Are volunteer BLS services beneficial?

[triemal04]

First of all i have to apologize if my spelling is not the best.

I am astonished to see this discussion also on a US-Forum. In Germany we have the same emotional discussion all over the years and until now nobody has the real answer. We have many volunteers in our EMS, in some counties we have volunteer first responders in every village and in my EMS (like many others) we also have volunteers on the ALS-Units. On weekends our ALS-Units are often staffed with one paid Paramedic an one volunteer EMT. As a paid Paramedic you sometimes think they want to have "Adventure EMS" and sometimes you're right. But we also have a lot of professional volunteer buddies who i don't want to miss. But in some opinions (like mine) in Germany the volunteering had hampered the evolution in EMS. For example, presently we have only a 2-year education to become a Paramedic because to enable this level to volunteers. In the near future we will have a 3-year education at last.

Many people think working in EMS is easy because there are so many volunteers whose full-time job is trader, baker, mechanic or something else and on weekend they are life-saver on an ALS. So we do not have that standing like a Paramedic in the US.

Um...if it takes 2 years and soon will be 3 to become a paramedic in Germany you're already head and shoulders above the US, so don't sweat it. As for the standing of paramedics in the US...thats funny!

[rettungsfachpersonal]

Thank you all for your answers.

Most professions (even barber) here take 3 years of education, so i think as somebody who serve humans (and for humans life) 3 years is necessary - not possible for volunteers. Education for Physicians takes minimum 6 years...

But i think the EMS in Germany is difficult comparable with the EMS in the USA.

[Dustdevil]

Thanks for checking in, RFP! It's interesting to hear a German perspective. And interestingly, the English grammar by our European friends here is almost always superior to that of most Americans. You are no exception.

Don't fall for the U.S. hype. I think there are only three out of fifty states in the U.S. that require a two-year education for paramedics in the U.S. And those are smaller, lesser populated states. In the majority of the U.S., you can become a paramedic in half a year or less.

[frontcrawl]

Don't fall for the U.S. hype. I think there are only three out of fifty states in the U.S. that require a two-year education for paramedics in the U.S. And those are smaller, lesser populated states.

I've heard this a couple of places but nobody has identified the third state. Anybody know anything? Oregon, Kansas and ????

[EMS49393]

Ah, I got ya. No doubt. We are out of sight-out of mind to most people. They see an ambulance, and assume that means they have everything they need. It's hard to change public perception about something they never think about to begin with.

I tried very hard to steer clear of this thread simply I'm a paramedic that enjoys a paycheck for my services (albeit a small paycheck.) I have no interest in being involved in a volly vs. paid, basic vs. medic debate. I have worn all four uniforms before. What I have is a tale of two ambulance services.

Company "A" is a private, somewhat shady company contracted to provide ALS services in a small community of approximately 12,000 tax-paying residents. They are required by their contract to have at least one ALS staffed ambulance in the city limits at all times. Should that ambulance be sent on a call, they are required to provide another ambulance from a neighboring district to post until the original assigned ambulance clears the call. There is a station, and in front of the station sits an ambulance.

A call is dispatched for a child injured at the local high school. Everyone feels secure, because their ambulance is just up the street, sitting in front of the station. Everything is going to be alright, the paramedics are coming. They were coming, and coming, and coming, but they didn't quite make it in time, and the child died. The ambulance at the station was for show. The live crews were busy running transfers, because transfers pay.

The public sees an ambulance, and they assume that they are protected should they fall ill or become injured. We all know what happens when we assume.

The private company was asked to leave, and their contract was terminated. I work for a third-service type entity, also known as company "B," in the neighboring community, and we were asked to come in and provide ambulance services for this small community. They have at least one ambulance in the city limits, or within a few miles of the city limits AT ALL TIMES.

There is a moral to the story. You may see an ambulance, but that does not guarantee that you will have prompt and appropriate care when you need it.

I digress from the original topic, however I just couldn't pass up this story, since it fit so well with Dustdevils comment.

I have a lot of strong feelings about voluntarism. I started as a volunteer when I was a teenager. I have since seen all three companies I have been affiliated at one time or another become fully paid. Two of the three companies were fire-based, and still remain volunteer in regards to fire coverage. Apparently it's a lot easier to staff a fire engine with volunteers than an ambulance.

I've heard every excuse in the world for why volunteers can't do something. "I have to work, I can't spend 500 hours in class to become an EMT-I." "I refuse to ride the gutbucket, I'm a fireman." "Oh, it's Ms. Smith's house, she's a pain in the butt, I'm not taking that call."

I am a paid paramedic. When they drop my truck tones, I have a call, period. I can't pick and choose calls. I can't pick or choose what educational events I'll attend. If I want to advance, I better make sure I stay on tide with the changing attitudes in education. I, too, am sorry if I step on your first responding toes when I arrive on scene of a call. If the first word out of your mouth is "uhhh..." then I will probably dismiss you and begin the task of assessing and treating MY patient.

As for HEMS, I applaud AK's post. If I'm calling for a helicopter, there is something really, really bad going on that I can't fix, and can't keep stable long enough to make it to definitive care. I expect a flight medic that is able to multi-task, and I have yet to meet one that can't. I expect them to begin their assessment and listen to my concise, yet important report while doing so. In return, I'll do my best to quickly disconnect my equipment so they may begin to connect theirs.

I had a lot to say. Luckily for any readers, I'm able to use paragraphs.

[BVESBC]

A unpaid proffesional can be a great asset, a out and out wanker can FUBAR the whole scene!

[Dustdevil]

A unpaid proffesional can be a great asset...

...or an oxymoron.

[spenac]

Heres a qoute from EMSPROFESSIONAL that seems to fit at this point of the discussion.

"A professional can be defined as:

a worker required to possess a large body of knowledge derived from extensive academic study, with the training almost always formalized.

Professions are at least to a degree self-regulating, in that they control the training and evaluation processes that admit new persons to the field, and in judging whether the work done by their members is up to standard. This differs from other kinds of work where regulation (if considered necessary) is imposed by the state, or where official quality standards are often lacking. Professions have some historical links to guilds in these regards.

Professionals usually have autonomy in the workplace—they are expected to utilize their independent judgement and professional ethics in carrying out their responsibilities. This holds true even if they are employees instead of working on their own. Typically a professional provides a service (in exchange for payment or salary), in accordance with established protocols for licensing, ethics, procedures, standards of service and training / certification.

The above definitions were echoed by economist and sociologist Max Weber, who noted that professions are defined by the power to exclude and control admission to the profession, as well as by the development of a particular vocabulary specific to the occupation, and at least somewhat incomprehensible to outsiders

So an EMS professional should have education, be able to work w/o immediate supervision, have to attain and maintain certification as required by a group other than government.

Obviously changes are needed for us to meet that definition.

So what is professional EMS? Only a dream. "

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