EMT-B says "I'm a medic"

[bstone]

Well, EMT-I's are pretty much phased out, Massachusetts is the only one with an EMT-I left from what I hear. I should move to another state, lol. I need to find the time to go to medic school, but with working on my undergrad I can't...I guess my idea of a stepwise process would only work for me.

You have heard very, very wrong.

 

[Afflixion]

You think its bad trying to explain the difference between a EMT and a paramedic, try telling a patient "I'm a PA student" or "I'm a physician's assistant student" they almost always think your a doctor or your a CNA... more people are keen as to paramedics and EMTs (medics and ambulance drivers! haha) then PA's the average layman has no idea.

 

[TraprMike]

We're all 'medics'... It's a label given to anyone working in the EMS field.

this ^^^

then if they question or want more info,, then try to explain the diff between the types.. but easier to just say, yup, Im a medic.

 

[RUGBY66X]

You think its bad trying to explain the difference between a EMT and a paramedic, try telling a patient "I'm a PA student" or "I'm a physician's assistant student" they almost always think your a doctor or your a CNA... more people are keen as to paramedics and EMTs (medics and ambulance drivers! haha) then PA's the average layman has no idea.

ya thats a mouth full. when im on clinicals and i go into a pt's room in the er i always say im a medic student and they always say your not dressed like the other doctors or something to that extent. they think when i say medic student that im in "medical school" instead of PARAmedic school. but it is a lot of fun telling people im a student as im about to stick them with an IV

It's even more fun telling people that i dont work in EMS and that im a butcher haha that gets some funny looks

 

[Aprz]

My friends and family can never get it right. They would tell people I am an EMT, Paramedic, Nurse, and Doctor. I would always feel stupid because then I would overthink what other people were thinking "Oh, he probably brags to them that hes is so and so, and is just lying to them", which is what I imagined what they were thinking cause that's what I would be thinking. Finally when I got certified as an EMT, my dad started telling people I am an EMT student. <_< They'll never get it right.

 

[bstone]

True, but you know what your cert level is and you wouldn't intentionally misrepresent yourself, right? At least you (the abstract you, not you individually) wouldn't admit to practicing way outside your scope to a stranger.

 

[18G]

Well, EMT-I's are pretty much phased out, Massachusetts is the only one with an EMT-I left from what I hear. I should move to another state, lol. I need to find the time to go to medic school, but with working on my undergrad I can't...I guess my idea of a stepwise process would only work for me.

Maryland has EMT-I's and they use them pretty extensively. In the one MD county I am familiar with EMT-I's are called "Medics" and ALS units are designated as Paramedic or Medic (EMT-I).

And Pennsylvania just created a new provider level called Advanced EMT.. from the National Scope of Practice Model.

 

[Pittma]

You have heard very, very wrong.

Massachusetts is the only state with an EMT-I curriculum currently, as all other states have phased it out in favor of the new EMT-A certification, meaning that yes, there is an EMT-I certification, but outside of Massachusetts, it is meaningless.

Edit: Currently, other states do have EMT-I's, but according to ProEMS Center for Medics it is being phased out.

 

[Shishkabob]

You are still mistaken.


I can point to a handful of schools in just the Dallas area that teach EMT-I/85 , and a couple of employers in the same area who hire EMT-I minimum.



Yes, many / most will be moving to the AEMT level, but that doesn't mean MA is the last state with Intermediates.

 

[Pittma]

Yes, many / most will be moving to the AEMT level, but that doesn't mean MA is the last state with Intermediates.

Ok. Well, I guess my point is, if you've never lived in MA, you should be warned that we don't exactly like to make things easy, and common sense isn't exactly something OEMS or the DOT (or any organization in the state) has, and I can nearly guarantee you we will be behind the rest of the country as far as certifications.

Edit: the above post makes me look kinda 'tude-ey, so I'm gonna go ahead and add a smiley face in here.

