Sure, but only when facilitated by strong political organization or unionization.
EMS and meal "breaks"
- Thread starter audreyj
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Sure, but only when facilitated by strong political organization or unionization.
WolfmanHarris
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Chicken and the egg to a certain extent. How do you organize a group that is so fractured and transient. With a couple weekends you can get an EMT-B play at EMS for awhile and move on. Note that I'm not knocking Basic, per se, I'm knocking the providers that such low entry level requirements can attract. Far easier to mobilize an educated group that has had to make a significant personal commitment to their profession.
I will concede the political point though, doesn't matter how high the upper educational requirements are as long as the bar is allowed to remain low. Only political pressure can raise that bar, which of course requires an organized push from providers, which runs right into the point above.
I don't know how to organize a group that is so fractured and transient either. I left that mess and joined fire based EMS. It was the best move for me and my family by far. I still ride the ambulace around 50% of the time, do more if I so choose, have excellent opportunities for career development, and I'm not likely to burn out. I can retire at 55, or do three more years for the DROP. I couldn't stay third service EMS, wait and hope for positive change for the next 20-30 years, all the while heading straight for the poor house.
I'm definitely in agreement that educational standards need to be raised greatly. The thing is, I really don't see that passively raising the bar for pay, bennies, etc. One thing I figure though, is that if a legitimate degree is required before entry into the EMS job market, you'll have a population of serious minded providers, who generally intend to stay in the business for the long haul. This should make organization and/or unionization easier and more likely.
Stats for Florida which is largely Fire Based EMS:
http://www.ffca.org/files/public/FloridaFireChiefsEMSSectionFireBasedEMS.PDF
If they had surveyed the Paramedic education, they would have found that 70% or more hold only a certificate and no degree of any type. Since the FDs do pay well, it skews the data overall for EMS pay in this state. Plus, it is no secret that the FDs here do contract with the medic mills to get newly hired FFs a quick Paramedic cert and that they even backed an unlicensed FMTI school in Dade when the state was going to deny the students entrance to the Paramedic exam...and the state caved in. It is also no secret that they fought the NREMT even for the EMT level in Florida but the NREMT exam did go through for Basic. They have been and will continue to oppose the NREMT for Paramedics especially since it would mean the medic mills they use will have to become CoAEMSP accredited.
Thus, the Fire union has done very little for EMS education in the last 20 years. When EMS was still relatively young, the degreed Paramedic was a bonus but the FDs found they could go with more Paramedics if the education level was not raised to the two year degree which at one time Florida would have gotten it first and not Oregon. This was also when many of the degreed and serious Paramedics left the FDs for other healthcare professions such as nursing as the 3 month wonders entered. I held out as long as I could but the standards and quality were just becoming too low.
No other healthcare profession has relied on a union to advance their standards. Instead, the employers such as the hospitals started holding employees to higher educational standards in a competitive market. Many RNs and RRTs had their two year degrees long before it became mandatory because that is what the job description was calling for regardless of the minimal licensing standard. The certificate was no longer a viable option when petitioning the Federal, State and private insurances for reimbursement.
http://www.ffca.org/files/public/FloridaFireChiefsEMSSectionFireBasedEMS.PDF
If they had surveyed the Paramedic education, they would have found that 70% or more hold only a certificate and no degree of any type. Since the FDs do pay well, it skews the data overall for EMS pay in this state. Plus, it is no secret that the FDs here do contract with the medic mills to get newly hired FFs a quick Paramedic cert and that they even backed an unlicensed FMTI school in Dade when the state was going to deny the students entrance to the Paramedic exam...and the state caved in. It is also no secret that they fought the NREMT even for the EMT level in Florida but the NREMT exam did go through for Basic. They have been and will continue to oppose the NREMT for Paramedics especially since it would mean the medic mills they use will have to become CoAEMSP accredited.
