new generation

Rudy Smith 123

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Im new in this profession. I am also now in my quest, to be a professional.
For the next year..ill be working for my respect and trust on the ambulance.

SO FAR, im not in it for the money. I am in it because I love EMS. If I am lucky..i wont have to work a day in this career. I am young and am following my heart..maybe the rest will follow. EMT pay should allow the life i want. EMS is a GOOD thing that has happen to me. It makes me happy. I get more out of the run of the mill, basic call then any patient does. SERVICE? as far is i see it...if get to work in EMS, the richest man in the world. As long as i challenge my self. I hope there will always be some "hard ***"(like my dad) that may possess something(skill,grace,patience,clarity,calm) to pass down. I hope I find a mentor, or two...or three.

(emergency medical)Service? Service, that you get at burger king? Service for your community? Country? A NO CHARGE Service for the fellow man, the band your stuck with, when and if all hell(and it just may) brakes loose?

10 years from now..maybe ill have a car....a girlfriend..house on the hill..the best phone..new car...and life just wont be good enough....maybe I wont be happy. ll need more. I hope that EMS is left,in better condition..more evolved, then it was when i came in.

BUT, How do some of you say EMS is not respected? I ride the bus to volunteer..and in talking strangers at the bus stop..really anyone i have met in life...the public opinion is that EMT and paramedic are respected.

Every War this country is in... EMS makes an advance in the causality fatality rate. As long as research, trial and error proceed...so will ems, i believe. The oldschool show "emergency"? Look at today! WOW!

I thought i would respect every paramedic or EMT B I met. That is not the case. For the value i get , In seeing what i want to be/learn, and what i dont want to learn/be...is great.

What has been your experience to feel that EMS is not respected?

"HEY, JEDI MASTER" What do you expect from the new, incoming generation of EMT's? You have put years in EMS..who would you fell good about making the hand off to?

IF a new generation of EMT's where your children, what lessons,what values...what would you want to pass down to them?

I just finished intermediate. I got a good 10-20 years of labor in me...what do yall expect from me?

Rudy
 

Veneficus

Forum Chief
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(emergency medical)Service? Service, that you get at burger king? Service for your community? Country? A NO CHARGE Service for the fellow man, the band your stuck with, when and if all hell(and it just may) brakes loose?

Clearly you are new :)

EMS is not a "no charge service" even in places where providers volunteer, somebody is paying for equipment and gas.

It is important to recognize and realize the money involved in EMS, where it comes from, how much there is, how much is needed etc.

As the standard of medical care advances because of knowledge and technology, constant increases in education and training are required. It costs money to pay the instructors, the conference speakers, maintain the websites, etc etc.

As new equipment becomes available and by default mandatory, in order to provide "acceptable care," it costs money to purchase, to maintain, to operate, to replace.

The money doesn't magically fall out of the sky or grow on a tree. There is a constant struggle to secure the money.

Most of the problems plaguing EMS on the surface may seem just ego or political, but infact, there are significant financial implications to them.

If you want to be a game changer in EMS, you are going to have to learn and accept the economics of it. Including those outside of EMS that have a financial stake that affects EMS. Particularly doctors, nurses, fire departments, and hospitals.

BUT, How do some of you say EMS is not respected? I ride the bus to volunteer..and in talking strangers at the bus stop..really anyone i have met in life...the public opinion is that EMT and paramedic are respected.

Admiration and respect are different. Do not confuse the 2 and do not accept one as the substitute for the other. The very fact that you volunteer because there is not the respect for the value of EMS to society to make sure you are paid is good example. Paid well is another issue.

Some places enjoy this respect, but they are few and far between.

Do not mistake courtesy for respect. The toughest jury is that of your peers and whether they admit or like it or not, the peers of EMS are other healthcare providers. They may be nice to you. But you certainly are not respected for your knowledge, ability, and contribution by them at large.

When big decisions are made, EMS providers are not even invited to the discussion. Some system designers also write EMS off as an unchangable hinderance to progress. This is easily seem in archaeic medical protocols in various systems because EMS workers cannot be "trusted" to make competent decisions.

In the US, the ultimate goal of EMS is to drive somebody to the hospital, where somebody can help. That doesn't make you a valued and respected member of the healthcare continuum like providers in more advanced countries like AU, NZ, Canada, etc. It makes you a very expensive taxi driver who providers some bells and whistles on the trip.