 

[Pittma]

Also, found this on the all-powerful Wikipedia machine. Montana allows for the system that I was speaking about:

Montana

(endorsements are listed below each level are optional and can be achieved in any order and combination)

* EMT-First Responder
o Immbolization
o Monitoring
o Ambulance
* EMT-Basic*
o Airway
o Monitoring
o IV and IO initiation
o IV and IO maintenance
o Endotracheal intubation
o Medication
* EMT-Intermediate
o Needle decompression/surgical airway
o Immunizations
o Drips and pumps
o 12 lead transmit
* EMT-Paramedic*
o 12 lead interpretation
o Medications
o Fibrinolytic with 12 lead interpretation
o Critical Care Transport

 

[JPINFV]

...and if you don't believe me about the endorsements, follow the source. I really should go through and redo it from scratch, but I stopped caring.

 

[18G]

Maryland has an active EMT-I program. I know of an EMT-I class that just finished up and tested NREMT just two or three months ago. Rumor has it Maryland is gonna keep their Intermediate level which they call "Cardiac Rescue Technician" or CRT.

 

[Hal9000]

Also, found this on the all-powerful Wikipedia machine. Montana allows for the system that I was speaking about:

Montana

(endorsements are listed below each level are optional and can be achieved in any order and combination)

* EMT-First Responder
o Immbolization
o Monitoring
o Ambulance
* EMT-Basic*
o Airway
o Monitoring
o IV and IO initiation
o IV and IO maintenance
o Endotracheal intubation
o Medication
* EMT-Intermediate
o Needle decompression/surgical airway
o Immunizations
o Drips and pumps
o 12 lead transmit
* EMT-Paramedic*
o 12 lead interpretation
o Medications
o Fibrinolytic with 12 lead interpretation
o Critical Care Transport

Whether or not our system saves lives, I don't know. However, I do know that there is very little oversight. In fact, I know a few EMT-Bs that have an ET endorsement and have never even seen one in real life. Great success!

 

[TraprMike]

this ^^^

then if they question or want more info,, then try to explain the diff between the types.. but easier to just say, yup, Im a medic.

just tonight at our local meeting, our paramedics gave a presentaion on MCI and whatnot's..

"you as Medics, and us as paramedics.. blah, blah,"... even our paramedics refer to EMT-B's as medics..
so,, there you have it,,

 

[EMS49393]

Maryland has an active EMT-I program. I know of an EMT-I class that just finished up and tested NREMT just two or three months ago. Rumor has it Maryland is gonna keep their Intermediate level which they call "Cardiac Rescue Technician" or CRT.

As a native Marylander, they will likely keep the EMT-I for a few reasons, the biggest being Baltimore City Fire Department. They have 10 times the I's than P's, and since the I's in MD can do nearly everything a P can do (they just have more Mother May I) they are a cheaper and easier. They have a lot of county's that run the EMT-I program, Baltimore, Carroll, Howard, and the city, to name a few. However, Maryland has gotten away from paramedic bridge courses and now it's almost impossible to go to paramedic school without going through the community college or UMBC, which is actually great because they come out with a great deal more education. They are required to take A&P, math, English, etc.

They do call the I's "medics" and they are dispatched as such in most counties. My county will dispatch a ambulance as either "ambulance 123," "IV 123," "medic 123," or "paramedic 123" based on the call information.

Most of the I's I have met always refer to themselves as "paramedics" especially my friends in Baltimore City. It used to drive me crazy as a full paramedic. Now I have better things to drive me crazy and I don't worry about it so much.

There will be whackers any where you go. I've noticed that the people that have all the stories and talk about being this or that are generally the least educated people in the group. My friends know I'm a paramedic. If someone asks me what I do for a living, I'll tell them, but I rarely volunteer the information. I hate to tell war stories, and I don't really have any "I'm so awesome I did this on a call" stories either. If I tell a story about a call it's generally to another paramedic, often one with more experience, and it's usually because I need an opinion and I'm trying to learn from them. I discuss calls quite often with my husband because he's been a medic four years long than I have.

