JPINFV
Gadfly
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The problem is not necessarily poor training (how much training is really needed to take a blood pressure), but that there isn't enough education (education and traing are two vastly different concepts) to understand what their assessment is telling them and what their treatments are doing. Assuming no change in scope, a strong background education is still needed to be able to handle patients that don't necessarily fall into the premade boxes that training gives us.I disagree with you that we are basically giving the community a bad set of skills to give them EMT-B's. While I can only speak for myself, I am glad I am starting from the bottom so to speak and working my way up. We have not failed our communities nor or citizen's by giving them basics, what we have done is failed them if we have not trained them to have strong skills and to know when to call for ALS.
I have heard of more ALS providers failing their hands on skills when being tested because they forgot their basic set of skills. I think each level is well needed, none should be forgotten and all should work as a team. We can advance further if we wish, but we have to do it with the citizen's in mind and with our community and believe me, I have also seem more crappy ALS providers who get the big eye and don't see the whole picture or get attitudes and egos because they are the ALS provider. Doesn't make you any more valuable than I, as I worked just as hard and put in just as much time and effort as you did, mayhaps not as much class hours but learning and sharpening my skills and volunteering to be on that rig at any time of the day or night or asking questions and going to extra classes when offered.
As I've said before, show me a medic who is failing at basic patient care and I'll show you a medic who needs remedial education and training (to be fair to the medics, insert nurse, physician, or basic in place of "medic" as you see fit). Furthermore, yes, a medic is much more valuable than a basic. A boy scout could do most of the "skills" that a basic does (I was a boy scout and am basic). Yes, the extra class hours does matter and does make a difference that no "sharpening of skills" or "volunteering" or "taking CMEs" will ever change. That would be like an associate degree register nurse complaining that they are just as important as a physician because they do extra things that don't even come close to the differene between 2-3 years of education to 8+ years.
By writing a sentence in first person you are indicating that you are taking this personally and you shouldn't. Any system that fails communities by thinking that 110 hours (per NHTSA) of first aid training is sufficient enough for a primary 911 response is failing their providers as well.So please, don't discount the EMT-B. We are needed, some just don't want to see it or care to acknowledge us.