February 6, 2012

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Define Discrimination….

December 22, 2011 By 9 Comments

The jobs of three EVAC employees with more than 30 years of combined experience are up in smoke after they were found in violation of the county’s nicotine policy, a county spokesman confirmed Saturday.

If you haven’t read the article, read it here: http://www.news-journalonline.com/news/local/west-volusia/2011/12/18/volusia-paramedics-fired-for-smoking.html

I’ll start off by saying that legally, the terminations are valid and will most likely not be overturned. Whether you agree with the policy or not, it’s still written policy with clear language for what happens if you violate said policy. So yes, I think it’s sad that these experienced paramedics lost their jobs, but you can’t knowingly violate the rules and not expect to suffer the consequences.

Now, having said that, I must say that I think the policy is 100% BS.

“I was terminated for something I do at home and is perfectly legal,” said Mike Stone, who had worked as a paramedic for EVAC for 5 1/2 years.

I completely agree. As of right now, smoking is still legal and it doesn’t impair your ability to think rationally or function in the workplace. If they don’t want their employees smoking while on duty, then that’s OK. They have that right. But to try and dictate what their employees do in their personal lives is plain wrong.

For many of us, a nicotine-free policy wouldn’t have any affect, but what’s important is that the employer has already demonstrated that they are willing to tell you what you can and can’t do in your own time. Sure, it might not affect me now, but what happens when they decide that they don’t want to hire anyone that consumes caffeine or alcohol on their days off?

Smokers may not be a “protected classification” but I still view policies like this as discriminatory. Regardless of how much they spin this as an attempt to improve the health and well-being of their employees, it still comes down to them determining employment eligibility based on lifestyle choices. Of course, they won’t put people with high cholesterol on the chopping block, because that would most likely eliminate all of management. Eliminating people because they have bad habits seems fine and well until it’s THEIR bad habit that makes the hit list.

Maybe I’m just old-school, but I would think they would be better off addressing things like work performance or attendance. Then again, I’m just a dumb-ass paramedic, what do I know?


Filed Under: Featured, Opinion Tagged With: , , ,

At least it sounded like a good idea….

March 2, 2011 By 1 Comment

http://www.jems.com/article/news/california-city-becomes-first

As I was doing my daily read of the most recent EMS-related news headlines, I stumbled across this interesting article. To be honest I was taken back at first, because I have always wondered why all of the cities around the OC / LA area insist on responding so many paramedics to every call. The fact that they run ALS engines isn’t what gets me, it’s the fact they use private ambulances for transport and FORBID them from providing any ALS care. This of course requires a fire-medic to ride in to the hospital and have the engine or squad follow them to pick them up at the ER. Maybe I’m just ignorant, but it seems like they are doubling their work.

To me it seems that it would make more sense for the fire department to just provide the ambulance transport themselves. Staff a paramedic who doesn’t split his/her role with any other function on the ambulance and an EMT to drive. I will never be convinced that having 4 paramedics treating 1 patient is a good idea.

This particular article is intriguing because for the first time (that I have seen), they actually want to get away from their current system and let a private ambulance staffed with a single paramedic and EMT handle the patient care. While I typically endorse this kind of change, I think the city and county need to be fair to the tax-payers. Chances are, the citizens pay some form of tax to pay for the paramedic service that is currently in place. While such a move will certainly save money, it kinda screws the tax payers. If they go ahead with a switch to private-level service, then they either need to remove that tax, or reduce it accordingly. The whole purpose of contracting to a private pay-for-service model, is the savings in tax dollars to the public, not the general fund.

I thought that this was actually a viable option until I read that the city doesn’t attempt to collect on uninsured parties, and they would expect the private service to do the same. I can say with 100% certainty that this kind of policy WILL NOT WORK without government subsidies. If they are expecting that some private company is going to come in and willingly operate at a loss, then they have another thing coming.

I personally don’t think that such a change is going to happen without some fierce resistance. I applaud their ability to think outside of the box, but I have my doubts that they will actually make this happen.


Filed Under: Featured, Misc, Opinion, Politics Tagged With: , ,

Don't ignore the big HIPAA in the room

January 30, 2011 By 1 Comment

The Detroit EMS Saga continues to get more interesting as we watch the system fall to pieces before our very eyes. Most of you probably heard about the infamous 20 minute response that possibly resulted in the death of a patient, and as it turns out, the blame is being shifted on to the crew. Their termination from employment has sparked quite the up-roar amongst fellow EMS professionals and citizens from that community. But that’s not the reason for this article. I’m not going to voice an opinion on the matter because I don’t know all the details surrounding the situation. What I do know is that the EMT made a huge mistake going on camera to talk about that call.

