Bledsoe article: The Vanity of EMS

[tniuqs]

Does that go along with Underwater Basket Weaving and Beer Can Crushing?

Nope thats: M.C. and R.O.V.E.W.

Otherwize known as Marine Crafting and Reduction of the Volume of Enviromental Waste.

lets keep it green shall we ?

[Asysin2leads]

If EMS is vain, what in the fuck does that make Fire then? Christ, sometime I think fire engines are powered by ego and machismo.

Oh, and as for paragods? If it wasn't for paramedics EMT-B's wouldn't have a job in the first place. So quit your bitching.

[Lone Star]

If EMS is vain, what in the fuck does that make Fire then? Christ, sometime I think fire engines are powered by ego and machismo.

Oh, and as for paragods? If it wasn't for paramedics EMT-B's wouldn't have a job in the first place. So quit your bitching.

First off, I woud think that makes the Fire Service a DIFFERENT FIELD! We weren't discussing the Fire Service, we were discussing EMS ...

I know, according to you, no one but a 'degreed medic' belongs in EMS.....maybe you should remember the fact that you started out as an EMT-B just like the rest of us 'low lifes', and no matter how much you pound your chest, you still put your boots on one at a time, just like anyone else!

Just like I stated in an earlier post; CHECK THE ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR!

[Don1977]

hmm, asys, I have never seen ego trips on fire trucks before, I know several medics that have an ego trip!

Remember as Lone star said, we were ALL EMT-B's AT ONE TIME!

And as for this bullshit comment---- Oh, and as for paragods? If it wasn't for paramedics EMT-B's wouldn't have a job in the first place. So quit your bitching-- PLEASE DUDE, YOUR KILLING ME!

I can be at a hospital in my town before the medic arrives. ANYTHING can go BLS,

again, I agree with Lone Star when he said....CHECK THE ATTITUDE AT THE DOOR!

[Lone Star]

Oh, and as for paragods? If it wasn't for paramedics EMT-B's wouldn't have a job in the first place. So quit your bitching.

If it weren't for EMT-B's doing all the 'shit work', the company you work for couldn't afford to pay you paragods like they do!

[EMT City Administrator]

Keep it civil....

[BushyFromOz]

If it weren't for EMT-B's doing all the 'shit work', the company you work for couldn't afford to pay you paragods like they do!

FDNY is short of cash? :shock:

[Ridryder 911]

If it weren't for EMT-B's doing all the 'shit work', the company you work for couldn't afford to pay you paragods like they do!

Give me a break!...Why is it you are so worried about becoming a profession? What is your fear that our profession actually be recognized within the medical community? Do you really have the best interest of our profession at heart or even the patients?

Of course, I would not expect those in EMS to understand professional titles! Oh yeah, that's right .. got confused, forgot that one has to be in a profession, not a trade.

Professional titles are just that, displaying to those in the profession that you took your job serious enough to go the extra mile.. not just the easy route.

Although, I usually agree with Bryan this time I believe he missed his mark. Read his bio and as well as he makes note he too is board certified, etc. It was not that long ago, he wanted to establish a course and call it CCP... so I don't understand his reasoning.

If we were took this even further, why should we address their title first in the name? Why say this is Dr. XYZ? Why not Mr or Ms. XYZ, physician. Again, professional courtesy.

Alike I described, usually sour grapes... and those that fail to either pass the test or to understand what professional titles really mean.

R/r 911

[chbare]

I agree. I fail to see what is so wrong with putting a credentiall after your name, so long as you do not use it to produce a false image of your actual credentials? I know how much work went into passing exams such as CFRN, CCEMTP, and CEN. Why should I not display these titles after my name?

Take care,

chbare.

[triemal04]

I don't know why anybody would have a problem with this article; it touches on many of the things that most (sane, or at least reality appreciating) people in EMS know; that the certification standards nationally are a joke, and even that the educational levels are a joke.

The difference between being licensed or certified...honestly, that can wait to be resolved, and really doesn't matter that much. The bigger issue is what Bledsoe talk's about with the CCEMTP certifications; almost anyone can get one, yet many states don't recognize it, and the process for getting it varies widely. Sort of like saying you're a paramedic from LA and saying that you're a paramedic from Seattle; your patch says the same thing, but what you know/can do is a lot different.

Having extra education and training is great, I'm all for that, but unless there is a standard process to go through that is recognized beyond each little local area (because medicine, and EMS extend well beyond a services boundaries, despite what many think) adding a new patch to the uniform, or adding another spray of letters after your name is pointless, since nobody else will know what you are talking about, not care, or more likely, because the course you took was a half-assed one at best and the standards non-existent. (this doesn't mean don't take them if they are worthwhile; just that there isn't a need to shout it to the world, since the world won't give a damn)

Make the standards for EMS nationwide, sort of like they are for most other healthcare professions (the established ones anyway). This would include the extra levels; if you want to be a flight medic, then you need to meet certain requirements that ALL 50 states recognize, same for critical care. Then the alphabet soup will start to matter in situations beyond a resume.

The bottom line in this isn't people calling themselves a CCEMTP when their state doesn't recognize it, or saying they are a licensed provider vs a certified provider; it's the complete lack of standardization in EMS. It's every state having different certifications that mean different things, even if they have the same name. Fix that, and a lot of other problems will be a whole lot easier to take care of.

Edit: chbare: the problem isn't the soup after some people's names, it's how they got those titles. While you may have gone to a great CCEMTP course, one that is recognized, well run, etc etc, others may not have. And since there isn't a national standard that I know of for what it takes for a paramedic to call themselves "critical care" then it starts to become meaningless when you get lumped into the same boat as Joe Blow the medic who does interfacilty transfers from the ICU which allows himself to toss a CCEMT-P patch on his shoulder. Make one standard that the whole country MUST follow...why is that so hard?