It came to my attention recently that there are several people actually reading this. Thank you! I am humbled, as I mostly write off my ramblings as cheap therapy.
Anyway, I've been in a state of flux recently and to be honest haven't had anything too positive to write about. I feel that in some ways I have been boxed in by my system, and have reached a "stay or go"point.
The frustration is, I'm ready to work! I'm ready to be challenged as a paramedic, to provide excellent care to my patients. I want to receive more education, to participate in research and to have a voice in how our system evolves. However....I have no voice, budgets are reserved for "fire training," and I have about as much voice as an Army private in boot camp.
I don't think I am alone in this predicament. I'd like to see prehospital medicine (or paramedicine, as you may call it) flourish or even become established as a legitimate career in the US. I believe that EMS can be a part of building a stronger healthcare system. The days of a high speed taxi and low education should be gone. We are healthcare providers, not technicians that can follow an algorithm. I'd love to see EMS evolve to treat more in the field, for better patient outcomes and to ease the load on emergency departments. To the chagrin of many, I see this possible through increased primary care training. As my fellow practitioners know, many of our calls aren't for true "emergencies," but rather for primary health care issues from citizens who don't have access to the system.
Unfortunately....the current system is far from this utopia. Private EMS pays on par with what you might make flipping burgers at a fast food joint. Third service EMS constantly struggles for funding. Fire-based EMS....is often the butt of jokes in the world of EMS, and sometimes rightly so. It doesn't make sense to "force" a firefighter to become a paramedic, and doesn't lead to good patient care. It doesn't make sense to devote a majority of budget and personnel to training firefighters when fires make up less than 5% of all calls.
I'm making a call to those fire departments running their own EMS. Step up to the plate, and become part of the system. Take your medicine seriously, through your budgeting and training. Participate in the national discussion on EMS, and how it is changing. Participate in research. Now is a critical time for our field, and the fire-EMS system is the most well funded to facilitate change. The ambulance is not the bastard child of the fire department, the piece of apparatus to shy away from. Take pride in prehospital medicine, and take pride in your prehospital providers.
love,
MedicMuse.
Anyway, I've been in a state of flux recently and to be honest haven't had anything too positive to write about. I feel that in some ways I have been boxed in by my system, and have reached a "stay or go"point.
The frustration is, I'm ready to work! I'm ready to be challenged as a paramedic, to provide excellent care to my patients. I want to receive more education, to participate in research and to have a voice in how our system evolves. However....I have no voice, budgets are reserved for "fire training," and I have about as much voice as an Army private in boot camp.
I don't think I am alone in this predicament. I'd like to see prehospital medicine (or paramedicine, as you may call it) flourish or even become established as a legitimate career in the US. I believe that EMS can be a part of building a stronger healthcare system. The days of a high speed taxi and low education should be gone. We are healthcare providers, not technicians that can follow an algorithm. I'd love to see EMS evolve to treat more in the field, for better patient outcomes and to ease the load on emergency departments. To the chagrin of many, I see this possible through increased primary care training. As my fellow practitioners know, many of our calls aren't for true "emergencies," but rather for primary health care issues from citizens who don't have access to the system.
Unfortunately....the current system is far from this utopia. Private EMS pays on par with what you might make flipping burgers at a fast food joint. Third service EMS constantly struggles for funding. Fire-based EMS....is often the butt of jokes in the world of EMS, and sometimes rightly so. It doesn't make sense to "force" a firefighter to become a paramedic, and doesn't lead to good patient care. It doesn't make sense to devote a majority of budget and personnel to training firefighters when fires make up less than 5% of all calls.
I'm making a call to those fire departments running their own EMS. Step up to the plate, and become part of the system. Take your medicine seriously, through your budgeting and training. Participate in the national discussion on EMS, and how it is changing. Participate in research. Now is a critical time for our field, and the fire-EMS system is the most well funded to facilitate change. The ambulance is not the bastard child of the fire department, the piece of apparatus to shy away from. Take pride in prehospital medicine, and take pride in your prehospital providers.
love,
MedicMuse.