Every War this country is in... EMS makes an advance in the causality fatality rate. As long as research, trial and error proceed...so will ems, i believe. The oldschool show "emergency"? Look at today! WOW!

ROmantic, not true. There are always great advances in medicine made in war. But the lessons of recent conflict have not been adopted by civilian medicine on a grand scale. Certainly not by EMS. Falling for and purchasing a bunch of commercial medical products that were used in the military by varying degrees of success, is not advancement. It is a gimmic.

Multiple studies show that EMT-Bs providers who provide nothing for trauma care except some bleeding control and a ride have better outcomes than advanced providers when it comes to life and death. For multiple reasons. In many cases "the home boy ambulance service" or a critical trauma transported in the back of a police car is likely to fare better than those transported by ALS ambulance.

Furthermore, despite system design and even legislation requiring it, most EMS providers are so uncomfortable with a major casualty that they invaribly go to the closest hospital whether that facility can help or not.

Most would say taking a critical patient to a Dr's office is ridiculous, but that is exacly what small community hospitals are. But providers can give you reasons from "following protocol" to "they have more resources" to not do the best thing for the patient in order to make themselves comfortable and assuage the fears of inadequecy.

(that does not exactly seem respectable)

What has been your experience to feel that EMS is not respected?

I have detailed numerous examples here, but I can tell you that working 3 jobs or 90-100 hours a week to eek out a basic living doesn't exactly make me feel like anyone respected what I was doing or brought.

When my personal time was secondary to the profits of EMS companies and if I didn't like it there are 1000 more people to take my place doesn't ring of respect either.

A great EMS provider will be replaced by their employer for a new one in a heart beat. You have no more value to your organization than the new guy, no matter what your contribution.

"HEY, JEDI MASTER" What do you expect from the new, incoming generation of EMT's? You have put years in EMS..who would you fell good about making the hand off to?

I would like them to recognize and embrace the value of education. To quit basing their value on a set of skills which can be replaced by technology. I expect them to not only know what to do, but why they are doing it, when to do it, and most importantly when not to.

IF a new generation of EMT's where your children, what lessons,what values...what would you want to pass down to them?

I'd tell her to go to medical school and be a doctor.

I just finished intermediate. I got a good 10-20 years of labor in me...what do yall expect from me?

At the very least a paramedic certificate.
 

VFlutter

Flight Nurse
3,728
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There is a difference between being respected as a medical profession and being respected by the public / society. I do not think anyone is arguing against the latter. When you can fulfill the educational requirements and perform a job as a teenager, even as young as 16, you will have a hard time gaining respect.


Call me a gold digger but I don't want to wait 10 years for a car and I am definitely not waiting that long for a girlfriend :rolleyes:
 
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NYMedic828

Forum Deputy Chief
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slowdown.jpg
 

Veneficus

Forum Chief
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Call me a gold digger but I don't want to wait 10 years for a car and I am definitely not waiting that long for a girlfriend :rolleyes:

Have you spoken with the girls about this? :p:rofl:
 

abckidsmom

Dances with Patients
3,380
5
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There is a difference between being respected as a medical profession and being respected by the public / society. I do not think anyone is arguing against the latter. When you can fulfill the educational requirements and perform a job as a teenager, even as young as 16, you will have a hard time gaining respect.
:

At 16, I was an EMT, and went to a competition on the state level in which we won. Won! Against paramedics working full time, others who had real experience.

The truth is that anyone can run the checklist that is standard, basic EMT care, but the artistry comes in when you can do it while recognizing the implications of what you're finding, reassuring the patient and maintaining control of the scene.

EMS has long given the illusion that to be minimally competent you just have to run the checklist, package the patient, and get them to the hospital.

There is so much more.

OP, in your career as an EMS provider, pay attention to those looks of disdain from hospital staff. Be alert for signs of dissatisfaction from the patient's family. Those are your signs that there is a perceived knowledge deficit on your part, or that there is something you are doing that is not following standard healthcare etiquette. Ferret out those problems and fix them.

People who blindly respect EMS as a profession have no idea that at least a third of the EMS providers out there have no business being responsible for sick people on their best day. They just don't see that, and for the most part, because we rarely see people with immediate life threats, there is no problem because we aren't out there killing people every day.

