a philosophical look
In my time I have been fortunate to always be at the transition between old and new, both in my career and in the world in general.
When in high school my guidance councilor remarked how I would be in jail or dead by the time I should be 28. (she gave me a whole 10 years)
When i started in the fire service, right when EMs became mandatory in the area, the old firemen (whom I looked up to) made comments about how us young guys would never make it.
Even when I became a paramedic some years later, during a push for educated decsion makers instead of skilled laborers in the area, many of the old and very respectable medics would make comments about how we somehow lost our way, forgot our place in life, and would be the death of the noble profession..
I started teaching when I was the the guy all the newbies got paired with to learn the ropes. (the position of FTO only existed in law enforcement) My remark to the instructors who taught me was something along the lines of:
"Don't you fail people anymore, these (explatives) are absolutely worthless!"
A couple of years ago I was under the direction of one of those old school surgeons who beleived he was God because he was a surgeon who spent at least 120 hours a week in his specialty training period. ("Residency" for the US folks) He might not have been God but he was the master of my universe if I wanted to pass. The only way was his way or the wrong way that would kill patients, get me sued, and bring discredit to both the profession of medicine and the discipline of surgery. "A surgeon belongs in theatre, not in the intensive care unit." was a favorite saying of his, especially when discussing nonoperative treatments to "surgical diseases." (which didn't exist in his time of training)
Over time, I noticed the world changes. (When you are always at the point of change you catch on to that rather quickly.) I have been part of the old way and the new way, I even studied the old ways to see how we got here. My philosophy is a mix of both.
In the future we will look at the newer generations and wonder how they will make it. Whether or not they possess the right stuff. How the world will carry on.
They will look at us and wonder how the human race ever managed to survive this long. How we could look ourselves in the mirror with some of the snake charming medicine we practiced. They will laugh at our arrogance and pride, and promise to do things differently.
Just like we did.
The world changes. The demands, goals, and ways forward are not the same as they were last decade, last year, or last month. You will find less conflict both in your relations and in your mind once you see the forest from the trees.
9/10 of my paramedic students will never work on an ambulance. A vast majority will work in a hospital. Times have changed. The new people are being prepared to be agents of healthcare, not agents of public safety. We call them EMTs and Paramedics still, but they are not the same as the old ones.
For what they are facing they are probably better educated and more capable than many of us old guys.
It's all about perspective.
