Less talk, more action please.

[Dustdevil]

I agree that this is an excellent post and topic! Leading by example, you have put forth some wonderfully productive suggestions for improvement.

I honestly don't think a single one of the people here who do the things you are referring to are doing so out of any sense of superiority or mean spiritedness. I don't think any of us get any kind of personal boost of self-esteem by pointing out perceived inadequacies. And I don't think any one of us get any sadistic pleasure from spanking a n00b. I believe that all of us are motivated by only one thing, and that is the improvement of our profession.

I believe that what we do here achieves that goal to a notable extent. I have lost count of the number of n00bs who came here in the last two years with little clue, and are now counted among the sharpest tacks in this box. Yes, a lot of others simply ran away with their tails between their legs because they liked neither the message nor the messengers. Witness those who take personal offence to discussions of broad concepts (like non-emergency transfer jobs not being EMS, and EMTs being inadequately educated, and volunteers being detrimental to the growth of the profession) as if we had somehow taken an intentional shot at their personal worth or intelligence. If somebody is that hypersensitive, then hurting their feelings simply cannot be prevented. Sometimes you gotta crack a few eggs to make fruit salad. But those who stay behind to discuss it are either the smart kids who "get it," and/or the ones who have passionate commitment to sticking things out through adversity. EMS needs both of those people!

I can relate to all of those kinds of people though. Although I occasionally need a nice slap of reality in order to see the light, I generally consider myself pretty quick on the uptake, and a subtle hit or gentle word to the wise is all I need. When that is the case, then yes, I too resent the "big stick" approach. But those with maturity and commitment can accept both methods, understanding that the message is more important than the messenger. Some may recall that when I first came here, I had some fur-flying exchanges with Rid and Asys. Any of us could have chosen to run to a new sandbox where the kids presented a lesser challenge, but none of us did. And today, I count them both as my closest professional allies, and have the deepest personal and professional respect for both of them. That's the kind of maturity, intelligence and determination I would like to see in all people who come to our field. If somebody is still carrying around their school-yard sensitivities on their shoulder, I'm not sure they're ready for this field, so I usually won’t lose too much sleep over their leaving. The unfortunate thing is, they don’t leave EMS. They only leave EMT City.

I do like your idea of PMing people with a heads-up. There are plenty of people here who will tell you that I did that for them when they first came. And, speaking only for myself, I honestly believe that I make an obvious effort to preach the gospel in a non-threatening way when somebody first comes along. I may get nasty on down the line, but seldom before I have made a true effort to make my point in a civil manner. The problem is that we get a lot of insecure and under-experienced people that come here. After all, it is the n00bs that are most attracted to a site like this. The insecure kids are simply unwilling to hear anything that threatens their ability to make a fast and easy entry into the world of blood and sirens. It is no wonder that they stay only long enough to toss back a few insults and then sulk over to firehouse.com where they can wank with the rest of the circle jerks. Huge props to guys like Timmy who take a licking and keep on ticking, becoming a better professional in the process. We also have the inexperienced, older n00bs who come here just lack the knowledge or exposure to real EMS to understand the big picture. Their volly squad in Hicksville is all they know, outside of Turd Watch. Consequently they have seen the two far extremes in EMS and assume there is no middle ground for consideration. It's like how people in NYC and LA seem to be oblivious to the existence and lifestyles of the majority of America that lives between them. Try to tell them what is best for society in as a whole, and they get all bent out of shape that you are threatening their urban way of life because they lack any frame of reference.

So anyhow, I would agree that some here are occasionally a little quick to blast away with the riot gun when the Taser would have been a more appropriate response. And I agree that we should all work to keep that reflex in check. But we can't throw out the baby with the bathwater. The tough love approach works with a lot of people, it works faster, and many times works better. It has its place. We just have to exercise the self-control to save the big guns for the true problem children.

Wendy, you come from a very different background from a lot of us. You obviously possess an extra nurture gene that many of us lack. Or possibly, you just have not yet become jaded by the business as inevitably happens. Your approach is a little too “kum by ya” for me personally, but heck, perhaps one day you'll surprise us and turn into the most insufferable bitch here. But for now, you just keep doing what you are doing, because it works. I'm not convinced that it works any better or any more often than what I do, but it very definitely does work. Both the stick and the carrot are useful tools. The more approaches we use, the more people we will reach. And I’ve watched enough NYPD Blue to know the “good cop-bad cop” routine is always a winning strategy.

[Dustdevil]

Not everything here is going to be shiny and PC. Progress will never be made if we put everything through the washing machine so it is watered down and agreeable to everyone. Progress is made through great debates, education and action. Take a look back and see what you did to move things forward.

Golden!

I think I'm in love!

Are you married?

[Connie31079]

Progress will never be made if we put everything through the washing machine so it is watered down...

You see, there's a fine line between "good debate" and "verbal harassment", and some people can't tell the difference. And a lot of people cross that line.

I'm not looking for things to be "watered down", just looking to avoid being verbally harrassed everytime I post my opinion on something.

And if I hit the "report" button to report something to you or AK that I find offensive, if neither of you find it offensive, is anything actually going to be done about it? Or are you just going to sit back, have a good chuckle at my expense, and say "Oh, poor Connie! She's so thin-skinned, that poor girl! She really needs to toughen up!"....then move on with the rest of your day?