But we could be. And that's why it's so scary to see some of these people in EMS.
 

MSDeltaFlt

RRT/NRP
1,422
35
48
Im new in this profession. I am also now in my quest, to be a professional.
For the next year..ill be working for my respect and trust on the ambulance.

SO FAR, im not in it for the money. I am in it because I love EMS. If I am lucky..i wont have to work a day in this career. I am young and am following my heart..maybe the rest will follow. EMT pay should allow the life i want. EMS is a GOOD thing that has happen to me. It makes me happy. I get more out of the run of the mill, basic call then any patient does. SERVICE? as far is i see it...if get to work in EMS, the richest man in the world. As long as i challenge my self. I hope there will always be some "hard ***"(like my dad) that may possess something(skill,grace,patience,clarity,calm) to pass down. I hope I find a mentor, or two...or three.

(emergency medical)Service? Service, that you get at burger king? Service for your community? Country? A NO CHARGE Service for the fellow man, the band your stuck with, when and if all hell(and it just may) brakes loose?

10 years from now..maybe ill have a car....a girlfriend..house on the hill..the best phone..new car...and life just wont be good enough....maybe I wont be happy. ll need more. I hope that EMS is left,in better condition..more evolved, then it was when i came in.

BUT, How do some of you say EMS is not respected? I ride the bus to volunteer..and in talking strangers at the bus stop..really anyone i have met in life...the public opinion is that EMT and paramedic are respected.

Every War this country is in... EMS makes an advance in the causality fatality rate. As long as research, trial and error proceed...so will ems, i believe. The oldschool show "emergency"? Look at today! WOW!

I thought i would respect every paramedic or EMT B I met. That is not the case. For the value i get , In seeing what i want to be/learn, and what i dont want to learn/be...is great.

What has been your experience to feel that EMS is not respected?

"HEY, JEDI MASTER" What do you expect from the new, incoming generation of EMT's? You have put years in EMS..who would you fell good about making the hand off to?

IF a new generation of EMT's where your children, what lessons,what values...what would you want to pass down to them?

I just finished intermediate. I got a good 10-20 years of labor in me...what do yall expect from me?

Rudy

What would I like to see from the new generation? To see from you? Simple. The "trick" to being a healthcare provider. Because you will not have "arrived" until your peers AND superiors tell you you have arrived.

The "trick" is not knowing what to do and being able to do it. That's easy. Any moron can be taught that. The "trick" is in being able to do something and know when, and as Master Ven as mentioned, when NOT to do it. And when you have mastered that, my young padawan, you will have surpassed myself.

That and do not become so busy in making a living, or any professional respect, that you forget to make a life.

Go on a date. Take a walk. Smell a rose.

Go outside and play.

May the Force be with you.
 
OP
OP
R

Rudy Smith 123

Forum Probie
18
0
1
Wow! I have not logged in to this account in 8 years. I posted this my 1st year and now I am on my 8th year. Where I am now and the little experience I have in EMS...I read my inital post and I sound like a excited teenager. Noble..yet naive.


Honestly, at that time. I dont think was edgar to hear what yall had to say as much as I am now.

I feel like I grew up a little. As adult and a care provider. Seems like I am just getting to ground level and feel ready to wash a good job and not take any job to lowest bidder. Learn who I wanna be like and learn who I don't wanna be like and throw my little flavor on top of it.

I just wanna thank yall for reaching out to me.
 
OP
OP
R

Rudy Smith 123

Forum Probie
18
0
1
Clearly you are new :)

EMS is not a "no charge service" even in places where providers volunteer, somebody is paying for equipment and gas.

It is important to recognize and realize the money involved in EMS, where it comes from, how much there is, how much is needed etc.

As the standard of medical care advances because of knowledge and technology, constant increases in education and training are required. It costs money to pay the instructors, the conference speakers, maintain the websites, etc etc.

As new equipment becomes available and by default mandatory, in order to provide "acceptable care," it costs money to purchase, to maintain, to operate, to replace.

The money doesn't magically fall out of the sky or grow on a tree. There is a constant struggle to secure the money.

Most of the problems plaguing EMS on the surface may seem just ego or political, but infact, there are significant financial implications to them.

