Ambulance Driver = EMT = Medic

[Ridryder911]

The problem is the public assumption or expectation. The public assumes they are geting the highest educated person.

The same is true whenever I meet a person who introduces themself as a "nurse"... this is usually a CNA or someone whon is a CMA, which is totally dfferent than one with a degree, and RN licensure.

Medic term is synomous with of just that... medic. EMT or Paramedic. However when one introduces themselves as a Paramedic, and they are not.. I do become very irritated. This is false representation and misleading the patient and public, as well in my state illegal.

Yes, we have way too many levels of EMT and I do agree with the removal of the EMT preceding the title Paramedic. Hopefully, this will change with time and education levels. There are committees attempting actually working on this and with the introduction of a possibility of new license, national certification of CCP Critical Care Paramedic (not to be confused with Maryland's CCEMT/P class; which is now really now called critical care emergency transport program). Please notice it is no EMT is mentioned in above new title.

There is nothing "bad or wrong" with the EMT or its level. However; we are quite aware of many trying to leave the persona that they are Paramedics, which is wrong to the patient and to the system.

Be safe,
R/r 911

 

[ffemt8978]

Rid,

I agree with everything you said. Nobody here was saying that an EMT should introduce hmself as a paramedic when he's not one.

About your first point, the public's expectations and presumptions. Even where I live, the public expects that everytime they call for an ambulance, they're going to get the Johnny and Roy paramedics. Why? Because that's all they've ever seen on TV (Emergency, Rescue 911, Third Watch, ER, etc....). None of these shows differentiate between the levels of EMS because they don't want to bore their viewing audience with details.

The public watches these shows and doesn't realize that there's a difference, so they assume we're just like what they've seen on TV. For example, a couple of years ago, we had a bad MVA (2 car head on with fatailies). I get out of the front passenger seat of the ambulance in full bunker gear and a "doctor" on scene comes up to me. He says, "Are you a Medic?" I answered, "Yes, I am." Notice that I never identified myself as a paramedic. He then directed me towards a patient that had already been extricated from the vehicle by bystanders.

According to some people, when asked if I was a medic, I should have responded, "No, I'm not a medic. That title is reserved for those with superior education and larger egos. I'm a lowly redneck EMT and my training consists of nothing more than glorified first aid."

I'm curious though, and in all seriousness ask this question. What gives paramedics the right to be called "medics" to the exclusion of everyone else?

 

[Jon]

The problem is the public assumption or expectation. The public assumes they are geting the highest educated person.

The same is true whenever I meet a person who introduces themself as a "nurse"... this is usually a CNA or someone whon is a CMA, which is totally dfferent than one with a degree, and RN licensure.

You've seen that too? I used to give the CNA's at the local VA SNF a really hard time over that.

Medic term is synomous with of just that... medic. EMT or Paramedic. However when one introduces themselves as a Paramedic, and they are not.. I do become very irritated. This is false representation and misleading the patient and public, as well in my state illegal.

Great point.

According to some people, when asked if I was a medic, I should have responded, "No, I'm not a medic. That title is reserved for those with superior education and larger egos. I'm a lowly redneck EMT and my training consists of nothing more than glorified first aid."

You are my hero! That sums up this argument in a nutshell.

Oh... I think this is the longest thread we have had since SHP was aroud

 

[Guardian]

But my point is that they don't care what your title is. They just want to know that you're there to help and to get them to the hospital alive.

It's not like they are going to be there, laying in a car, bleeding out of every hole in their body, look at the patch on the shoulder and say, "Go away, you're just an EMT."

They don't care now because they don't know any better. I believe they would care if they knew the difference. If i've got kidney stones, i want a medic with pn med. If i had CP, i would want 12-lead and drugs. If i were bleeding out of every hole in my body, i want a paramedic and it would be nice to know who the paramedics are. I believe the public would feel the same way if we stopped lying to them.

 

[Guardian]

So you've been a paramedic for 5 years? How long were you an EMT before that?

2 years..........

 

[Guardian]

What makes someone a "Fully-Trained Paramedic" Vs. a "Partially Trained EMT"

I've seen folks with NREMT-P patches who didn't seem able to wipe their own bottoms, and I've seen EMT-B's that are more knowledgeble than their "Paramedic" partner.

As I've said... In Israel - Drivers with Basic First Aid are "Medics" and those with a similar course to the national standard EMT-P course are "Paramedics" That is their system.

In Canada, everone is a "Paramedic"

By fully trained, someone has passed NR-Paramedic exam. Anything else is only partially trained.

 

[Guardian]

Why does it matter that the public "know there is a difference?" YOU admitted that they can't tell the difference between a FF, CFR, EMT-B, EMT-I, EMT-P

In my experience, the only way they notice the difference between an EMT and a EMT-P is "why is his uniform different?" And that only works when you have distinctly different uniforms.

please go back and read my really long earlier post, there i discribe why it matters but here is the short version. Public perception of ems is everything and will make or break us.

