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FROM THE PUBLISHER By Scott Cravens, EMT 12 AUGUST 2017 | EMSWORLD.com Insights from Oslo Norway joins six other countries by offering a bachelor's degree in paramedic science This summer I had the distinct privilege of touring one of the most forward-thinking EMS systems on the globe. The Oslo Uni- versity Hospital in Norway runs a diverse 600+ person agency, running calls in the air, land and sea as part of the government-run healthcare system. The Norwegian health system is grouped into primary care and specialized care. Pri- mary care includes general practitioners, home healthcare, nursing and retirement homes. Specialized care includes hospitals (both somatic and psychiatric), walk-in clin- ics and EMS. However, this doesn't preclude EMS from integrating with both entities. In fact, Oslo EMS (OEMS) not only oper- ates bikes, boats, planes, helicopters and ambulances, but they run the university health system bus to transport people to their healthcare provider appointments. They even schedule taxi and minibus service as needed for patients. The general prac- titioner for the municipality recommends the form of transportation a patient should take to an upcoming appointment—taxi, ambulance or bus—and that recommenda- tion goes into to the call center, which then schedules the transport. OEMS operates the dispatch center and balances the recom- mendations of the GP with the availability of vehicles. OEMS not only manages the THE 600+ STAFF 55 EMT apprentices 400 EMTs 30 Dispatchers 55 Nurses 20 Physicians 10 Educational staff 30 Managers/administrators 15 stations + Oslo Airport 27 ambulances running 24-7 22 ambulances running daytime and weekends 2 bicycle paramedic units 1 motorcycle paramedic unit 1 supervisor vehicle 1 intensive care ambulance 1 boat (operated by Oslo Fire Department) 2 fixed-wing airplanes 2 helicopters 1 physician vehicle 1 bus 2016 STATS 149,000 ground calls 4,200 air calls 730,000 patient transports (including taxi and minibus scheduled transports) 40 sea calls 2.4 million miles driven Calls increasing 3–5% annually The 30 students of the inaugural paramedic class graduated in May 2017. KEY STATS