After watching the video I turned on my stop watch to count the amount of time it takes for a privacy law suite to be filled for an obvious HIPAA violation. By going on national TV and talking about details surrounding the call, he not only put himself but the entire Detroit EMS service in harms way. That was a HUGE, HUGE, HUGE, no no. Being that the call itself made national headlines makes it extremely easy to reference the call, and the individual involved with his comments. I get the frustration, and I understand why he did it, but it was a bad move.

As medical professionals, we really have to watch ourselves when it comes to talking in front of a camera. This is why services like the one I work for prohibit us from speaking to the media at all. Just because he isn’t employed anymore, doesn’t mean he won’t get nailed with a hefty fine. If nothing else, he now has less protection then he did before the termination.

I’m keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to this EMT as a result of his statements, but I’m not exactly holding my breath.


Filed Under: Featured, Opinion, Politics Tagged With: , ,

My Thoughts on Social Media in the Workplace

November 16, 2010 By 1 Comment

There has been a ton of press about employees getting fired or punished for “misconduct” on popular social media sites. So naturally comes the debate on:

  • Whether an employer has the right to terminate you for something you did off-duty.
  • Whether or not they should get aggressive on social media policies or embrace this as a new form of communication.
  • How we should conduct ourselves when posting on the internet.

In recent news, an EMT was fired for criticizing her boss on Facebook. While the feds ruled that the firing was illegal, I still think she could have used better judgement. This wasn’t a matter of silencing social media in EMS, it was a matter of someone trash talking their boss on Facebook and facing the consequences.

I have had many bosses over the years and I could probably write a book trash talking all of them. We all have bad things that we can say about the lovely folks in management, however it’s usually best to confine that talk to friends and family. Biting the hand that feeds you typically ends up with results like this EMT faced. In her case, a trip to federal court and a large amount of lawyers fees might just get her job back, but it’s probably not going to be a job she wants.

Working for someone that you don’t like is one thing. Working for someone that doesn’t like you is quite another. Even if she goes back to AMR, at the very least the awkwardness will be enough to make her hate her job. Regardless of what a federal judge says, she will never win that battle.

Employers and employees have a reputation to hold. We as employees don’t want the general public looking at us as being childish or immature, and employers don’t want the actions of their employees to damage their company image. It’s really not rocket science. When you work in any avenue of healthcare or public safety, you have agreed to take on a new level of responsibility, both on and off duty. Posting derogatory comments about coworkers, patients, bosses or establishments does absolutely nothing to lighten the beating that we already take in EMS.

Social media is a giant that wont be stopped, but that’s not a bad thing. It has allowed me to easily keep in touch with family and friends from across the country. It has also allowed EMS professionals like you and me to meet and share ideas with our peers around the globe. It’s a new form of communication that is literally changing the world as we know it.

I am firm believer that we should embrace it and use it to our advantage. I think that EMS and public safety professionals being able to reach out to each other and the general public is a wonderful thing. Unfortunately, as easy as it is to build relationships through social media, it’s just as easy to destroy them. Like I have said over and over, “with great power comes great responsibility”.


Filed Under: Opinion, Politics Tagged With: , ,

No Room for Dead Heroes

November 2, 2010 By 2 Comments

It is of my strong opinion that safety is our #1 priority. As EMS professionals, our jobs are to treat and transport the ill and injured to the closest most appropriate facility, not enforce the law. Every time I hit the streets I have 1 major goal in mind – to make it home safe to my family.

Taking stupid risks to gain some sort of “hero status” not only puts yourself in danger, but does nothing for your patients. The risks I’m talking about range anywhere from not wearing a seatbelt to entering an unsafe scene. We aren’t cops and we certainly aren’t invincible.

I like to think of us as a starting quarterback. We are extremely valuable, in short supply, and our employers cant afford for us to get hurt or killed. Cops, hazmat teams, and rescue squads are our linemen. They run defense to make sure that we can effectively do our jobs without getting harmed. Let them do their job.

One of my pet peeves is bad driving. Everyone hates being called “ambulance drivers” even though driving the ambulance is arguably the most important job on the rig. Getting to the calls safely, getting the patients to the hospital safely are high on the priority list. Going home at night is the highest. This is a huge responsibility and yet we treat driving like it’s no big deal. The “it wont happen to me” mentality is what causes articles like this one: http://www.ems1.com/ambulances-emergency-vehicles/articles/900736-5-injured-in-Calif-ambulance-crash/ While I wasn’t at that accident scene, I can’t accurately be a judge of who was at fault. But I can say that if you are hit while running a red light, then you probably didn’t pay close enough attention and weren’t driving with due regard.

