Returning Vets to be fast tracked medics to ease shortage

[akflightmedic]

While I respect our soldiers and all they do, I see this proposal as another slam on what we do.

Basically, they are stating that the returning vets should not have to endure all the traditional book learning because they already have experience on the front lines. This fast tracking of the soldiers to medic is to ease the shortage, especially in the rural areas.

Another major flaw in my opinion; obviously this scheme was concocted by someone who has no real field EMS experience or no opinion of it being a profession.

Yes the soldiers do get some kick ass front line trauma care/experience. However the thinking on the front line is vastly different than the thought processes stateside on an EMS run. Over here, patients for the most part are young and healthy, no meds, no significant history. Trauma is king, medical calls are scarce in their usual patients.

To make the statement that since they have trauma experience, they do not need to spend lots of time getting the foundation of a solid education is ludicrous.

For the record, this article is referencing the many, many Army EMTs and/or Combat Life Savers(CLS). These programs, which I am very familiar with and have taught over here in theater, in no way compare to the civilian counterpart. It is very coobook medicine with no room for individual thought or critical decision making. This is the way it has to be for these guys to survive here. The EMT course is very trauma oriented, with medical issues being glossed over. Again, I am not knocking this method, as it has saved many lives and is very necessary for this time and place.

There are many soldiers here that are competent, kick ass clinicians and medics (typically found in the AF or Navy arena) and these folks have no reciprocity issues upon returning as most of them went through a traditional EMT or Paramedic program and maintain that licensing during their entire career. That is just how the AF rolls!! Navy corpsman usually become nurses, PAs or docs.

But, we can not allow this to shortchange our patient populace or the vets themselves upon their return, which inevitablly is what this program is going to do.

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Returning Veterans to help paramedic shortage

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar announced that she is introducing federal legislation this week that is designed to relieve the shortage of emergency medical personnel, especially in rural areas, by streamlining civilian paramedic training for returning veterans who already have emergency medical experience from the military.

"On the one hand, we have a severe shortage of emergency medical personnel in rural communities," said Klobuchar. "On the other hand, we have an abundance of returning veterans who have significant training and experience. They're an ideal talent pool to relieve the shortage."

Klobuchar said her legislation, called the "Veterans-to-Paramedics Transition Act," would accelerate and streamline the transition to civilian employment for returning veterans who already have emergency medical training.

Klobuchar went on to say, "When we have soldiers who are trained to save lives on the front lines of combat, they should also have the opportunity save lives on the front lines right here at home."

Specifically, Klobuychar's legislation would provide federal grants for universities, colleges and technical schools to develop an appropriate curriculum to train these veterans and fast-track their eligibility for paramedic certification. A standard paramedic training program can take one to two years to complete.

Klobuchar's legislation has already been endorsed by the Minnesota Ambulance Association and the National Rural Health Association.

There are more than 300 licensed ambulance services in Minnesota, with 85 percent of them located outside the Twin Cities and other urban areas like Rochester, Duluth and St. Cloud.

Rural communities have long faced critical shortages in emergency medical personnel. A Minnesota Department of Health study several years ago described it as a "quiet crisis." In that study, 75 percent of rural emergency medical service providers said they needed to add more staff, and 67 percent reported having difficult covering their shifts.

"We very much welcome Senator Klobuchar's legislation to address Minnesota's shortage of emergency medical personnel," said Buck McAlpin, president of the Minnesota Ambulance Association. "Every year, one to two ambulance service operations close in rural Minnesota and, in some places, there is growing concern about whether an ambulance will even be available when someone calls 911. Minnesotans have a right to expect that a well-trained emergency responder will be there for them."

Meanwhile, thousands of men and women in the military receive emergency medical training as part of their duties. For example, 80 percent of all Army combat medics are currently certified as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) at the basic level.

When these veterans return to civilian life, however, their military-based medical training is not counted toward training and certification as civilian paramedics. Existing programs require all students to begin with an entry-level curriculum. For veterans, this means spending extra time and money for training that, in effect, they have already received.

