Preserving Evidence Integrity at Crime and Death Scenes
If you are in the pre-hospital, emergency medical profession, you are always going to be looking for continuing education hours, it’s just a fact of life. And, if you’ve been in it for a long time, you’re going to be looking for something new and different to advance your skills and, frankly, keep you interested in learning and getting through the recertification process.
A new start-up company, American Institute of Crime Scene Integrity (AICSI), has developed an online learning course that solves both issues, giving first responders 20 hours of Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE) accredited continuing education and providing interesting and important subject matter to keep responders engaged.
The course is called “Preserving Evidence Integrity at Crime and Death Scenes” and it is now available for registration online at the company’s website: www.aicsi.com.
“This program is the culmination of thousands of hours of effort by industry subject matter experts in various disciplines relating to crime and death scenes,” says Phillip Metz AICSI co-founder. “This cumulative effort has resulted in a set of comprehensive guidelines, which cover topics commonly seen by the first responders at emergency, crime and death scenes.”
AICSI was founded in 2022 by two friends, Philip Metz and Dr. Bobby Lewis, DMD, MD, FACEP, who has been practicing emergency medicine for over 40 years and is currently an associate professor and vice-chair for clinical operations in the Department of Emergency Medicine at the University of Alabama, Birmingham. Metz, NRP, FP-C, is a certified flight paramedic who flew with Air Methods Corporation and the medical division chief at Okaloosa (FL) Island Fire District where he manages its advance life support program.
The online course, which is available for $299, begins with five modules teaching the subjects of post-mortem interval, also known as PMI, and the recognition of certain signs of death. This study of PMI provides a foundation for the rest of the course.
Each learning module starts with a list of section objectives and moves on to a video presentation, usually in a question-and-answer format with a host conversing with a subject matter expert. It concludes with a summation of key learning points and a brief quiz.
“At the successful completion of this learning program, you will receive a certificate of completion from the American Institute of Crime Scene Integrity that constitutes 20 hours of continuing education,” says Metz. “This training program has been approved and accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE). These continuing education hours… can be applied to the recertification of your state license or your national registration through the National Association of EMTs.”
For the student needing less than 20 hours of continuing education, the program is also broken down into four shorter programs, each consisting of five continuing education hours. These options allow the students to focus on key areas of study that meet their needs and at the same time is also more economical.
Since AICSI was first conceptualized in 2019, its founders and instructors have been focused on a goal that is best summarized in the company’s mission statement which reads in part: “The mission of American Institute of Crime Scene Integrity is to create and disseminate uniform guidelines for first responding agencies – including Police, fire and EMS – for use by their personnel to maintain the integrity of evidence at crime scenes, and to provide educational programs to help them perform proficiently, competently, professionally and ethically.”