6 month medic class

[boeingb13]

Im sure this has been talked about too death, but I would like to lay down some thoughts, this isnt to start a argument or to down people, like I said its just thoughts.

I've been doing alot of reading on the shortage of RN's in the country, and in my state, Florida, in our larger cities there is a shortage of paramedics. What signifigance do the two have? Bad patient care, How? By bringing in thousands of foreign nurses from Haiti and other island nations, and by running six month medic classes. First, I dont know about your state, but the nurses they are shipping in here, for the most part, are the meanest laziest women i have ever seen, This is not based off a racist ignorant thought base, it is based off of what I see everyday, what pt's tell me everyday. The stories and injuries are only getting worse, and to top it off, here, they make it next o impossible to get into rn classes, why?. I dont know, but i do know that patient care is getting worse, and though many do their best, its the other many that are bringing the system down. 6 month medic class, granted there are many people out there who can take in all that information, even with all the ride time and clinicals factored in, they can take it in, but how long does it stay. I have spoken with a few, what I consider to be great medics, and they all say the same thing, "If my class would of been longer I really think i would of come out a better medic" The reason why? They had to spend so much time back tracking and relearning what they should of had down in school. Here in Jacksonville, Florida the schools are overwhelmed now with fire firefighters, simply because they will get more money every month, not because they want to ride rescue, hell ,two years ago, there were a little over one thousand firefighters here, and only a couple hundred had their medic, why? For the same reason its always been "I dont want to be put on a rescue". So, now were about to have lots and lots of medics, and alot of them cheating their way through school, and using the Shawm Fix book to pass the state test. Your wife/husband is in a car accident the closest rescue is on call, an als engine arrives, all new six month medics, well these guys didnt study that hard, and read a book to pass the state test, makes you feel safe doesnt it. None of this may apply to your state, but it damn sure does to mine. When patient care turns almost entirely to money, we have a problem. Just a thought.

[Lone Star]

You raise some good points, Boeing!

The '6 month medic' (or product of the 'medic mills') retains less of the information presented because of the deluge of information presented in a very short time.

EMS isn't a field where you want to learn as much as you can in as short of time period as possible! We've got peoples lives in our hands!

It's thes 'medic mills' and '6 month heroes' that are the basis of the expression 'cookbook medic'. They can't justify a treatment, nor can they explain the desired results, why they're looking for those results, nor can they explain what can go wrong, and what to do if the desired results arent achieved.

[firedoc5]

This might sound like old school, but...At one time to climb the EMS ladder it took time and experience to be able to advance. In the early 80's, when I was starting out, for the state of IL your first EMT-A class was three to five months.

If you wanted to become an EMT-I you had to have at least three years experience in the field as an EMT-A, plus passing an entrance exam just to get into the class. Once you were in the class it was another three to five months. After completing the class you had a year to be certified.

Then to become a EMT-P you had to be a certified EMT-I for at least one year, pass another entrance exam to get into that class. The EMT-P class would be seven to twelve months. After completing that class you had a year to be certified in ACLS and to be field certified.

And of course, on top of the classroom academics you had to have a certain number of clinical hours in the ER for each level.

But in the late 80's and early 90's there seems to have been a push for more personnel in the field. So they shortened some of the required time in the field so that training could be done more quickly. Soon it seemed like someone could go from EMT-A to EMT-I to EMT-P in less than two years. It even got to where you weren't required to be field certified to be able to advance. And I know there has been a lot of changes since I was starting out.

But my point is...have they sacrificed quality of Emergency Medicine for quanity of people they put out on the street? Like I said, it might sound too old school but a line has to drawn somewhere.

(Sorry, so long. Didn't mean to rant and rave)

[JPINFV]

But my point is...have they sacrificed quality of Emergency Medicine for quanity of people they put out on the street? Like I said, it might sound too old school but a line has to drawn somewhere.

The answer to that depends on if you believe that poor quality EMS providers is due to a lack of experience or the poor state of EMS education.

Personally, I feel that no amount of experience, either before or after the education and training required for a specific level, can make up for poor educational standards.

If the "real" schooling happens only after a student leaves a program, then that program leaves a lot to be desired for. Unfortunately, this seems to be the exception, not the rule.

[vs-eh?]

Was that block of text asking if that person should go into a 6 month "medic class"?

Seems to me they already have a foot in the door...