Another no-no is trying to play the roll of a police officer. While being a good Samaritan is always appreciated, putting yourself in danger for no good reason is foolish. In this article 2 EMT’s did a good service by chasing down a criminal that stole a ladies cell phone. While I’m sure it was much appreciated, it put them in a terrible position as the man could have easily been armed and caused great harm to them. http://www.jems.com/article/news/fdny-emts-chase-down-cell-phon

This next article tells a story of 2 EMT’s that were recognized for stopping a mentally ill patient from gaining access to a police officers firearm and potentially causing harm to a lot of people. This is one of the few scenarios where I agree with the crews decision to step in harms way. I only say this because they acted in an effort to prevent someone from gaining access to a lethal weapon. While I could go into a rant about retention holsters and officer safety, I’ll stick to my playing field. In this scenario, their chances of sustaining extensive injury or even death would have been much greater if the person was actually successful in grabbing the firearm. http://www.ems1.com/ems-oddities/articles/903134-NY-EMTs-disarm-ER-gunman/

The message behind this article is simple. Rather than “drive it like you stole it”, I say “drive it like your life depends on it”. Don’t put yourself in harms way over stupid things like a cell phone and for god’s sake, let the cops be cops. You work on treating and transporting the ill and injured to the closest most appropriate facility.


Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: , , ,

November 2nd, 2010

October 30, 2010 By Leave a Comment

November 2nd is going to be a day that we as EMS providers and as American citizens need to have our voice heard. Many of us are unhappy with our elected officals – both Democrat and Republican – and the only way to change this is to elect people that represent you the best.

Politicians use various forms of media to bash their opponents with the hopes of winning your vote. They never offer up any plans or discuss real issues. It isn’t until they are in office that we find out what kind of representative they really are. It’s very important that we ignore the negative ads and ridiculous allegations. Do a little research on the candidates and find out who really represents your best interest. You can do this by looking at their campaign contributors, voting records, and debates.

Don’t be afraid to cross party lines or vote for 3rd party candidates. Many people argue that voting for a 3rd party is a “wasted vote”, but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Every time you vote against someone, as opposed to for someone, you have wasted your vote. The truth is, if everyone actually did the research and picked the best candidate, then all of this campaign spending would be worthless. This would also be the end of the 2-party system. Remember, the lesser of the 2 evils is still evil.

As EMS professionals, we need to pick candidates that will represent our industry. If you work in public safety, then you might want to find out what the candidates plan to do with pensions, benefits, and funding for your organization. If you work in private EMS, or even public-based EMS, then find out where the candidate stands on Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement. Everyone claims to want to “cut spending”, so find out exactly what they plan to cut. Are they planning to cut back on beautification projects or public safety jobs?

While it is extremely important that you get out to vote, it is just as important you know what you are voting for. Don’t be fooled by rhetoric, negative ads and smear campaigns. Remember that voting is your way to have your voice heard.


Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , ,

Intubation – So easy a caveman can do it

June 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

I cringe every time that I read an article regarding governing boards considering pulling intubation from a paramedic’s scope of practice. It floors me how such an easy (yes easy) and essential skill can find itself on the chopping block time and time again. What I don’t understand, is why there are paramedics out there that can’t seem to get it right.

I took a job as a paramedic supervisor about 3 years ago. Since then, the amount of calls that I run have decreased by more than half. I went from intubating multiple times a month to once every 4-6 months. While my anxiety level has gone up in fear of being out of practice, I still manage to successfully intubate pretty much every time. It’s just not that hard.

Let’s take a look at other skills that we perform far more often than intubation and compare the level of difficulty.

I’ll start with the everyday task of starting IVs. This is arguably more difficult than intubating. The only reason people don’t freak out over it is because it’s not a life-or-death procedure. There are far more people out there with bad veins than there are people with difficult airways. Paramedics miss a hell of a lot more IVs than they do intubation attempts. Sure, you can argue that the volume of people that require IVs is much greater, therefore the numbers are skewed. But think about this: If we start so many IVs every day, shouldn’t we be really good at it? Likewise, if intubation is a skill that is considered to be difficult AND we don’t get to do it very often, then why do so many areas have success rates in the high 90 percentile?

