To Degree or Not to Degree. That is The Question.

ExpatMedic0 said:
A lot of replies here from people who USE to work in EMS, got degree's and changed career fields. Nursing and PA school are defiantly the classics. I have lost so many good co-workers and partners over the years, especially to PA school. What I find interesting is many of you still clearly care about EMS or at the very least are still interested in it and staying active on this forum and likely other sources, maybe via literature and networking, or volunteering or even working part-time in EMS. I think this kind of builds on the discussion at hand. You likely left for a reason, whatever that reason was... your new career, which requires a degree, is probably better in terms of pay, working conditions, professionalism, ect ect. I'm coming up on my late 30's, I have a masters degree (completed on campus) from a QA world ranked top 50 university, but here I am, still hanging around in EMS qualifying for low-income assistance with housing and working full-time. I don't think it should have to be this way and in my personal opinion, one of the ways forward for the entire profession is getting our paramedics degrees, treating and not transporting, along with restructuring some of the financial and reimbursement issues with our industry.
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Hi, boat buddy!
 
Just got my Prehospital Emergency Care journal for July/August 2019. Check out the article in the Position Statements section on pgs 593-595: National Association of EMS Educator's Position on the Critical Care Paramedic. Speaks specifically about going to a Baccalaureate for the CCP.
DOI: 10.1080/10903127.2018.1536772
 
ExpatMedic0 said:
A lot of replies here from people who USE to work in EMS, got degree's and changed career fields. Nursing and PA school are defiantly the classics. I have lost so many good co-workers and partners over the years, especially to PA school. What I find interesting is many of you still clearly care about EMS or at the very least are still interested in it and staying active on this forum and likely other sources, maybe via literature and networking, or volunteering or even working part-time in EMS. I think this kind of builds on the discussion at hand. You likely left for a reason, whatever that reason was... your new career, which requires a degree, is probably better in terms of pay, working conditions, professionalism, ect ect. I'm coming up on my late 30's, I have a masters degree (completed on campus) from a QA world ranked top 50 university, but here I am, still hanging around in EMS qualifying for low-income assistance with housing and working full-time. I don't think it should have to be this way and in my personal opinion, one of the ways forward for the entire profession is getting our paramedics degrees, treating and not transporting, along with restructuring some of the financial and reimbursement issues with our industry.
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"I used to work in EMS" sounds like what someone would say in a 12 Step support group! Seriously, I used to work in EMS many years ago, and after starting my third career in 2016 (RN), I ran into a newly retired FF/PM at our ACLS class. As we were going through heart rhythms, he said I was pretty good for a brand new nurse. I told him I had been in the medical arena since the 1970's and was a medic during the mid-80's. He told me I should challenge the medic exam (Florida). He told me how. So I took my NREMT certification that I had always maintained, got a reciprocal FL EMT license, and then challenged the test. It was an easy test as it was the FL State test. I had found out that FL had been using NRP, but was experiencing a less than 40% pass rate, and switched back to their own exam.
Why do I write this? Because my first love is, and always will be, EMS. I wish that their was some way to get back in, but around here, it's nearly impossible, especially at my age (61).
I frequently get into the "medic-RN" questions with some of the nurses. It's hard to explain the mindset of a medic, even at times to an ED nurse, let alone a floor nurse. They don't understand the abilities and autonomy of a medic. I'm a Charge Nurse and I live for the codes and support team calls. My nurses, and my Nurse Manager, think I'm, nuts!
 
MackTheKnife said:
Just got my Prehospital Emergency Care journal for July/August 2019. Check out the article in the Position Statements section on pgs 593-595: National Association of EMS Educator's Position on the Critical Care Paramedic. Speaks specifically about going to a Baccalaureate for the CCP.
DOI: 10.1080/10903127.2018.1536772
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Are you able to post the link?
 
MackTheKnife said:
Just got my Prehospital Emergency Care journal for July/August 2019. Check out the article in the Position Statements section on pgs 593-595: National Association of EMS Educator's Position on the Critical Care Paramedic. Speaks specifically about going to a Baccalaureate for the CCP. DOI: 10.1080/10903127.2018.1536772
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the NAEEP has a vested interest in increasing the education requirements, just like many authors who advocate for the increased education for others, but not themselves. But that doesn't mean they are wrong, only that their biases needed to be considered when evaluating the validity of their position paper. It's no different than evaluating the biases in the IAFC and IAFF's position paper.

That being said, I've read the paper, and it's sound reasoning. We don't use CCP in the systems I used to work at, but based on what I have heard and seen, having that educational level on par with a nurse seems appropriate. One thing I would remind you is the CCP isn't an entry level position; providers usually need a year or two of experience before they will be considered for a critical care position (or so I am told).

When you start doing stuff that is beyond the entry level provider, common sense dictates that additional education will be needed. Esp if that stuff is beyond what the original field paramedic was supposed to do (CCP, community paramedic, etc)
 

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