With the large influx of EMT's....

[Ridryder911]

Dominion,

It is difficult to see where the support is when Rid's generalizations reflect somewhat of a loathing distaste for the folks who go out there each and every day. He even insults T-shirts...as his photo displays his white coat and scope. Like that isn't a glaring see-me-now statement! It says he's proud though. Why not advertise EMS? The more EMS emblems are seen, the more people know we're here to stay! EMS is a growing, evolving as a profession. It will continue to spread its wings but, like every profession, it takes time. Positive changes are occuring everyday.

Think about it...It hasn't been all that long since Doc's and nurses were trained on the job and paid in chickens! Police officers were once thought of as just thugs who were expendable....they too had to evolve in order to gain credibility. Firefighters were just a bunch of guys with water buckets once upon a time. Now look at the field! In the last 3 decades we've seen EMS has move along at a pace that is allowing it to evolve faster than a lot of other professions. I'm very proud of where we started, how far we've come and excited about where we're going.

I don't know what you consider " not being that long" maybe 100-150 years? Now consider this. Johnny & Roy provided more advanced care on the t.v. show Emergency in 1975 then many of EMS provide today. You think that is advancing? Get real. This is 2009.
Even if the pic was me.. so what? You would not see a Doc wearing his lab coat out of the practice...(hint.....it's called being professional)

So it only took us 40 years to come from driving a hearse? Your excited because? You be really excited then in comparing other medical professions that require graduate degree that were established about the same period or those actually demonstrating an improvement of outcomes and research to decrease morbidity and increase outcome. Not to also describe not having to work two jobs and having sleep deprivation.

The public don't take us serious, why should they? We don't even take ourselves seriously.
Yeah, positive changes are occurring, but one should not have to fight to increase these and promote them.

R/r 911

 

[Shishkabob]

Just remember, you did better than one of my classmates who needlestuck herself (with a clean needle) during her practical skills examinations and THEN fainted.

Heh, our first night doing needle sticks, I put my needle into the needle port of an iv bag to get some NS. I drew back but got nothing.

I put my fingers around the neck then wiggled the syringe. I felt a poke.

I stabbed myself through the darn iv bag (clean needle). I felt woozy.

 

[triemal04]

I believe you are missing the important point. As a test item writer for the NREMT, we can only write test questions that are in the current curriculum or now called scope. If it is not in there then it can't be tested (simple as that). In regards to the pass rate, actually in ratio the NREMT Paramedic exam has a high rate (in comparison to other health care professions).

Many with experience fail to recognize what minimal and safe standards are. When reviewing the NHTSA curriculum look how simplistic it is. Heck, look at the methodological ACLS cookbook standards that the cardiac portion is based from. Again, if the material is simplistic the test has to reflect the material. The NREMT cannot and will not obtain information from other books, study guides, etc... that is not the national curriculum.

When the national standards were developed how many were actually involved in the process? When I posted the link to drafts for review; how many actually filled out the suggestion and questionnaires or simply ignored and love to gripe about it later? NEMSE has had a web site at least twice with drafts for over several years asking for reviewers and suggestions, committees and their members were open for suggestions.. how many actively participated?

We are a post active group. We love to complain, then when able to change do no action until it is too late; only to complain again. Hence this is EMS.

R/r 911

Of course the questions have to be something that the student is taught...but the paramedic curriculum (watered down as it may be) still allows for much more in-depth questioning and assessment of a paramedic's knowledge. It does NOT need to be as easy as it is, even with the current curriculum. Well written and planned or not, it is still a horrible test for what it is supposed to do. And so what if it is based on the minimum standards? Want improvement, then raise the minimum, on that I think we both can agree.

A significant percentage of people fail the NR test...so a significant number of people are unable to even meet the minimum standards, and yet passed the paramedic class. Scary. It doesn't matter if the pass rate is higher than on other medical tests; I'm going to go out on a limb and say that those tests are a bit harder than the NR. (guess their minimums are a bit higher than ours...)

And I did leave a filled out questionnaire I think. The last comment...I'm as guilty of that as the vast, vast majority of people here, but I do try when I can, unsuccessfully or not.