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SOUTH AFRICAN QUALIFICATIONS AUTHORITY 
REGISTERED QUALIFICATION: 

Advanced Certificate in Medical Rescue 
SAQA QUAL ID QUALIFICATION TITLE
115517  Advanced Certificate in Medical Rescue 
ORIGINATOR
University of Johannesburg 
PRIMARY OR DELEGATED QUALITY ASSURANCE FUNCTIONARY NQF SUB-FRAMEWORK
CHE - Council on Higher Education  HEQSF - Higher Education Qualifications Sub-framework 
QUALIFICATION TYPE FIELD SUBFIELD
Advanced Certificate  Field 09 - Health Sciences and Social Services  Rehabilitative Health/Services 
ABET BAND MINIMUM CREDITS PRE-2009 NQF LEVEL NQF LEVEL QUAL CLASS
Undefined  120  Not Applicable  NQF Level 06  Regular-Provider-ELOAC 
REGISTRATION STATUS SAQA DECISION NUMBER REGISTRATION START DATE REGISTRATION END DATE
Reregistered  EXCO 0821/24  2019-12-17  2027-06-30 
LAST DATE FOR ENROLMENT LAST DATE FOR ACHIEVEMENT
2028-06-30   2031-06-30  

In all of the tables in this document, both the pre-2009 NQF Level and the NQF Level is shown. In the text (purpose statements, qualification rules, etc), any references to NQF Levels are to the pre-2009 levels unless specifically stated otherwise.  

This qualification does not replace any other qualification and is not replaced by any other qualification. 

PURPOSE AND RATIONALE OF THE QUALIFICATION 
Purpose:
The purpose of the Advanced Certificate in Medical Rescue is to develop a learner to be competent in the knowledge, attitudes, insights and skills required for the emergency care profession. The qualification will enable the learner to competently apply an integration of theoretical principles, proven techniques, practical experience, appropriate management and analytical skills to provide medical rescue services to all sectors of the community.

Rationale:
This qualification will produce Rescue Technicians who can function on an incident management and technical operations level within the emergency medical care and rescue environments. It will develop cognitive, technological capabilities and skills necessary for the management of urban, rural and wilderness rescue incidents. Learners will practice primarily within the South Africa Emergency Services and Para Military environments. The aim is to promote an understanding of the multi-disciplinary approach to effective, efficient patient care with the patients' needs being central to the rescue operation.

The qualification enables the learner to pursue further personal, and professional development; and to promote life-long learning. Demand for the qualification comes from staff within the emergency medical and allied services. Learners will be registered practising emergency care providers. The qualifying learner will be empowered to participate in technical rescue operations and serve the community in times of need.

Upon completion of the qualification, the learner register with the Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA) as a Medical Rescue Technician. 

LEARNING ASSUMED TO BE IN PLACE AND RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING 
Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL):
The Faculty of Health Sciences accepts Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) as an integral part of education and academic practice. All learning has value, and the Faculty will assess prior learning and status. The institution will give credits that are in line with the Exit Level Outcomes of the qualification and to promote lifelong learning.

The Faculty of Health Sciences manages RPL according to the institution's RPL policy. RPL is as follows for this qualification as set out in the Faculty of Sciences Qualifications and Regulations policy:
Through Recognition of Prior Learning, a learner may gain access, or advanced placement, or recognition of status, on condition that he/she continues his/her studies:
  • Recognition takes place in terms of requirements and procedures applied by the Faculty of Health Sciences;
  • Is based on other forms of formal, informal and non-formal learning and experience;
  • Is considered only where prior learning corresponds to the required NQF level;
  • Takes place where prior learning in terms of applied competencies is relevant to the content and outcomes of the qualification;
  • Is considered in terms of an assessment procedure that includes a motivated recommendation by an assessment panel to the Management Committee of the Faculty of Health Sciences.

    Entry Requirements:
    The minimum entry requirement for this qualification is:
  • Higher Certificate in Emergency Care, NQF Level 5. 
    		•

    RECOGNISE PREVIOUS LEARNING? 
    Y 

    QUALIFICATION RULES 
    This qualification consists of compulsory modules at NQF Level 5, 6 and 7 totalling 147 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules NQF Level 5, 17 Credits:
  • Basic Sciences: Physics, 6 Credits.
  • Basic Sciences: Chemistry, 6 Credits.
  • Physical Preparedness, 5 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules NQF Level 6, 115 Credits:
  • Rescue Technologies and Equipment, 15 Credits.
  • Communication in the Rescue Environment, 5 Credits.
  • Rescue within an Urban Environment, 50 Credits.
  • Rescue within a Rural Environment, 35 Credits.
  • Foundations of Rescue Practices, 10 Credits.

