Yes, I have heard that old saying about being a doctor. I find it amusing though as more and more health care professionals achieve a Doctorate and advanced educated level the Physicians are not the only ones that get to use the "Dr." title any more. Ironically, DNSc or DNP (Nurse Practitioners) can legally call themselves Dr.'s and prescribe tx. and offer prescriptions alike physicians and in some states can have free standing clinics without a physician overview. Alike other health care "Dr.s" in pharmacy, cardiopulmonary, nuclear medicine, physical therapy may have an extended role. Nowadays, the traditional term "Dr." means much more than what it used to. Physicians may have to actually start calling themselves just that "Physician".
The term "doctor" has been used since the beginning of advanced education. A professor of anything that has satisfied their academic and institutional requirements can use the title.
Physicians are now referred to by their specialty rather than just the term doctor. However, few know what a Hospitalist is and some don't know that specialty title refers to a physician. We use "Dr." to formally address anyone who has earned that title in either academia or the world or medicine the same as we would Mr. or Ms. It just shows respect for one's acheivements.
I was in one of the first "bridge" courses for Paramedic to RN. It was a pilot study and there were about 16 of us to enter. Within the first hour of the description of the "role and responsibility of the Nurse" a Paramedic described how "stupid it was to have to get an order for oxygen" for a patient. Not realizing that everyone has to have an order in some form or fashion, as it is a medication when prescribed for non resuscitative measures.
What many fail to see are the reimbursement, documentation and justification issues. For many things considered a therapy, an order must be in place. Even for standing orders, a written order must still signal that it has been activated to avoid confusion as well appropriate documentation must accompany. Just because you can doesn't always mean you should.
When demonstrating our clinical procedures.. one of the Paramedics bragged upon how they "never started anything less than an 18g IV needle".. When in fact the patient condition at the time did not need large bore or even medications.
I could list several other occurrences and truthfully may not agree; but understand their position.
Such ignorance and poor representation of our profession has jaded many Nursing Professors.
My point was be careful when describing your history. You may never know what their professional experiences maybe. Just stating you were in EMS may not always have a positive effect or attribute.
R/r 911
This feeling of the need to brag or show off has been the down fall of many Paramedics who have tried nursing school. Too few can separate "the street" and what they were allowed to do, sometimes not always with justification or accountability, to learn new things. If they could get past their focus on a few skills they might make decent nurses.
Unfortunately, just the "skills" do not impress nursing (or any other of the health care professions) educators who would like people to know the theory or justify the use of such skills. Often, Paramedics get frustrated, not only in a nursing class but in the ED as well, when asked "why?" The ED may also have a critical audience who are familiar with "street methods" and are not as easily impressed as the 19 y/o nursing student. But, many nursing students may already have enough theory and A&P classes behind them to start asking "Why?" also.
I could use myself as an example. When I entered RT school, I had been intubating for several years and was darn great at it and respected by my EMS co-workers. I was quickly humbled by what I didn't know and how I could actually have harmed patients by the misinformation I was taught in the field by some of my mentors in EMS.