Where is the future of EMS?

RICollegeEMT

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I decided to post this thread to see what the general consensus is amongst providers about the future of our field.

As I'm sure many of you have, I myself have found myself wondering how long it is until the paycheck dries up and the job disappears. I'm looking to hear everyone's opinion from their respective area, below the personal reflections I share may not be applicable in your area, but I'm curious how you feel.

I've noticed in speaking to several doc's, nurses, coworkers and patients, our field is a mash up of "broken, misunderstood, and misused". For the doc's when they hear private EMS they unfortunately hear "here comes a sh*t show circus act". The nurses hear "i may as well have gone and picked them up myself". The coworkers hear "bend over, here it comes again". And the patients see us as "that taxi with a bed".

And this may just be in my area.

Unfortunately the manpower shortage is so bad that these companies have lowered their requirements to the point of "pulse required, brain optional". And partly that's due to the fact that they're so money hungry that they're simply driving away those who can run-- "5th floor walk up, 500lbs? No problem we'll send a crew", or god forbid you arrive at a nursing home and question a nurse... "you were doing CPR on someone saying 'ouch'? No problem--Because if I question you and you complain, I know I'm going to get fired!". And if you're lucky enough to get that far, management then demands you commit medicare fraud to make an unbillable run thus billable--- your walky-talky "call me the amber-lamps drivers" patient suddenly is billed as "vegetative" with your signature attached through some crafty editing that you didn't know about. Oh and those protocols which the state says you have to follow when providing medical treatment to patients? Yeah good luck-- 12 lead really means "which ever ones still work" amongst other things.

And after all that is complete, and you haven't wound up behind bars or have your ticket pulled by the state, you get to look forward to minimum pay with minimum benefits.



At the rate it's going in my area, its far from sustainable. And sadly it's all cyclical. How is it in your area?
 

GMCmedic

Forum Deputy Chief
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Im not going to address all your points, just one.

1. Never Ever Ever let anyone pressure you into falsifying a report.

2. Whatever system you write your reports on will time stamp everything so I wouldnt be concerned about that.

3. Find a new job


As far as my area, i worked hard and built a good reputation with my peers and now I get paid way to much money to do whatever I want and occasionally make a run
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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Go work somewhere else if it's so miserable. None of us would be here if everything sucked so bad, in fact this is a great place to find some place where you might be happy. I'd also be careful with the way you paint our field, no one wants to work with the misanthrope.
 

JohnTheEMT

Forum Crew Member
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Sounds like youre burnt out bro, you need a vacation and really re think your career choices. This field isn't for everyone.
 

Dennhop

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If your reports are done on paper, and not electronically, end every report with something like "Nothing further to report" or "End of Report". Initial or sign after that, and if there's still space left, draw a diagonal line through the empty page, write on the line, "nothing further to report" date and sign it. It's what we used to do in the Corps in our duty logbooks to make sure no one came behind us and changed or added anything.
 

hometownmedic5

Forum Asst. Chief
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Sounds like you work for a crappy company. Easy solution, go work somewhere less crappy. If that's not an option, then decide whether this is really a long term career path for you.

We've all worked for this company. The name may be different, the color of the stripe etc, but at least most of us have done a stint at the worst ambulance company in :blank:. Once you recognize it, its time to get out. If you stay, it's only going to drag you down.
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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At the rate it's going in my area, its far from sustainable. And sadly it's all cyclical. How is it in your area?
In general, the good people get out and move onto better opportunities. The ones that don't (or can't, for various reasons) are the ones you wish were no longer working there, because they bring down everyone.

Private EMS sucks. With very few exceptions.If you don't like where you are at, move onto something better. After all, the good people get out and move on to better opportunities
 

NomadicMedic

I know a guy who knows a guy.
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As everyone else is said, it's all about where you work. I worked at private ambulance companies that were looked down upon, And I worked for private ambulance companies that were the pinnacle of EMS, where everyone wanted to work.

I see you're in Rhode Island. Ever think about going to work for American Ambulance in Norwich CT? Talk to some of those guys. Take a look at their equipment. Take a look at their pay For New England, and a private service, it's pretty decent.
 

EpiEMS

Forum Deputy Chief
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Ever think about going to work for American Ambulance in Norwich CT?

The only caveat I'd have is that while CT recognizes AEMT, most hospitals and medical directors are still restricting folks with 2009 scope to the EMT-I 1985 scope, and I think OP is an AEMT-C (Rhode Island's super-AEMT, i.e. EMT-I'99).
 
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