Standing with Klobuchar at the news conference was Jesse Folk, a Minnesota National Guard member from Ortonville who served in Iraq for one year and received training as a combat medic. He described his emergency medical training and experience, as well as his frustration at trying to find a civilian paramedic education program that would recognize and build on the training he already received in the military.

"We cannot afford to squander this wealth of skill and experience, especially when rural communities have such a shortage of emergency medical personnel," said Klobuchar. "Our nation has invested in developing the skills of our servicemen and women. We need to make the most of this investment when they return to civilian life "

[AZCEP]

What happens when these "fast-tracked" providers decide they don't want to work in a rural environment? There isn't a shortage of urban medics, and there isn't enough pay to keep experienced providers out of the cities.

It is a good thought, but it sounds like it wasn't quite thought all the way through. :roll:

[mobey]

Re-read OP and realised I have no intelligent responce.

It kind of seems to me to be like taking a Big city trauma room Doc, and sticking him in a little clinic in podunkville. He may feel a little out of place.

[DwayneEMTP]

I see some pretty obvious road blocks to getting any intelligent public debate on this subject...

First, it's being presented as a patriotic act. America is standing up for returning servicemen and helping them find their new place in society in "what they already do." They will spin it to be politically indecent to oppose it.

Second, the major ambulance services partnered with the major fire unions are going to see a cheap, voluminous medic pool populated by young people with an above average chance of showing up for work on time. They will easily be able to shave a couple of dollars an hour off of wages and still have no trouble filling seats while basking in their new glory as "patriotic employers."

Third, the schools are going to see a huge chance to procure their share of a giant government subsidized market that will likely have very little oversight for the reasons mentioned above.

Yeah...Though it is all bad for EMS, I don't really see anyone standing up to it. We just need to hope it loses momentum on it's own.

Dwayne

[Dustdevil]

Seriously, are we really doing these guys any favours by fast-tracking them to an $8 dollar an hour job as an ambulance driver? We're not just screwing the public with this programme. We're screwing the vets too. Why don't they fast-track them to nursing school and medical school? They have rural shortages just like we do, and they give the vets an actual, real career to carry on, not just a temporary blue-collar job. I'll tell you why. Because a U.S. senator recognises those as real professions that require real education. Us? We're just unskilled labour.

This is an insult to both the vets and to the profession. No good can come of this. But yeah, Dwayne is right. Any opposition will be shot down as un-patriotic. :roll:

[JakeEMTP]

I want to echo AK's sentiments about the job the soldiers are doing, we are all proud of them.

I have to ask, how much experience do these medics have with medical complications? I think I can safely say they are kick ass medics in a trauma arena. However, look at the ratio of medical to trauma calls we do. Where I would love to have one of these medics in a MCI scenario, how would they preform in a cardiac emergency involving a 85 y/o pt.?

It is my understanding that their training is very cookbook. While the intention is good, in theory I can't see as a step forward and only a further drag on our profession. Has anyone even proposed this to the returning Vets? Maybe they don't want to work EMS.

If these medics want to enter the civilian world of EMS, they should have to receive the same education that the rest of us require. To steal a line from Dust, Go big or go home.

[Scaramedic]

Correct me if I am wrong but was it not the influx of Medics from Vietnam that became the first Basics back in the 70's?

[stcommodore]

the paramedic shortage is a myth

[jsadin]

How so?

[mshow00]

Another issue I see is that if this were to pass, many state and local laws and SOGs etc will have to be revised. My brother was 101 airborne and did the CLS course, when he came home for Iraq we talked about the differences in our training. It is like comparing apples and oranges. His skills and training are good for what he had over there, but by his own words he could not do my job, and I am a basic. In my state the military trained medics(by whatever name they are called) are nothing more than basics, and even then they have to do a refresher course. I love the sentiment of this proposal, I just believe it is impractical, and unfair to all involved EMS, military, and the public we serve.