The first part of our course outline in our lesson plan reviews the terms associated with rehab. Terms are always a difficult part of a course to incorporate into a lesson. After all, most personnel really do not care about terminology, at least not when they have to sit in a classroom and be schooled on terms. Remember the days in elementary school when you had to memorize words and then spell them and write their definition? A number of your personnel will conjure up those days in the back of their mind and relate to those days, good and bad. So how do you emphasize these key terms in an adult learning environment?

We need to impress on our personnel that terminology is more important today in the emergency service industry than ever before. Remember that little thing called NIMS? If we are going to function as an industry, we should all speak the same language. Establishing proper terminology is essential for all areas in our business; rehab is no different.

NFPA 1584 lists seventeen terms that are important to define and use when talking about rehabilitation at emergency incidents and training exercises:

1. Cooling. Active Cooling. Passive Cooling.
2. Core Body Temperature.
3. Emergency Incident.
4. Emergency Operations.
5. Hydration.
6. Incident Commander (IC).
7. Incident Management System (IMS).
8. Medical Monitoring.
9. Personnel Accountability System.
10. Procedure.
11. Recovery.
12. Rehabilitation.
13. Rehabilitation Manager.
14. Sports Drink.
15. Standard Operating Guideline
16. Standard Operating Procedure.
17. Supervisor.

So where do we go from here? We can identify a number of the terms as common terms we are accustomed to using, such as Incident Commander. Some, like Medical Monitoring, may not be as common in our vocabulary. There are a number of ways that we can incorporate these key terms into our lesson. I would not spend a lot of time on the terms -- rather introduce them and then use them throughout the course.

It is important as instructors that we use the proper terminology on a regular basis. If we want to make a term part of our vocabulary, we need to use it. The instructor is looked upon as the example-setter. If you serve in a leadership position in your department you are also looked upon as the example-setter; therefore, it is imperative that you use the proper terminology.

At the start of your training session, show the group the list of words. This can be done by putting them on a PowerPoint or a handout.

Now you need to get them thinking about the terms so they will begin to incorporate them in their every day vocabulary. Depending on the class participants, you can make this part of the course interactive. One way you can do this is by creating a competitive environment. The participants will identify the key terms throughout the class session. Here is how: Every time the participant hears one of the key terms, they write it down. At the end of the session participants compare how many times each word was said during the session. The person who has the most wins. Now, it becomes difficult to substantiate the exact number of times a word was used during a session, but it does get the class to concentrate on the key terms and they will tend to remember the words after leaving the class. The goal is to educate personnel and get them to change behavior as a result of the training.

Crossword puzzles seem to be popular among many emergency service personnel trainers. Using a puzzle is another means to instill the key term and emphasize the definition of the term. The puzzle can be distributed before class to get the participant to think about the key term. When they come to the training session on rehab, they will have a foundation of the key terms. If it is not possible to distribute the puzzle prior to class, give it to them to take with them to reiterate the key terms after the session is over. Of course, you are thinking, the danger of giving the participant the puzzle to complete after the session is that they will not complete it. You can have them return it to after completion, have them complete it in class, or just believe that they will complete it after leaving the class.

You may have found a different method to present key terms in a fun but educational format. Use what works and don’t be afraid to try a different presentation technique.

Key terms are an essential part of any course. They also can be a challenge to an instructor to incorporate into a course. NFPA 1584 has a set number of key terms that provide the foundation for incident rehabilitation. The key terms are not the exciting part of the lesson, but it is critical to get everyone speaking the same language. Use a different approach to emphasize the terms and most of all use the key terms to emphasize the importance of the term. Walk the talk and talk the walk!

References
Lindsey, J. (2007) Fire Service Instructor Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ

NFPA 1584 Standard on the Rehabilitation Process for Members During Emergency Operations and Training Exercises (2008) National Fire Protection Association Batterymarch, MA