Most people I know have pretty high BS detectors and will sniff out a BS artist from a mile away. I wouldn't worry about people that have to toot their own horn too much. In fact, I'd probably feel sorry for them. It's a shame to have to construct a fantasy to make oneself feel important.

One thing I wouldn't have done, and have never done, is spout off the way you did about what I am in an attempt to discredit someone else. It can backfire and actually make you look like the tool.

 

[MrsFlightMedic]

I see a lot of feathers being ruffled by this. Why? Is your self esteem and ego's so deflated by one person's possible fabrication? Seriously.... ask yourself why this is even YOUR problem??? I am proud to be an EMT basic, and married to a Flight Paramedic who has every letter behind his name including a Masters Degree, soon to be pursuing his doctorate. He and I laughed at all the comments by Advanced EMT's and Paramedics on here. Seriously.... was it really worth putting him in his place, are you his medical director? When my hubby and I have come across an accident or someone in medical distress when we are off duty, he doesn't explain he is a Flight, Trauma, Remote, Tactical, Critical Care paramedic, with pals, ACLS, etc, he says my wife and I are MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS would you like some assistance? He doesn't refer to me as a basic, nor does he laud his hard earned credentials. If we are at a social gathering and someone pipes in and says they are a "medic" we don't scrutinize them to make them prove their point. Obviously if someone feels the need to push that nomer out there, they want some kind of recognition. Lord knows the public does not give EMS enough. Firefighters and Police Officers are usually lauded a lot more than EMS workers are. Prime example is the 9/11 aftermath. A lot of good EMS workers lost their lives, yet the public did not do the fanfare and hoopla over them as they did NYPD's and NYFD's finest got. I am not trying to downplay what they did, by any means, and no disrespect. But my point is, we are far more worse things to get worked up about than whether someone calls themselves a medic. My hubby and I both joke around and call eachother "Ditch Doctors" although we are not physicians. So is someone going to blast me for calling myself a "doctor". Bring it on lol....my skin is thicker than an elephants hide. I just felt like this guy was definitely feeling like he needed some recognition for whatever reason and wanted to feel important. Instead of being a "nice" guy to him, to be honest you sounded like more of a moron than he did by making him look bad in front of people. There is nothing worse than someone who likes and takes pleasure in making someone else look bad in front of others. All I can say is...maybe next time instead of worrying about your own ego, find out why this guy is obviously feeling like he needs to be center of attention. I am willing to bet he has something going on in his life that he was asking for help. But sometimes as EMS providers we get so jaded, we forget that our own brothers and sisters in EMS can cry for help. Just some food for thought. I will go back to lurking now. Just wanted to share how I felt after reading all 6 pages of this. Also thank you to all those who stood up for the Basic. At least you recognized there was more than just someone "boasting".

 

[bstone]

Putting him in his place would be my dressing him down, saying things like "you are NOT a medic, you are practicing way outside your scope in violation of civil and criminal laws, you are endangering your patients and are an embarrassment to the EMS profession."

Instead I told him in a very vauge way how I taught my Basic students a few years back. Very subtle, very very mild. No accusations, no threats, no grand statements of being an embarrassment.

In fact, the way I handled it I think was as light and low key as it could get.

 

[brentoli]

Massachusetts is the only state with an EMT-I curriculum currently, as all other states have phased it out in favor of the new EMT-A certification, meaning that yes, there is an EMT-I certification, but outside of Massachusetts, it is meaningless.

Edit: Currently, other states do have EMT-I's, but according to ProEMS Center for Medics it is being phased out.

Really? I just went to a Commission meeting last week here in Indiana, where they decided not to suspend the EMT-I curriculum until they make a decision on the national SOP.

 

[bstone]

Really? I just went to a Commission meeting last week here in Indiana, where they decided not to suspend the EMT-I curriculum until they make a decision on the national SOP.

Pittma is correct.