I’ll even take it down a notch and compare intubation to a BLS skill, the traction splint. I will argue any day that applying a traction splint is far more difficult than intubating. Dealing with a screaming patient who just broke a femur exceeds visualizing vocal cords hands down.

I really wish that we would look at solutions to these problems other than taking away the skill. If we have people in the field that can’t handle the simple task of securing an airway, then maybe they shouldn’t be paramedics.

Anyone care to argue?


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Should EMS be Allowed to Carry Weapons?

June 22, 2010 By 48 Comments

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

2nd Amendment - United States Constitution

All of us that work in EMS know that our job comes with it’s fair share of risks. I think most of us would argue that we put ourselves in harms way far more that than the average citizen. But what mechanism do we have in place to protect ourselves? …….anyone?

Every ambulance service I have worked for has strict rules against carrying weapons of any type while on duty. This includes guns, knives, pepper spray, etc. Every time I have heard these policies questioned, it is typically addressed with a general “we are not cops” statement. And they are right. We aren’t cops. We don’t enforce laws and we don’t track down bad guys. But we DO deal with the same people that law enforcement does. We run drug overdoses, assaults, homicides, suicides, etc. We find ourselves in the middle of trouble almost on a daily basis.

So back to my previous question.

What mechanism do we have in place to protect ourselves? Well for starters we have a dispatcher who decides whether or not the scene is safe to enter based off a 30 second phone call. Our next line of defense is a radio to call for help. And lastly we have the ability to run away. Criminals beware!

I’m going to come right out and say that I believe that EMS professionals should be allowed to carry concealed weapons in the name of personal defense. As a citizen the United States Constitution grants me to the right to keep and bear arms. So should my employer be allowed to deny me this right while I’m on duty?

Now I must play devils advocate for a minute. To look at this issue from an employer’s prospective, I can see where they might have issues with their employees carrying and possibly using a weapon. This opens up the doors to legal action and liability in the event that one of their employees acted inappropriately and killed someone. Employers have the right to tell us how to dress, speak, act and even cut our hair. In exchange for following these rules, we get to stay on board and receive a paycheck every 2 weeks. If we don’t like the rules, then we are free to leave at any time.

I guess where I am going with this is that while I believe that I have a right to protect self on and off duty, I don’t think that employers should be told they HAVE to allow their work force to carry weapons. Having said that, I think that liability should not be placed on an employer in the event that an EMT or Paramedic had to exercise their rights and harm someone in the name of defense. When my life is placed in danger to the point where I have to draw my weapon and kill the person who is trying to kill me, I am no longer acting as a Paramedic. I am acting as Sean Eddy. A human being that is trying to do what I can to make sure I make it home to my family. At that point I have taken all responsibility for my own actions AS A PERSON, not as a Paramedic.

Anyone disagree with me? I would love to hear your thoughts.


Filed Under: Politics Tagged With: , , , ,

Professionalism – A much needed trait for EMS providers

December 11, 2009 By Leave a Comment

Good morning readers. Today I am going to talk about professionalism in the EMS field and in the everyday workplace. In my years as a paramedic I have seen both ends of the spectrum. I have worked in environments where EMT’s and Paramedics were allowed to wear pretty much whatever they want. I have also worked with companies where all crew members were required to wear the same uniform, and keep it up to a strict standard. Obviously the stricter of the two produces better confidence with the patients that we serve as well as with members of other branches of public safety.

Now you might be wondering why this article is titled “professionalism” and all I keep talking about is appearance. Well I can tell you that appearance, attitude, courtesy and competence all go towards professionalism. For instance, if you have a sloppy appearance, you will most likely have a sloppy attitude as well.

Unfortunately, many (not all) fire and EMS agencies tend to be quite lax towards a good uniform policy. On a standard medical-aid call, you might have 2 people in turnout pants with a t-shirt, 1 person wearing uniform pants and a sweater, 1 person wearing a jump suite, and someone wearing a polo. While this may meet all of the responders comfort needs, it doesn’t instill much respect with the patient and the general public.
Law enforcement agencies typically have very strict uniform polices and almost always present themselves in a professional manner. It’s pretty rare to find several officers from the same agency wearing different jackets or shirts. I have always been of the impression that law enforcement sets a great example when it comes to professionalism.

I understand that many rural volunteer departments have no choice but to “come as you are” in order to cut down on response times. I respect that.

Now in conclusion I will say that the cops probably set the best example, but there are obviously exceptions out there. Looking your best, being knowledgeable in your duties, and treating the patients like they were your grandmother, will make you shine in your job as an EMS professional.

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail me.


Filed Under: Opinion Tagged With: , , , , , ,