 

[Guardian]

The problem is the public assumption or expectation. The public assumes they are geting the highest educated person.

The same is true whenever I meet a person who introduces themself as a "nurse"... this is usually a CNA or someone whon is a CMA, which is totally dfferent than one with a degree, and RN licensure.

Medic term is synomous with of just that... medic. EMT or Paramedic. However when one introduces themselves as a Paramedic, and they are not.. I do become very irritated. This is false representation and misleading the patient and public, as well in my state illegal.

Yes, we have way too many levels of EMT and I do agree with the removal of the EMT preceding the title Paramedic. Hopefully, this will change with time and education levels. There are committees attempting actually working on this and with the introduction of a possibility of new license, national certification of CCP Critical Care Paramedic (not to be confused with Maryland's CCEMT/P class; which is now really now called critical care emergency transport program). Please notice it is no EMT is mentioned in above new title.

There is nothing "bad or wrong" with the EMT or its level. However; we are quite aware of many trying to leave the persona that they are Paramedics, which is wrong to the patient and to the system.

Be safe,
R/r 911

I agree with everything you wrote here. People know enough to differentiate RN vs CNA. People do not know enough to differentiate EMT vs Paramedic. How would you feel if everyone thought Shanikwa the CNA had the same job as you Rid. I bet you would say "darn, i don't want them mistaking my critical care passion with shanikwa's bed pan service. Well thats how i feel when people mistake my job for bubba's and more importantly our public image is damaged.

 

[Guardian]

Rid,

I agree with everything you said. Nobody here was saying that an EMT should introduce hmself as a paramedic when he's not one.

About your first point, the public's expectations and presumptions. Even where I live, the public expects that everytime they call for an ambulance, they're going to get the Johnny and Roy paramedics. Why? Because that's all they've ever seen on TV (Emergency, Rescue 911, Third Watch, ER, etc....). None of these shows differentiate between the levels of EMS because they don't want to bore their viewing audience with details.

The public watches these shows and doesn't realize that there's a difference, so they assume we're just like what they've seen on TV. For example, a couple of years ago, we had a bad MVA (2 car head on with fatailies). I get out of the front passenger seat of the ambulance in full bunker gear and a "doctor" on scene comes up to me. He says, "Are you a Medic?" I answered, "Yes, I am." Notice that I never identified myself as a paramedic. He then directed me towards a patient that had already been extricated from the vehicle by bystanders.

According to some people, when asked if I was a medic, I should have responded, "No, I'm not a medic. That title is reserved for those with superior education and larger egos. I'm a lowly redneck EMT and my training consists of nothing more than glorified first aid."

I'm curious though, and in all seriousness ask this question. What gives paramedics the right to be called "medics" to the exclusion of everyone else?

The public thinks medic is the same as paramedic. Therefore when a FR calls him/herself a medic, he/she is lying to the public. The public doesn't know the difference between emt-ABCDEFG and paramedic and by calling us both medics will only make this problem worse and do further damage to public perceptions.

The doctor should have never used the term medic in the first place. He used this incorrect lazy bigot term because we allowed him to. Medic should only be used in its broadest dictionary context,

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=medic

As far as clarifying "No, I not a medic..." I'm all for it, because people should know the truth.

Nothing gives paramedics the right to be called medics exclusively and i haven't once said that they do have this right.

 

[ffemt8978]

The public thinks medic is the same as paramedic. Therefore when a FR calls him/herself a medic, he/she is lying to the public. The public doesn't know the difference between emt-ABCDEFG and paramedic and by calling us both medics will only make this problem worse and do further damage to public perceptions.

The doctor should have never used the term medic in the first place. He used this incorrect lazy bigot term because we allowed him to. Medic should only be used in its broadest dictionary context,

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=medic

As far as clarifying "No, I not a medic..." I'm all for it, because people should know the truth.

Nothing gives paramedics the right to be called medics exclusively and i haven't once said that they do have this right.

I have no problem clarifying my role as an EMT when I have time, usually during the transport in the back of the ambulance. Hell, I have no problem explaining the difference to the patient, time permitting. I do have a problem trying to explain the difference when I first introduce myself and am trying to get the scene under control. I believe that if you go back and read MMiz's original question, it pertained to the initial introduction and not further along in the treatment process.

And yes, public perception is a huge problem in EMS. We should be trying to educate the public and get them involved instead of debating who should be called what because we're concerned about how we perceive the public's perception of us.

 

[Guardian]

I have no problem clarifying my role as an EMT when I have time, usually during the transport in the back of the ambulance. Hell, I have no problem explaining the difference to the patient, time permitting. I do have a problem trying to explain the difference when I first introduce myself and am trying to get the scene under control. I believe that if you go back and read MMiz's original question, it pertained to the initial introduction and not further along in the treatment process.

And yes, public perception is a huge problem in EMS. We should be trying to educate the public and get them involved instead of debating who should be called what because we're concerned about how we perceive the public's perception of us.