    Compulsory Modules NQF Level 7, 15 Credits:
  • High Angle Rescue, 15 Credits. 
    		•

    EXIT LEVEL OUTCOMES 
    Exit Level Outcomes:
    1. Demonstrate effective teamwork, leadership, and communication and application of the principles of incident management, command and control, medical ethics, professional behaviour and the legal framework to the context within which medical rescue technician operates while maintaining personal health, physical fitness and safety.
    2. Manage and conduct high angle rescue operations in both structural and wilderness environments.
    3. Utilise and apply appropriate incident command, control and management principles, technologies and techniques to access, stabilise, package and remove patients involved in motor vehicle accidents and or machinery entrapment.
    4. Manage and conduct search and rescue activities associated with structural fire and or low visibility environments.
    5. Participate in search and rescue activities utilising rotor-winged aircraft.
    6. Manage and conduct wilderness search and rescue operations.
    7. Utilise and apply appropriate management principles, technologies and techniques to rescue patients from rivers, dams and lakes.
    8. Manage and conduct urban search and rescue activities within the confined space, trench rescue, structural collapse and hazardous material environments. 

    ASSOCIATED ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 
    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 1:
  • Communicate with patients, colleagues and other services is effective, clear, direct, and accurate, with appropriate use of modality including electronic media.
  • Ensure the terminology is consistent with profession usage.
  • Promote human dignity and undertake with due sensitivity to ethnic, cultural, linguistic, and religious and gender diversity.
  • Correctly apply in all contexts ethical principles of beneficence, autonomy and justice, truth-telling, promise-keeping and confidentiality.
  • Ensure all clinical interactions and related practices are in line with the provisions and rules of the codes of ethics of the HPCSA and professional associations.
  • Discuss the importance of mental health and wellness on the part of the emergency care provider is highlighting their role and importance, with particular reference to the impact on job effectiveness.
  • Identify, demonstrate and describe suitable methods for achieving and maintaining operational fitness in terms of lifestyle, diet and exercise techniques, highlighting the impact on self and job effectiveness.
  • Identify, demonstrate and apply methods for maintaining personal safety are through appropriate risk assessment, scene assessment, decision making and options taking.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 2:
  • Correctly describe and demonstrate the management of injuries, which are unique to the high angle rescue environment are within the learners currently registered scope of practice.
  • Describe high angle technician and team member's roles and responsibilities.
  • Describe safety in the high angle environment and the effects of rescuer fatigue on the efficiency of an operation.
  • Discuss types, functions, construction, inspection, preparation, usage, storage and maintenance of high angle rescue equipment.
  • Use items of high angle rescue equipment.
  • Accurately construct labelled diagrams of simple anchor points.
  • Rig and safely operate simple anchor points within the specified time limits.
  • Correctly secure and package patients during a high angle rescue operation.
  • Select appropriate items of specialised high angle rescue gear for use during practical scenarios.
  • Describe and discuss stretchers concerning their constructing, characteristics and suitability in different high angle rescue environments.
  • Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mechanical advantage systems.
  • Correctly describe general techniques of rock climbing.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 3:
  • Synthesise and operationalise incidents and or scenarios critically to safely and effectively access, treat and remove patients in the motor vehicle and industrial rescue environments.
  • Describe and demonstrate injuries and the management thereof, which are unique to the vehicle and machinery entrapment rescue environment correctly.
  • Identify support services correctly and discuss what to wear when undertaking light motor vehicle rescue activities.
  • Draw and label the anatomy of a typical light motor vehicle correctly.
  • Discuss the principles of scene safety.
  • Demonstrate the selection and operation of stabilisation equipment, hand tools, pneumatic tools, electric tools and hydraulic tools safely and effectively.
  • Discuss and undertake maintenance of all types of tools used in motor vehicle rescue safely and effectively.
  • Achieve a scene stabilisation when conducting motor vehicle rescue practical scenarios.
  • Display appropriate patient management when performing motor vehicle rescue practical scenarios.
  • Discuss the principles of dealing with machinery entrapment correctly.
  • Describe, discuss and demonstrate patient access, disentanglement, packaging and removal correctly in the motor vehicle rescue and industrial rescue setting.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 4:
  • Analyse incidents and or scenarios critically, synthesise and operationalise effective plans of action to safely and effectively access, treat and remove patients from a structural fire and or low visibility environment.
  • Select appropriate primary fire responder and professional firefighting equipment for use during practical scenarios.
  • Select appropriate primary fire responder and professional firefighting equipment for use during practical scenarios.
  • Use items of fire search and rescue equipment safely and efficiently.
  • Discuss elements of combustion correctly.
  • Explain the way a fire behaves indoors and outdoors.
  • Describe the dangers associated with fire search and rescue comprehensively.
  • Describe and discuss methods of the extinguishing of fires.
  • Classify combustible materials.
  • Describe the dangers associated with fire search and rescue.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 5:
  • Discuss the principles of dealing with an aircraft involved in an accident.
  • List and describe the dangers that a downed aircraft may pose for the rescuer and or the public.
  • Identify the major divisions and components of a winged rotor aircraft correctly.
  • Utilise labelled diagrams to explain the principle of how an aerofoil generates lift.
  • Discuss the functions of the basic flight controls used in winged rotor aircraft.
  • Identify, describe and discuss the dangers associated with working in and around winged rotor aircraft comprehensively.
  • Explain the role of the various crewmembers correctly.
  • Discuss the requirements for an ideal landing site correctly.
  • Demonstrate an ability to safely and effectively approach embark, disembark and leave an aircraft.
  • Demonstrate and describe the correct method of communicating between the rescuer and the aircraft crew.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 6:
  • Identify and discuss the dangers and challenges associated with wilderness search and rescue activities in the desert, mountain, forest, swamp and bushveld areas correctly.
  • Identify and discuss the role players and resources involved in search and rescue correctly.
  • Analyse topographical Maps, and aerial photographs effectively and accurately interpreted for route planning and decision making during wilderness operations.
  • Combine and utilise navigational instruments and maps correctly to accurately plot and report position, distance and movement.
  • Demonstrate an ability to accurately and safely navigate during the night and in low visibility conditions.
  • Construct cross-sections of topographical maps accurately.
  • Describe and discuss the requirements for survival in a wilderness area accurately.
  • Describe and discuss the characteristics of a good campsite correctly.
  • Identify, describe and discuss the principles of search management correctly.
  • Apply the principles of search management correctly during search and rescue scenarios.
  • Demonstrate teamwork and leadership skills adequately during practical training and scenarios.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 7:
  • Analyse incidents and or scenarios critically, synthesise and operationalise effective plans of action to safely and effectively access, treat and remove patients in the aquatic rescue environment.
  • Demonstrate the ability to swim 200 meters in 5 minutes or less.
  • Demonstrate an ability to swim a distance of 30 meters underwater on a single breath.
  • Demonstrate an ability to swim a distance of at least 2 km with the aid of a personal floatation device.
  • Demonstrate the correct methods of approaching, securing and towing a patient to safety.
  • Demonstrate an ability to effectively function as a leader and member of an aquatic rescue team during training scenarios.
  • Discuss the common causes of drowning in rivers correctly.
  • Correctly use of inflatable boats and ferry angles to cross a river.
  • Explain the dangers associated with river rescue and swift-moving water properly.
  • Make use of clearly labelled diagrams and explain why low head dams are extremely dangerous for victims and rescuers.
  • Correctly explain how to manage a rescue involving a low head dam.
  • Correctly use high lines with and without inflatable boats to reach and rescue patients is.
  • Correctly use zip lines to move rescuers and victims across rivers.
  • Move the patient from the water into the boat, between boats and onto the land correctly.

