The base course is 4 days, with an online learning portion to view and complete beforehand. Attendees would be eligible for up to 40 hours of CEUs. A memorandum will be provided to the hosting entity detailing the continuing education hours.   • Note – At this time, SMS does not provide CE/CME credit. That is the responsibility of the hosting entity.

No, the base course cannot be modified. The learning objectives must be covered through the provided course curriculum delivery documents. However, there is a 4-hour elective session built in that can be used to teach a specific topic for your audience. 

Yes, the course may fit nicely into a larger educational offering, degree program, or initial training pipeline. This course is designed to cover the core capabilities required for AEC (Prolonged Field Care in the US and other militaries) which is both TRAUMA-FOCUSED in relative content, and designed for the MANAGEMENT OF CRITICAL AND SERIOUS CASUALTIES in austere environments.

Every course must have the following personnel: 

• At least 1 fully trained and validated SMS Course Director 
• At least 2 Course Instructors 
• At least 1 Course Coordinator who will be your administrative, logistics and operations leader for a course.  
  • The Course Coordinator can be non-medical but should be available throughout the 4-day offering and may be the primary point of contact for both SMS and course participants, before, during and after the in-person 4-day course. 

Our courses will require an SMS validated Course Director and Course Instructor, as well as a course coordinator (non-medical), and, for new sites, we’ll assign a “course Mentor” to get started and provide guidance. For new sites, we intend to assist with start-up. Assistant instructors may also help out in addition to the two SMS-trained Instructors (for instance, if you have a SME, nurse, respiratory therapist, etc that you might want to deliver certain subjects).  

Additional needs for the course are: 

• A paid site license from Specialized Medical Standards 
• Approval from Specialized Medical Standards 
• Training aids and medical supplies 
• Live action role players 
• Classroom site with AV equipment 
• Additional sites for live action scenario
• Each participant should have a copy of the PFC Field Handbook at the time of training, provided by your organization. These are available for purchase here.

All costs assume you have the above listed personnel, supplies, and training facilities already in place.  

INITIAL LICENSE FEE/SET-UP VISIT ($3,500-5,000 USD). THIS INCLUDES: 

• Staff assistance prior to course (remotely) 
• In-person visit and mentoring on course logistics, operations and flow 
• Assigned “Course Mentor” for academic and instructional technique and guidance 
• Initial License fee for 3 total courses (the in-person initial course and two additional courses) 
  • Further course licenses may be purchased for $500 per additional course, or unlimited number for one year for $2,500 USD

All expendables, training aides, live action role player support (used on the final day immersive scenario) site provision for training, AV equipment, personnel compensation, per diem and travel are the responsibility of the hosting entity. 

Medical expendable budget for a course with approximately 12 personnel typically costs $1,000-1,800 USD (gross estimate, actual costs may vary significantly). 

STUDENT FEES 

In addition to the course license fees, the per student fee is $100.00 USD. This includes patches, certificate, LMS access, and student teaching materials. Be sure to factor in an additional $50.00 USD (plus shipping) for the Prolonged Field Care Field Handbook, available for purchase here.

Obviously, there are significant set-up fees, and this represents a significant initial investment for a training entity. However, with the option of unlimited course licenses and relatively low per student fees, this is designed to develop quality training institutions who wish to host this course offering regularly. 

We realize this isn’t all-inclusive, but we recommend a range of cost per student to attend would be $1,200-1,600 USD per participant. International offerings may vary significantly. This is ONLY AN ESTIMATE at this time.

All costs assume you have the above listed personnel, supplies, and training facilities already in place.  

• Course licenses may be purchased for $500 USD per additional course, or unlimited number for one year for $2,500 USD
• The per student fee is $100.00 USD. This includes patches, certificate, LMS access, and student teaching materials. Be sure to factor in an additional $50.00 USD (plus shipping) for the Prolonged Field Care Field Handbook, available for purchase here.

All expendables, training aides, live action role player support (used on the final day immersive scenario) site provision for training, AV equipment, personnel compensation, per diem, and  travel are the responsibility of the hosting entity. 

Each person who wants to qualify as an instructor for this course must complete the following steps: 

• Take an AEC course. Score at least 80% on the exam. 
• Meet minimum requirements. A senior instructor can be eligible for the Course Director role and must have one degree-level above the course participants.
• Earn the designation of “instructor potential” by the Course Director.
• Attend an SMS Instructor Development Course.  
• Team-teach as an Instructor Candidate for 2 courses. 
• Be validated by a Course Director as a full Instructor.

You must have two SMS-qualified Course Instructors to run a course. The SMS Course Director may fulfill one of these Instructor billets/requirements. 

NOTE: the one-degree higher requirement is for one of the instructors, the other Instructor should be an experienced practitioner SIMILAR TO THE STUDENT/PARTICIPANT experience. (For instance, for an AEC course of EMTs, you should not have a physician and nurse as your SMS-trained Director/Instructor.)

SMS will require training entities to list their Medical Director when initially scheduling a course.  This person will not need to be present on site, but should be available to provide guidance, amplifications and as an SME to the entity’s training staff. This role will not be provided by SMS. The Medical Director will be expected to be fully versed in participants’ Scopes of Practice and provide indirect medical oversight to the educational content delivered. Your Course Director is the on-site person responsible for the quality of educational content delivered and ensures that instruction is consistent with SMS requirements.

Yes, you may have additional assistant instructors, to aid but not lead, curriculum delivery or practical sessions in addition to the SMS- qualified staff requirement. Note – The Course Director is responsible for the overall delivery of the material and ensuring quality of instruction throughout the course.

There are some resource-intensive portions of the course, and it is recommended that you always have a minimum of 2 instructors available. For larger courses, greater than 10-15 participants, additional instructors may be required during the first and fourth days of instruction.

This is a 2-day offering and cost that is separate from initial licensing set-up. It may be included as an addition to an initial staff visit. The minimum price for an Instructor Development Course would be $2000.

It is encouraged that all companies develop qualified staff from within their instructor pool, but as this is not practical for all, especially during the initial roll-out stages, SMS can recommend qualified staff. Since all personnel are subject to availability, we encourage training sites to work with SMS and the individual people to find a reasonable time for participation.

• Course Director: $3,500-5,000 USD per course, exclusive of travel, lodging, and per diem. 
• Course Instructor: $2,500-3,000 USD per course, exclusive of travel, lodging, and per diem.