headquarters, such Headquarters may
develop and use their own internal tracking systems for this purpose. However, a copy of
the Assessment Summary Report as well as the Individual Practical Assessment Report must
be provided to the Brigade unit Training Officer. This will allow the Training Officer to
determine the remedial needs of the individual Brigade member or reassess the delivery of
the course content as may be required.