    Associated Assessment Criteria for Exit Level Outcome 8:
  • Analyse urban search incidents and scenarios critically.
  • Synthesise and operationalise effective plans of action to safely and effectively access, treat and remove patients in an urban search and rescue and or hazardous materials environment.
  • Classify hazardous materials correctly and discuss the dangers associated with ventilation strategies accurately.
  • Summarise support services used in confined space rescue correctly.
  • Define a confined space.
  • Describe the types and classifications of confined spaces.
  • Discuss common hazards found in confined spaces appropriately.
  • Appraise confined space rescue equipment accurately.
  • Demonstrate the use of confined space retrieval equipment logically.
  • Discuss different types of trench accidents correctly.
  • Assess the dangers associated with trench rescue work logically.
  • Identify factors contributing to a trench collapse correctly.
  • Identify hazards found at a trench incident correctly.
  • Explain soil types and their implications in a trench rescue adequately.
  • Appraise different types of equipment used in trench rescue sufficiently.
  • Demonstrate different types of equipment used in trench rescue correctly.
  • Explain the hazard control at a trench rescue incident adequately.
  • Describe different procedures for making a trench safe accurately.
  • Demonstrate shoring of a conventional, and intersecting trenches logically and safely.
  • Demonstrate the freeing a victim from the trench floor correctly.
  • Demonstrate termination of a trench rescue incident correctly and safely.
  • Explain safety during all phases of a structural collapse incident logically.
  • Recognise and mitigate hazards correctly.
  • Appraise and apply safety equipment for the structural collapse logically and correctly.
  • Explain hazardous conditions in different structural engineering systems correctly.
  • Explain team deployment at a structural collapse incident logically.
  • Identify specialist tools used in structural collapse rescue correctly.
  • Demonstrate specialist tools used in structural collapse rescue correctly.
  • Maintain specialist tools used in structural collapse rescue correctly.

