May 18, 2012

You are here: Home / 2010 / Archives for March 2010

How the internet has made me a better Paramedic

March 9, 2010 By 6 Comments

The blinders are off and I have seen the light! For the longest time I had a very closed-minded view of EMS and how it should be run. Having worked in a single-medic private based EMS system my entire career, I haven’t had much opportunity to see other ways of delivering patient care. While I still remain partial to my system, I have a new found respect for the many differences and similarities that we all share. Ever since I started this blog and started yapping away on Twitter, I have met many respectable EMS professionals and have had the opportunity to share and listen to great ideas.

Happy Medic’s Blog opened my eyes to a fire-based EMS system that is actually quite similar to the system that I currently work in. Until recently, I would cringe at the words “fire-based EMS”. Well…..I still kinda do, but I have a lot of respect for Justin and the work that he has done to promote the concept of EMS 2.0. He has shown me that it is possible (although difficult) to be a good paramedic and firefighter at the same time.

Reading Ambo Driver’s blog has made for some good laughs and valuable lessons learned. For example; his article about spinal immobilization made me read further on the subject and really rethink my “c-spine everyone” mentality. I have been able to use his many years of experience and expertise to improve my practice in the field.

Mark Glencorse has really opened my eyes to a different kind of EMS system with his Medic999 Blog. For the first time, he showed me that other systems have options to advise and even deny people transport to an ER by ambulance! This is something unheard of in my area. Reading his blog has shown me that patient advocacy doesn’t always consist of transporting everyone to the hospital. I have also found it very interesting to read that while fire departments in the United States are standing in line to start providing paramedic-level service, fire departments in Europe are doing everything they can to stay out of EMS all together! It’s just another example of people working differently to achieve the same goal.

I recently started to read MsParamedic’s blog, which grabbed my attention when I read her article about scene safety. It really drove home the fact that we are not invincible. I was able to relate as I had a very similar experience. Her post brought me back to that time and made me remember how important it is to make sure that myself and my partner are safe and make it home at night.

Having the opportunity to be a guest on the EMS Garage (or Happy Hour if you will) was a wonderful experience. I learned a lot by speaking with all of the experienced EMS professionals on the show. Hearing everyones takes on fire-based EMS and the future of EMS in general was quite the experience. It is something that I hope to do again in the near future.

Last and certainly not least, I must give major thanks to hard work put into the Chronicles of EMS. Following the project has really shown me that we are all after the same goal. I think that it is a wonderful way to connect EMS professionals from around the globe in an effort to perfect the important job that we do. It is truly the beginning of a new era. As the project grows and more people become involved, we will see EMS 2.0 transform from an idea to reality.

I read so many blogs everyday that I would be nearly impossible to list what I have gained from everyone. I can only hope that my posts and contributions will someday attribute to another EMS professional’s knowledge base. Thank you all for everything you do for not only EMS professionals, but the patients that you serve as well.

Keep up the good work!


Filed Under: Field Medicine, Opinion, Reviews Tagged With: , , , ,

Who do you work for?

March 6, 2010 By 5 Comments

In any type of business there is a chain of command. If you are self-employed, you answer to your customers. If you work for a large corporation, then you probably have several levels of management. EMS is no exception. We all work for somebody.

If your an EMT, you probable answer to your paramedic. If you are a paramedic then you probably answer to your supervisor. If you are a supervisor, then you probably answer to an operations manager. If you are an op’s manager, then you probably answer to the owner. So now comes the big question. Who does the owner answer to? The owner answers to the people making his/her business possible. The customers, AKA the patients.

I’m sure that I will get some coments explaining that this doesn’t apply to government-run operations. That is actually far from the truth. Government-run ambulance services usually answer to either a city counsel or a county board of supervisors. They of course answer to the tax-payers that utilize your service. See where I am going with this?

The moral of this story is simple. Your patients are ultimately your boss. You work for them. They don’t work for you. Think of them as your bosses, bosses, bosses boss. Without them, you don’t have a job. They are what makes this wonderful thing called “EMS” possible.


Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: , ,

Consider yourself lucky

March 5, 2010 By 10 Comments

During times of a recession, it’s a wonder how any ambulance service can survive. With more and more people becoming unemployed, reimbursement for emergency services is at an all time low. This also means that less people are paying taxes to provide services like fire, police and EMS. Medicaid and Medicare programs have always had a history of cutting reimbursement during tough times. It’s now to the point where ambulance providers are only getting pennies on the dollar for what they bill.

All over the country, private ambulance services are going out of business or selling to larger providers. EMS jobs are not as abundant as they used to be. I happen to be fortunate as I work for a private ambulance service that remains financially stable right now. This of course has given me an opportunity to see what some people are willing to do get a job. We have paramedics not only moving from out of town, but out of state to work for us. It is unlike anything we have ever seen.

Now you would think that people working a secure EMS job would appreciate it, being that they can see whats going on around them. That isn’t exactly the case with everyone. I still hear attitude with crews when they are dispatched on a call for a skilled nursing facility or an inter-facility transfer. Sure, nobody enjoys those calls, but they are keeping services like us alive. While the 911 call for a stabbing is certainly exciting, it doesn’t pay the bills. As a matter of fact, 911 calls for the most part are a money loser.

If you are fortunate enough to be employed right now, remember that the calls you are running is the very thing keeping you in a job. When your employer cuts overtime, remember that it’s better than getting laid off. It’s far better to take a small hit now to ensure that you still have job in a year.

For those who are interested, I have another article I wrote a little while back about how a recession affects EMS.


Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , ,
Newer Posts »