I know I've reported things in the past, and nothing's been resolved, at least to my satisfaction. So, if I report things in the future, why should I expect things to be any different?

I would love to be able to contribute to topics in here that interest me, but I'm afraid to!

[EMT City Administrator]

We review each post report. We don't delete things because they hurt someones feelings, but if they do violate the rules, we will delete or modify it.

The job of moderating is not easy. If we lock everything down that someone feels objectionable, then we drive people away. If we leave everything unmoderated, we drive people away. Finding a mix, with the goal of moving our profession forward is our focus.

FYI: The new report feature has the ability for you to explain why you are reporting it to give us some guidance.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I've always wanted the ability to say why I was reporting it. Thanks for putting that in there.

[Eydawn]

Yay! Dust gets to be the bad cop and I get to be the good cop! Haha! But seriously, thanks for reading my rant.

Connie- offensive is in the eye of the beholder. Witness the ambulette thread... Hang in there and keep posting. If you give up because it's frustrating, you're allowing yourself to be silenced. I went through a period of that about a year ago in college (heaven forbid you be a conservative white Catholic convert female at a small private liberal arts school) and I realized that yes, while it is frustrating and painful, it is still worthwhile. I will always listen, and try to critique in a non-personal fashion.

And there is always the no likee, no readee approach... I will admit to skimming certain posts because, as I read left to right, I see the poster's name first. No likee poster? No readee post! (Not meant to be sarcastic or patronizing... just an attempt at humor way too early in the morning.)

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[JPINFV]

(heaven forbid you be a conservative white Catholic [s:4ddfeef014]convert female[/s:4ddfeef014] at a[s:4ddfeef014] small private liberal arts school[/s:4ddfeef014] college

You know, I actually kinda of miss fighting the liberals/socialists.

[Eydawn]

It's actually a little better here than it was in Michigan. Profs are all left swingers, but there's a better mix in the student body.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[katbemeEMT-B]

I wasn’t going to reply to this post, but after some insightful thinking (and a good night’s sleep); I decided it might be of benefit to others and me.

My first few posts, I can say without a doubt, that I got the hell beat out of me. I really took this personally and considered not coming back. I sat at home and licked my wounded ego for a few days. Well, my thirst for knowledge got the best and I made the decision that I would come back to read, but not post. I was sitting on the fence as to whether I would take that next step and return to medic school, and I was looking for information to help me make an informed decision. After a short period of time, just reading the information wasn’t enough. I had to ask questions too. Well, I got the information I was looking for from the exact people who had previously extricated me from my very self. I say extricated because it was not an easy job to remove the embedded way of thinking that my fellow co-workers were so kind to share with me. I now see EMS in a whole new aspect and understand where these mentors were coming from.

With the knowledge that I have gained from this site and my experience on the job (inability to help some patients), I have made the decision to return to school. I am almost done with my first semester and look forward to the next five. I have also come to the realization that aside from the inadequate education in the EMS field (especially for basics), EVERY area would benefit from an all ALS paid service. This has prompted me to not only try to convince the “powers that be” into making our service paid (it’s going to be a tough sell), but also to go ALS. I look at the patients we care for who would benefit from ALS care and feel for them. Our only option for ALS is aircare.

So, to all the n00bs and those that feel slighted by others, I say step back and really think about what is being said. Remove all the sarcasm and what some consider criticism and really read what is being posted. Don’t take it personally. Try to see it from the other person’s perspective. To those that have the experience, knowledge, and willingness to try and steer others in the right direction, THANK YOU!

[WANTYNU]

Not everything here is going to be shiny and PC. Progress will never be made if we put everything through the washing machine so it is watered down and agreeable to everyone. Progress is made through great debates, education and action. Take a look back and see what you did to move things forward.

We have a great site here and the members can take all the credit. People that are in a position to make great changes visit here too.

Well put, with that said everyone is human and have lives outside of this message board, so it is up to us to help our moderators and point out issues and to an extent police ourselves (but try not to take the law into your own hands…).

A couple of things to keep in mind, there is a fine line between a club and click.

You don’t invite a new person into your house, ask for their opinion and then start insulting them.

If you do, you’ll find they might not come back, and we are all less for their absence.

EMS (big and small) is in crisis, we are under recognized, underfunded (not talking fire here), and have ongoing functional identity issues. Ask most Fire / EMS who they are and most (if they are speaking truthfully) will tell you firemen /women (to be PC).

Yet fire is on the decrease, and the recognition that prehospital care does work is on the increase, but the public (and most doctors and nurses) WE ALL HAVE SEEN THE JOHNSON AND JOHNSON Ads, have no idea who we are.

Hell, we can’t decide: EMT, EMT-B, EMT-D, EMT-I, EMT-CC, EMT-P, Medic, Paramedic, Paramedic-CC have all been called at one time or another AMBULANCE DRIVERS, our early past sticks to us like beach tar. Yet, we still argue over who’s better, more important, fighting among ourselves, wasting breath and time.

Yet still we have no NATIONALLY ACCEPTED STANDARDS for training, practice, population funding (pay), or license.

See articles in JEMS this month by Bledsoe, or EMS magazine last month by Scott Phelps two very smart people. (Go to www.ems-safety.com to listen to interview with Bledsoe).

If you really want change (and maybe better pay) get political, call your local, state, national representative, and let them know you’ve had enough, let them know you want an identity.

There is power in numbers, and we do have the numbers.

As always be safe.

WANTYNU