    Integrated Assessment:
    Integrated assessment strategies across modules are applied and assessed in the classroom, practical venues and the authentic environment. The integrated assessment takes the form of an appropriate variety of assessment methods, for example: written and oral examinations, problem-solving assignments, project presentations, case studies, portfolios, logbooks, clinical reports and objectively structured clinical examination, reflective practice journals and simulated medical and rescue scenarios. Through the institution's policies on assessment and moderation, assessment practices will be open, transparent, fair, valid, and reliable. This practice will ensure that no learner is disadvantaged in any way whatsoever.

    Formative Assessment:
    The integration of learning and assessment is applicable. The scheme of work includes tests and assignments, practical work and competency evaluation of practical skills. The process is continuous and focuses on smaller sections of the work in the limited number of outcomes.

    Summative Assessment:
    Summative assessments evaluate the learners' abilities to manage and integrate a larger body of knowledge and to achieve the stated outcomes. The summative assessment also focuses on the learners' ability to integrate knowledge and skills in the area of medical rescue. Summative assessments include theory and practical assessments. 
    		•

    INTERNATIONAL COMPARABILITY 
    This comparison of this qualification was with the United States National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Urban Search and Rescue Technician qualifications for Fire Fighters and EMTs.

    The USA has been a world leader in establishing such standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) assumed responsibility for the development of training courses that are responsive to the standards established by the Highway Safety Act of 1966 (amended). The NHTSA designed these training courses to provide national guidelines for training. NHTSA intends that they be of the highest quality and maintained in a current and up-to-date status from both technical content and instructional strategy. The EMT-Paramedic: National Standard Curriculum represents the highest level of education in EMS pre-hospital training.

    Several vocational, technical, and Junior colleges offer a two-year Associates of Applied Science qualification, Emergency Management Services (AAS, EMS) requiring approximately 70-75 semester hours of study. These qualifications prepare learners for certification as a paramedic and further provide them with the background to manage and supervise emergency medical first responder units in support of fire departments, ambulance companies and other first responder agencies. In addition to EMT modules learners also take modules such as:
  • English Composition.
  • Modern College Mathematics or Introduction to College Algebra & Trigonometry.
  • Principles of Ethics.
  • Being a Supervisor.
  • Anatomy and Physiology for Paramedics.
  • Computing Concepts and Applications.
  • Introduction to Human Communication.
  • Managing the Emergency Medical Service Paramedic.
  • Fire Education and Public Relations.

    Clinical/field requirements:
    Objectives for the USA`s NFPA Rescue Curriculum and EMT-P qualifications are available.

    Senegal has no on-going Rescue Technician or EMT training qualification remotely close to the South African qualification. Medical training for ambulance personnel is similar to EMT-B standards, but there are no national standards for training throughout the country. Individuals in communities away from major cities such as Dakar receive very little training.

    Emergency Medical Services in the United Kingdom has decided to stop short course training and are currently developing similar higher education qualifications for pre-hospital practitioners.

    The Advanced Certificate compares favourably with the world's best practices as represented by the United States qualifications. This qualification will lead the way on the African continent for establishing standards for the similar to a Rescue Technician. This qualification will ensure that the patients' needs are prioritised and seen as central to the entire rescue operation. 
    		•

    ARTICULATION OPTIONS 
    This qualification allows possibilities for both vertical and horizontal articulation.

    Horizontal Articulation:
  • Diploma in Emergency Medical Care NQF Level 6.

    Vertical Articulation:
  • Bachelor of Health Sciences in Emergency Medical Care NQF Level 8. 
    		•

    MODERATION OPTIONS 
    N/A 

    CRITERIA FOR THE REGISTRATION OF ASSESSORS 
    N/A 

    NOTES 
    N/A 

    LEARNING PROGRAMMES RECORDED AGAINST THIS QUALIFICATION: 
     
    NONE 


    PROVIDERS CURRENTLY ACCREDITED TO OFFER THIS QUALIFICATION: 
    This information shows the current accreditations (i.e. those not past their accreditation end dates), and is the most complete record available to SAQA as of today. Some Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionaries have a lag in their recording systems for provider accreditation, in turn leading to a lag in notifying SAQA of all the providers that they have accredited to offer qualifications and unit standards, as well as any extensions to accreditation end dates. The relevant Primary or Delegated Quality Assurance Functionary should be notified if a record appears to be missing from here.
     
    1. University of Johannesburg 


    All qualifications and part qualifications registered on the National Qualifications Framework are public property. Thus the only payment that can be made for them is for service and reproduction. It is illegal to sell this material for profit. If the material is reproduced or quoted, the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) should be acknowledged as the source.