When is a "medic" not a Paramedic, outside the mil

[firedoc5]

I disagree completely. There are only two that matter in the vast majority of the U.S. Basic and paramedic. Intermediates are not utilized in most places to the best of my knowledge. A lot of effort has been expended to confuse these, but it's really very simple.

A medic truck says "Paramedic" on the side of it...don't you suppose there is a perfectly good reason that there is not "Basic unit" printed on most fire trucks nor all basic/basic ambulances? Yeah...The public wouldn't like it, and not liking it they would make different decisions....And most don't want them making intelligent decisions that will affect their budgets.

I'll bet you $100 that you can't find 5% of the public that has ever even heard of the other certs, much less confuse them with anything. Weak point this time Doc.

Dwayne

I'm talking about when someone asks someone what their job is and they are told that they are an EMT-"what-ever", they wouldn't know fully what they did, other than a Paramedic. Sure they know of EMT or Paramedic, but may not know what A, I, D, I 99, etc. is or what they can do or can't do. Or they see a patch or name tag with any kind of initials they have no idea. They only know they work on an ambulance. And to many, if they work on an ambulance, they must be a Paramedic. It is confusing to the general public on a whole, especially the very young or the elderly.

My brother-in-law still burns me up :angryfire: when he tells people that he use to be a Paramedic. I'd correct him and say, "No, you use to be an EMT-I." He says that by saying Paramedic it's easier than trying to explain EMT-I to people.

[taylordemt]

It truly is just a word. In my service area we are surrounded by counties that have ff paramedics, but here our ff is basic. yet the public has no clue and will say here are the paramedics when they arrive on scene. Our industry just has not done the justice on education of the public and everyone wants a piece of the pie. but at the end of the day my patients no what I am and that is all that counts!!!

[FormerEMSLT297]

Drives me NUTS, emt-I/99 you're not a Medic, call yourself an ALS provider, but you aint an EMT-P..

Just out of curiousity, what does Iowa call full NREMT-P's ??????????

Ohh, and in MD, EMT-I/99 can do almost everything a full P can do except nasal tubes, and haldol, and RSI's/Surgical crics.....

[firedoc5]

Drives me NUTS, emt-I/99 you're not a Medic, call yourself an ALS provider, but you aint an EMT-P..

Just out of curiousity, what does Iowa call full NREMT-P's ??????????

Ohh, and in MD, EMT-I/99 can do almost everything a full P can do except nasal tubes, and haldol, and RSI's/Surgical crics.....

I don't see why an EMT-I/99 just doesn't take the additional training and become a full Paramedic if they can already do almost the same things. It wouldn't take all that much, would it?

[letmesleep]

Firedoc......got one word for ya, it may be kindda harsh, but here it comes.......lazy!

[BEorP]

Just out of curiousity, what does Iowa call full NREMT-P's ??????????

Paramedic Specialist

[FormerEMSLT297]

Firedoc......got one word for ya, it may be kindda harsh, but here it comes.......lazy!

I concur...... LAZY,

Not to mention they only became EMT-I-99's because that was the only way to get the fire dept. job, now they have it, why bother going any higher ?????????????? They want to get off a medic unit as quickly as possible, most of them anyway.

[NREMTP7819]

you can call me an EMT a medic or paramedic I dont care just dont call me "the ambulance driver".

[EMS49393]

You can call me "looking for a climate controlled career."

[toutdoors]

FormerEMSLT, Iowa has the EMT-B, EMT-I, which is basically going through the EMT-B all over again, but adding IV access, and acid base balance into the cirriculum. The clinical/field hours are 120 however, well now they are contact based. The "Iowa Paramedic" is what would be considered the EMT-I99. The "new paramedics" are paramedic specialists. Oh, and don't dare forget the first responder as well.

I am currently what is considered an Iowa EMT-I. Then again the next two days hold my written final and practical final for paramedic (specialst) class. The biggest advantage I have personally seen with the Iowa EMT-I, is that after I was done with the class; I felt much better at pt assessment. Simply because I had (at that time) 120 hours of clinic/field time to do in addition to the class time. Did the acid base balance stuff seem clear as mud? Dang right it did. We also covered, very quickly, and very sparsley, the P QRS T complexes, and what each wave meant. They weren't trying to teach us EKG interpretation, just broadening our horizons a little.

Does our system "work for us"? Yeah I guess you could say it does. I have seen a few times where it was nice to be able to gain IV access to a critically injured or ill patient as we awaited arrival of ALS, or at times, assist ALS with getting a line as they worried about advanced airways, such as in a code. I know, some will say that 120 hours of class and 120 of clinics does not completely or properly introduce a person to A&P, or pathophys, but, in some truly dire situations, a line was accessed early, and it facilitated the care that the paramedic specialist provided. Of course, you first have to worry about the basic stuff.

As for being called a medic? Paramedics are medics, EMT's B's and I's particularly, are just that; EMT's. I never let someone call me a medic, because I wasn't. I still am not a medic, just a tired student praying to get through the next 48 hours in one piece. Personally, I think that when you say medic, people think of you as a person who is trained to give meds and hook up the monitor. They may not know what all the stuff is, but they see it and hear about it, so they expect it. What is a name but a name? Nothing really, but what is important is how others, the public in this case, percieve what is in that name.

Just my few cents worth.