If you want to be a game changer in EMS, you are going to have to learn and accept the economics of it. Including those outside of EMS that have a financial stake that affects EMS. Particularly doctors, nurses, fire departments, and hospitals.



Admiration and respect are different. Do not confuse the 2 and do not accept one as the substitute for the other. The very fact that you volunteer because there is not the respect for the value of EMS to society to make sure you are paid is good example. Paid well is another issue.

Some places enjoy this respect, but they are few and far between.

Do not mistake courtesy for respect. The toughest jury is that of your peers and whether they admit or like it or not, the peers of EMS are other healthcare providers. They may be nice to you. But you certainly are not respected for your knowledge, ability, and contribution by them at large.

When big decisions are made, EMS providers are not even invited to the discussion. Some system designers also write EMS off as an unchangable hinderance to progress. This is easily seem in archaeic medical protocols in various systems because EMS workers cannot be "trusted" to make competent decisions.

In the US, the ultimate goal of EMS is to drive somebody to the hospital, where somebody can help. That doesn't make you a valued and respected member of the healthcare continuum like providers in more advanced countries like AU, NZ, Canada, etc. It makes you a very expensive taxi driver who providers some bells and whistles on the trip.



ROmantic, not true. There are always great advances in medicine made in war. But the lessons of recent conflict have not been adopted by civilian medicine on a grand scale. Certainly not by EMS. Falling for and purchasing a bunch of commercial medical products that were used in the military by varying degrees of success, is not advancement. It is a gimmic.

Multiple studies show that EMT-Bs providers who provide nothing for trauma care except some bleeding control and a ride have better outcomes than advanced providers when it comes to life and death. For multiple reasons. In many cases "the home boy ambulance service" or a critical trauma transported in the back of a police car is likely to fare better than those transported by ALS ambulance.

Furthermore, despite system design and even legislation requiring it, most EMS providers are so uncomfortable with a major casualty that they invaribly go to the closest hospital whether that facility can help or not.

Most would say taking a critical patient to a Dr's office is ridiculous, but that is exacly what small community hospitals are. But providers can give you reasons from "following protocol" to "they have more resources" to not do the best thing for the patient in order to make themselves comfortable and assuage the fears of inadequecy.

(that does not exactly seem respectable)



I have detailed numerous examples here, but I can tell you that working 3 jobs or 90-100 hours a week to eek out a basic living doesn't exactly make me feel like anyone respected what I was doing or brought.

When my personal time was secondary to the profits of EMS companies and if I didn't like it there are 1000 more people to take my place doesn't ring of respect either.

A great EMS provider will be replaced by their employer for a new one in a heart beat. You have no more value to your organization than the new guy, no matter what your contribution.



I would like them to recognize and embrace the value of education. To quit basing their value on a set of skills which can be replaced by technology. I expect them to not only know what to do, but why they are doing it, when to do it, and most importantly when not to.



I'd tell her to go to medical school and be a doctor.



At the very least a paramedic certificate.

You said " learn to accept to accept the economic of it(EMS)

I believe you are correct and my attitude is the corner stone of my resentment to this profession. If I could just accept it and live with it, I would be free from being annoyed with the low pay. Acceptance is the key. if you Find you can't accept it, go to another profession l, and if you find that you miss EMS so much then you will be able to accept the economic situation of EMS- after being able to weigh the two variable factors.

After going around the block one time in this profession I feel respected would be raising your own personal standard and acquiring a lifestyle that you're satisfied with. So far working volunteer and private EMS jobs I live pay check to pay check and it's horrible. At the time I made this post I believe I was confusing being proud of the job and my own admiration for the profession and confusing it with respect within the profession.

You put a lot of time into that response and it's appreciated
 

guitarofozz

Forum Crew Member
47
0
6
I see two things at play here. I want to say this in the nicest way possible but someone with a sense of entitlement. That they have completed the required coursework to become an emt and got hired should come with respect of your peers. In any job you’re lucky if you get common courtesy until you prove that you are going to be around long enough to even remember your name.

Two, you may be moving too fast. And I always say not to assume malice when ignorance is to blame. You may not know how important the pecking order is to everyone and will hopefully settle in and find your place and the next time a new guy with all the passion you have comes on deck you’ll see why things happened the way they did.
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
4,997
1,461
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Pay isn't always terrible, but you certainly work for it.
 
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