Uniforms.

then again what type of uniform is to be worn tradtional EMS/fire/police type uniform or surgical scrubs or pants and a dress shirt.
 
fortsmithman said:
then again what type of uniform is to be worn tradtional EMS/fire/police type uniform or surgical scrubs or pants and a dress shirt.
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Lets see we are Medical so what do medical students wear?
 
fortsmithman said:
then again what type of uniform is to be worn tradtional EMS/fire/police type uniform or surgical scrubs or pants and a dress shirt.
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That's a question that still has to be answered. Right now, few people have the imagination to even address the question. A great many want to dress up like the cops and firemen because that's what they really wanted to be in the first place, if they weren't too fat or stupid to do so. So instead, they just play dress up as an EMT.

Traditional? EMS "tradition" is less than four decades old in the U.S., and younger in Canada. Before that, it was a mix of funeral homes and hospitals providing the service where privates did not yet exist. Each wore something different, from solid white to shirt and tie to mechanic's coveralls. What you did not see in "tradition" was ambulance drivers attempting to look like cops and firemen.

So what is our tradition? Heck, our real "tradition" goes back to the military. Shouldn't we be wearing camouflage if tradition is so important? This is the problem. We have no clear-cut tradition. Our roots are deep and wide, touching on many more aspects of society than just public safety. Public safety was only the latest group to involve themselves in EMS, not our "tradition".

Two important questions come immediately to mind:

1. What is our job? What are we here to do?

2. Is it necessary to look like someone that we are not?

The answers to both questions are equally obvious. Our job is the provision of medical care. Period. End of story. And no, it is not necessary that we dress ourselves up to look like someone else. The world has not run out of ideas for ways to dress. We can establish our own unique identity without having to steal a look from public safety. The only thing we have in common with public safety is sirens (four of them, if you're in Mt. Horeb, WI). That is not enough to mandate that we dress like them. When it comes right down to it, we've got more in common with airline pilots than cops and firemen. That group also enjoys a lot more respect from the public than does public safety. If we're going to steal a look from someone, I'd rather go there than with public safety.

But the fact remains, we don't have to steal anyone else's look. And so long as we continue to do so, we will continue to be stuck without a unique identity, and the professional advancement that such an identity brings.
 
AJ Hidell said:
But the fact remains, we don't have to steal anyone else's look. And so long as we continue to do so, we will continue to be stuck without a unique identity, and the professional advancement that such an identity brings.
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Good point. I shall start a new topic so as not to hijack this one.
 
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