08/08/2026
🚑 Registration is open for the 1st Annual Southwest Virginia EMS Council EMS Symposium! 🚑
We’re excited to bring EMS professionals together October 3–4, 2026, at the Higher Education Center in Abingdon, Virginia, for two days of education, certification, and hands-on professional development.
Whether you need to renew a certification, strengthen your clinical knowledge, improve your response skills, or add new training to your toolbox, there’s something on the schedule for you!
📚 Courses Offered
🩺 BLS – Basic Life Support
Strengthen the foundational lifesaving skills used every day in healthcare and EMS, including high-quality CPR and team-based resuscitation.
🚑 EMS Safety
Focus on recognizing and reducing the risks EMS professionals encounter on the job, helping providers make safer decisions for themselves, their partners, patients, and the public.
❤️ ACLS Refresher – Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support
Refresh your knowledge and skills for managing adult cardiovascular emergencies, including cardiac arrest, arrhythmias, and other time-critical situations.
👶 PALS Refresher – Pediatric Advanced Life Support
Review the systematic assessment and management of seriously ill or injured pediatric patients and reinforce effective pediatric resuscitation skills.
🧒 PEARS – Pediatric Emergency Assessment, Recognition and Stabilization
Designed to strengthen the ability of BLS providers to recognize pediatric emergencies, initiate appropriate interventions, and stabilize young patients.
👵 GEMS – Geriatric Education for EMS
Build a better understanding of the unique medical, social, and communication considerations involved in caring for older adults in the prehospital environment.
🚨 PHTLS – Prehospital Trauma Life Support
Develop and reinforce a systematic approach to trauma assessment and treatment, with an emphasis on critical thinking and delivering effective prehospital trauma care.
🫁 AMLS – Advanced Medical Life Support
Take a deeper look at assessing and managing complex medical patients using a systematic approach to differential diagnosis and clinical decision-making.
🛡️ TECC – Tactical Emergency Casualty Care
Learn principles for providing lifesaving care during high-threat and complex incidents where traditional EMS operations may need to be adapted to the environment.
👨👩👧 EPC – Emergency Pediatric Care
Expand your knowledge of pediatric assessment and emergency care, with an emphasis on recognizing and appropriately managing sick and injured children.
🚑 EVOS – Emergency Vehicle Operator Safety
Improve the knowledge and decision-making skills needed to operate emergency vehicles safely while reducing risks to crews, patients, and the public.
📋 DICO Officer Update
An update for Designated Infection Control Officers, covering information and responsibilities relevant to supporting EMS agencies and their personnel in infection-control matters.
📅 Symposium Schedule
Saturday, October 3:
BLS • EMS Safety • ACLS Refresher • GEMS • PHTLS Day 1 • AMLS Day 1 • TECC Day 1 • EPC Day 1
Sunday, October 4:
DICO Officer Update • PALS Refresher • PEARS • EVOS • PHTLS Day 2 • AMLS Day 2 • TECC Day 2 • EPC Day 2
📍 Higher Education Center – Abingdon, Virginia
⚠️ Important Course Information
ACLS and PALS participants: Required online pre-course work must be completed before class, and each student must bring their completed course certificate to class.
📚 Provider textbooks are not included. Participants must obtain the current required manuals.
💳 Completion Card Fees: AHA completion cards for BLS, ACLS, PALS, and PEARS are $10 per card. NAEMT completion cards for PHTLS, AMLS, TECC, GEMS, and EPC are $15 per card. DICO Officer Update registration and fees are paid directly to VAFR.
⚠️ All classes are subject to minimum enrollment and may be canceled or rescheduled.
🔥 REGISTER EARLY — SPACE IS LIMITED! 🔥
Scan the QR code on the flyer to register, or contact the Southwest Virginia EMS Council at (276) 628-4151 for more information.
Please LIKE, SHARE, and TAG your EMS colleagues, agencies, and departments so we can make our first annual symposium a great one!
🚑 Training today for stronger care tomorrow.
