Retention, learning by doing, and performance in emergency medical services.

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

To examine the strength of the volume-outcome relationship among paramedics, a group of providers that has not been previously studied in this context. By identifying the effects of individual learning on performance, we also assess the value of paramedics' retention. The prehospital emergency medical services (EMS) setting allows us to interpret any volume-outcome relationship as learning by doing, uncontaminated by reputation-based referrals because ambulance units are dispatched based on proximity.

Data sources

Incident-level EMS data spanning 1991 to 2005 from the Mississippi Emergency Medical Services Information System collected by the Mississippi Department of Health.

Research design

Using linear and quantile methods with and without provider fixed e

SUBMITTER: David G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2699914 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature