Abstract
The Bachelor of Health Sciences Degree in Emergency Medical Care (BEMC) is a unique program in that students operate in both emergency care and rescue contexts, unlike international paramedic degree programs which focus only on emergency care. The learning activities associated with the rescue content are physically strenuous and therefore BEMC students need to be physically and mentally prepared to engage in diverse austere environments. Although South African BEMC programs have a common medical rescue curriculum, approaches to the training and assessment of physical preparedness vary between the institutions. The objective of this research was to explore the knowledge gap through the review of literature that describes the unique physical preparedness requirements in the field of emergency care education.