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.