EMS Week & Public Education

[medicRob]

Justin Schorr (The Happy Medic) raised an interesting question today on Facebook. What could your agency be doing this week to educate the general public about what we do?


One thing I thought of was for agencies to emphasize to the public that the major traumas that most people have in their heads that we see daily only make up a small part of the calls we run and that our day consists of doctors appointments, dialysis, nursing home transfers, and a whole series of medical emergencies.

I brought up the idea of programs such as the "Mini med school" series of courses that a lot of medical centers employ to educate the community about the role of the physician, only centered around the EMT and Paramedic. It could also afford an opportunity to educate the community on prevention, and how simply taking an extra second to look at an intersection and wearing your seatbelt can make our jobs easier.

What are some of your ideas?

 

[abckidsmom]

When I do public ed (not usually related to EMS week), I continually see the need to focus on when to call 911. People who abuse 911 sometimes just don't know better, and others don't call when they need is because they don't want to "bother" us.

I love doing the kids-in-the-ambulance talks, and do the standard familiarization tour with the kids, and throw that little talk in for the moms who are typically standing at the back doors of the ambulance. I also take advantage of the captive audience to advocate for proper car seat usage and give my boosters are for big kids pep talk.

 

[medicRob]

When I do public ed (not usually related to EMS week), I continually see the need to focus on when to call 911. People who abuse 911 sometimes just don't know better, and others don't call when they need is because they don't want to "bother" us.

I love doing the kids-in-the-ambulance talks, and do the standard familiarization tour with the kids, and throw that little talk in for the moms who are typically standing at the back doors of the ambulance. I also take advantage of the captive audience to advocate for proper car seat usage and give my boosters are for big kids pep talk.

I think you hit the nail on the head. Whenever we think about problems associated with 911, we rarely think about the people who do not call 911 because they dont wan't to "bother" us. We should remember this next time we walk on to a scene with the, "This is BS" attitude.



Also, car seat programs were something that the service I started with was big on. We even had a car seat exchange program. We taught the PROPER way of putting a car seat in, as well as provided car seats for newborns that were obtained through private funding and donations.

One of the most effective ways we have to increase survivability is through prevention. Just as the AHA works to educate people on heart-healthy choices, we too should endeavor to educate our communities on safety and prevention. Any firefighter can tell you the importance of prevention in their profession, the same applies to us on the EMS side.

 

[abckidsmom]

I think you hit the nail on the head. Whenever we think about problems associated with 911, we rarely think about the people who do not call 911 because they dont wan't to "bother" us. We should remember this next time we walk on to a scene with the, "This is BS" attitude.

Absolutely. Until I was a mom, I didn't really spend a whole lot of time with people who weren't involved in EMS or public safety of some sort. It was incredibly eye-opening to discover that the smart, college-educated, middle-class professionals are just clueless about stuff like this, and extremely sensitive to the "This is BS" attitude, so they won't make that mistake twice.

A stressed-out 40ish woman woke in the night with chest pain, had the medics come and tell her that it was likely just an anxiety attack, and he could take her or she'd be fine staying home. She believed him, and was "educated" to that "truth" and didn't go. Insane. Later, to keep from bothering the medics, she drove her lethargic, vomiting son who'd just fallen and hit his head on the garage floor because she didn't want to bother the medics.

This is an extreme case, I hope, but it's so prevalent it makes me sick.

Also, car seat programs were something that the service I started with was big on. We even had a car seat exchange program. We taught the PROPER way of putting a car seat in, as well as provided car seats for newborns that were obtained through private funding and donations.

One of the most effective ways we have to increase survivability is through prevention. Just as the AHA works to educate people on heart-healthy choices, we too should endeavor to educate our communities on safety and prevention. Any firefighter can tell you the importance of prevention in their profession, the same applies to us on the EMS side.

Absolutely. Just to let you know though, it's really important that people don't go freelancing on the car seat installation. The CPS tech class is usually a Monday through Friday deal, and that just scratches the surface of what you need to know.

 

[abckidsmom]

Double post.

 

[medicRob]

This is an extreme case, I hope, but it's so prevalent it makes me sick.

The number one patient that comes to mind is the little old lady who is having chest pain, but doesn't want to be a bother to anyone. These people are hard enough to talk into coming to the hospital as it is.

Then you have the ones who think that nitroglycerin is a fix-all pill that just keep taking them until they either bottom out and end up being found on the floor by a relative who then calls us or simply end up dead.

It is amazing the devastation that a bad attitude can cause.