Thus, the Fire union has done very little for EMS education in the last 20 years. When EMS was still relatively young, the degreed Paramedic was a bonus but the FDs found they could go with more Paramedics if the education level was not raised to the two year degree which at one time Florida would have gotten it first and not Oregon. This was also when many of the degreed and serious Paramedics left the FDs for other healthcare professions such as nursing as the 3 month wonders entered. I held out as long as I could but the standards and quality were just becoming too low.
No other healthcare profession has relied on a union to advance their standards. Instead, the employers such as the hospitals started holding employees to higher educational standards in a competitive market. Many RNs and RRTs had their two year degrees long before it became mandatory because that is what the job description was calling for regardless of the minimal licensing standard. The certificate was no longer a viable option when petitioning the Federal, State and private insurances for reimbursement.
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DrParasite
The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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Meal breaks? what are they?
as a dispatcher, I try to let crews sit down and enjoy a meal (when they tell me they are having them). however, they can't be too long (usually 30 mins top), and if you get a job, you have to take it. you are paid to be going on the job, so that's what management thinks.
if you are diabetic, then it is your responsibility to maintain your sugar level. bring food with you if you are that busy, so you can eat it as you clear the hospital and are going on the next job. I know I have done it before.
again, speaking as a dispatcher, most of us aren't looking to jam crews, and try to be accommodating. but we all have a job to do.
btw, once upon a time I was dispatching for a non-emergency transport company. we had a unit that worked 7am to 7pm. at 1145, they were given their second transport of the day (the first being a short IFT at 0830). They told me they needed to stop and get food, because one person is a diabetic. they did nothing between 0930 and 1145, and are now saying they can't do the job because of diabetes? suffice it to say, my director of operations (who happened to be looking over my shoulder) had a nice long talk with them when they got back.
as a dispatcher, I try to let crews sit down and enjoy a meal (when they tell me they are having them). however, they can't be too long (usually 30 mins top), and if you get a job, you have to take it. you are paid to be going on the job, so that's what management thinks.
if you are diabetic, then it is your responsibility to maintain your sugar level. bring food with you if you are that busy, so you can eat it as you clear the hospital and are going on the next job. I know I have done it before.
again, speaking as a dispatcher, most of us aren't looking to jam crews, and try to be accommodating. but we all have a job to do.
btw, once upon a time I was dispatching for a non-emergency transport company. we had a unit that worked 7am to 7pm. at 1145, they were given their second transport of the day (the first being a short IFT at 0830). They told me they needed to stop and get food, because one person is a diabetic. they did nothing between 0930 and 1145, and are now saying they can't do the job because of diabetes? suffice it to say, my director of operations (who happened to be looking over my shoulder) had a nice long talk with them when they got back.
Do EMTs not get unpaid meal breaks?
JonTullos
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It depends on where you work, what kind of calls you're running and workload. I work at a hospital-based service in a small town that is 911 for the city and county and also does (mostly) outbound IFT to higher-level facilities. As for meal breaks, we eat when we're able. Normally we try to eat in the hospital cafeteria as close to the beginning of serving time as we can (especially if you're the next truck out). If we're on an out-of-town transport during meal time, we can submit a receipt if we stop on the way back and they'll reimburse us out of petty cash up to $6. Sometimes we're able to eat at the times we're supposed to and sometimes we just have to suck it up and eat and eat whatever snacks we bring with us. It just depends on how much the red phone is ringing and how many patients at the nursing home need their peg tubes replaced (we do IFT to and from our facility for them too).
Eat when you can as soon as you can. Scheduled meal breaks rarely happen... if you're fortunate enough to be at a company that schedules and enforces set meal times, consider yourself blessed.
Jon
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Hal9000
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I should mention that I loathe SSM. I remember one particularly bad day where, when we finally got to stop and take a breath, they removed a BLS transfer unit and put us on a long-distance ALS intercept. (Remember, it's MT.) SSM wouldn't be so bad, I think, if it was only for 8/9 hour shifts.