MMiz's originial post said they wanted to call us all "Medics" In my world, introduction should be either emt or paramedic. Then in my world, we shouldn't have to explain further the different levels because the public will already understand the difference between emt and paramedic even if its as simple as knowing that emt is a lesser trained ems worker than paramedic. In my world, ems gets more respect and people are not lied to. I will admit, it's hard educating the public on anything much less boring details about our job but i do think its important. When you wrote we should be educating the public, thats exactly what i'm trying to do rather than dumb it down and call every ems'er a medic.

Note: when i said earlier that you should clarify to public you're not a paramedic, i was just being facetious, sorry for the misunderstanding.

 

[Tactical Medic]

Hey all, I'm a Paramedic but never mind being called EMT, Medic, Paramedic, or Doc. I think the term medic most laypeople would find to be more easer to use/understand especially in an emergency. I don't mind sharing my title with EMTs I think its a great idea especially since the EMTs I have the honor to work with do most of the work- they spike my IVs and prep a kit for me, do EKGs and 12 leads, and all I have to say is a medication or that I will ET someone and they have the equipment ready for me. Once again Medic is a great term and will use it for now on with my own coworkers :beerchug:

 

[disassociative]

...

Well, when I hear Medic and Paramedic; I think of the difference between a lawyer and a paralegal. For instance; on LifeFlight, we refer to our Physicians as the Flight Medics and the EMT-P's as Paramedics.

I have always associated medic with physician.

Most of the time; I just use the generalization; EMS. However, on a scene
I want to know exactly what everyone is, because if I have a patient that
needs an ET tube, I want to know if the guy next to me is an EMT-B or a Paramedic.

 

[Guardian]

Well, when I hear Medic and Paramedic; I think of the difference between a lawyer and a paralegal. For instance; on LifeFlight, we refer to our Physicians as the Flight Medics and the EMT-P's as Paramedics.

I have always associated medic with physician.

Most of the time; I just use the generalization; EMS. However, on a scene
I want to know exactly what everyone is, because if I have a patient that
needs an ET tube, I want to know if the guy next to me is an EMT-B or a Paramedic.

good point..........

 

[Jon]

That is a unique point from your service - at the "Large, national EMS Co" I work part-time at we have an ED Attending who is our command doc...(http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=2585) he is "Doc-1" or Medical Command when we do REALLY large events. He is an attending at a large teaching hospital, so we usually have a senior resident with us as "Doc-2" at the huge events, or when he isn't availible (deployed with FEMA US&R PA TF-1)

 

[MMiz]

I posted a few years ago about the time a guy had an MI on an airplane, and I offered my services.

I went to the back of the airplane and said "Hi, my name is Matt, and I'm an EMT." No one knew what an EMT was, even after I said it's an "Emergency Medical Technician". I then said "I'm a medic," and they were happy. When an ER nurse walked back and offered her services, I said I was an "EMT-Basic" and she immediately understood.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be different levels of EMS. I 100% approve of the different levels. What I'm saying is for public purposes, and for the general image of EMS, we should push the idea of "Medic" as the standard term. In a clinical setting or in the field I'm an EMT-Basic or "Basic," but to the public, I'm a Medic.

Is that fair?

 

[Tactical Medic]

I posted a few years ago about the time a guy had an MI on an airplane, and I offered my services.

I went to the back of the airplane and said "Hi, my name is Matt, and I'm an EMT." No one knew what an EMT was, even after I said it's an "Emergency Medical Technician". I then said "I'm a medic," and they were happy. When an ER nurse walked back and offered her services, I said I was an "EMT-Basic" and she immediately understood.

I'm not saying there shouldn't be different levels of EMS. I 100% approve of the different levels. What I'm saying is for public purposes, and for the general image of EMS, we should push the idea of "Medic" as the standard term. In a clinical setting or in the field I'm an EMT-Basic or "Basic," but to the public, I'm a Medic.

Is that fair?

Yes thats fair, BTW disassociative, I will never call a Doctor "medic" I don't know which "lifeflight" you work on but our local "flight medic" is a PARAMEDIC... BTW they also have "flight nurse" and they are known as NURSE....

But for the layperson I think the term "medic" should be used, I mean if you (the prehospital professional) want to know what the other guy's qualifications are simple look at his/her shoulder :wacko:

I have no problems calling my EMTs "medic" as I have said before I have TOTAL trust in them, I have to since sometimes I'm the lone paramedic and can't do 4 things at once.

We should lobby for this, I mean its used in the news, movies, and books. Every other American calls us "medics" and they don't know about differences, thats OK because we do...

 

[MMiz]

I actually found out about the "Medic" campaign by visiting the American Ambulance Association's website. I think I even posted the cheesy videos

 

[Jon]

OMG... this isn't DEAD yet?



JK, everyone!

 

[Tactical Medic]

OMG... this isn't DEAD yet?



JK, everyone!

Back from the dead? would this be considered a pre-hospital save :lol: :lol: