FD Launches In-House Paramedic Education Program

[MemphisE34a]

Like I said, all you experts should apply for the Deputy Chief job here seeing how you have everything figured out. You people have no idea about this city, this department, or me. You are all speculating about stuff you have heard second hand or read in a newspaper article. As my original post stated, if you don't like the way things are done here, don't apply and don't worry about it.

Jesus Christ, you'd think some of you were doctors or something.

Now I have a question. Why are all the experts hiding behind anonymous screen names? Let us know what city you work for? What rank you are? Why are you still riding in the back of the gut truck? How many times did you apply for a fire based EMS system until you finally settled for Hank's EMS in Birmingham? Very progressive I am sure. How many of you are even aware of TN EMS guidelines and are aware of what our EMT-IV's and paramedics are doing with standing orders?

[sirduke]

This thread is getting to be like wrestling with a pig in the mud, everyone gets muddy but the pig enjoys it.

[spenac]

Like I said, all you experts should apply for the Deputy Chief job here seeing how you have everything figured out. You people have no idea about this city, this department, or me. You are all speculating about stuff you have heard second hand or read in a newspaper article. As my original post stated, if you don't like the way things are done here, don't apply and don't worry about it.

Jesus Christ, you'd think some of you were doctors or something.

Now I have a question. Why are all the experts hiding behind anonymous screen names? Let us know what city you work for? What rank you are? Why are you still riding in the back of the gut truck? How many times did you apply for a fire based EMS system until you finally settled for Hank's EMS in Birmingham? Very progressive I am sure. How many of you are even aware of TN EMS guidelines and are aware of what our EMT-IV's and paramedics are doing with standing orders?

You will find that many posters on this site are doctors. Also you will find that many of the most vocal about having fire and EMS separate including myself were firefighters and chose to leave. You will also find that many on here have other medical degrees and are trying to help the EMS profession by promoting higher education and higher standards for EMS.

No most of us have no specific knowledge of your service, but we have seen the exact same things done. We as a profession must learn from the failures in our history and not make the same mistakes again. Sadly it appears your service has failed in that regard, based on your own comments.

As work under standing orders, I work under some extremely aggressive guidelines with the ability to think for myself. Of course it is needed, as I actually have to practice medicine during the 90 mile plus transports to the hospital and often much longer. We have no radio or phone coverage. So do not go there.

You made it clear that you are primarily a FF, so please do not try to argue as regards the EMS profession.

[VentMedic]

Jesus Christ, you'd think some of you were doctors or something.

________________________________

????

You insult Paramedics yet this is a thread about Paramedics who you are supposed to be arguing for?

Yes, as I said before, what you do in Memphis does concern the Paramedic profession. I can not believe a city the size of Memphis does not have access to medical journals or even JEMS to where you haven't heard about this.

Get mfdffp back on line so there can be someone that did display a higher intelligence or knowledge of the system representing Memphis. There are probably some in Memphis that may be wishing you had chosen an anonymous screen name also.

BTW, your knowledge of Hank's is probably even less than your knowledge of the NREMT. "They too passed the exam". Hank's was around while you were still in diapers. Hank's had a long history.

[MemphisE34a]

This thread is getting to be like wrestling with a pig in the mud, everyone gets muddy but the pig enjoys it.

Your right! Obviously because I am not a paramedic I am of lower intelligence. I'll say it for the last time. If you don't like what is done here, don't apply to work here. Your efforts would be far better served trying to improve national standards if that is your desire than to pick the largest EMS systems across the country and cry how retarded they all must be. Again, why are you still riding in the back of a gut truck at 47 ventmedic and not in charge of your progressive service? You don't have to answer, this is getting old.

[EMS49393]

I'm a PRN paramedic with MEMS, and I work full-time in a hospital. I came from one of the most progressive hospital based EMS systems in the country, St. John's EMS in Springfield. I have worked for every type of EMS system invented. I'm pretty positive you will find that a good number of us have tried out various EMS systems in search of the best one. I doubt many, if any, think fire-based is the best.

Far and away, hospital based EMS was the best. We had mandatory education, mandatory skill requirements, ability to spend time in areas of the hospital, and respect from our peers within the healthcare system. Having access to a ton of free eduation and seminars had to have been the icing on the cake for that system. We were mostly double paramedic crews, and we were well-respected amoung the nurses and doctors because we spent so much time improving our education. I only left because my husband wanted to relocate back to the Little Rock area.

I have restrained from my real opinion on why these fire departments want EMS, but since you seem to have think you know everything about everything, I'll share...

You want our money. EMS bills, and what little money we get seems to mysteriously make its way to the fire side to buy new lazy boy recliners and such. The only reason the fire department that doesn't have EMS shows up on EMS calls is to get enough information to prove they are still needed and deserve EMS funding. They detest EMS and EMS calls. The most they carry is a little clipboard so they can get a patients name and birthday for their own records. They never offer any other assistance. It is a complete waste to have a firemonkey on an EMS call. So much a waste that I cancel them before I even arrive on scene.

It doesn't take a mental giant to become a firemonkey. See fire, put water on it. What a challenge. I bet it took them all of six months of once a week night school to teach you that. Don't put us down because you are jealous that we want education and you want pints of ice cream. Don't put us down because some paramedic that I'm sure was smarter than you made you look like a wittle man on a call one time.

God made us so you'd have a hero to look up to.

[VentMedic]

Again, why are you still riding in the back of a gut truck at 47 ventmedic and not in charge of your progressive service? You don't have to answer, this is getting old.

Gut truck? How much more insulting can you get to EMS professionals? I pity those working the ambulances in your service on you shift. You lack of respect for EMS is just a little too obvious. Is this attitude wide spread in the Memphis FD and what is being done about it before more problems arise with more Paramedics being created? Or, is it just your issue with education and Paramedics?

I must reply since you took this to a personal level. I served my time on ground EMS with part of it in a FD. As soon as I realized I wanted to be part of the medical profession as a professional Paramedic and not a "fire medic", I moved on. In my "golden years", as a Paramedic, I now do Flight and use my higher education to teach at a college to promote higher standards for the Paramedic as a medical professional. My other medical profession is working in a hospital and doing Specialty transports. You can't even begin to imagine some of my protocols for transport.

There are still many EMTs and Paramedics out there much older than me who work for EMS agencies and love being a medical professional.

I've seen the results of medic milling and have seen the degression of EMS from it. I see the FD's involvement in EMS and their torn priorities and see what an injustice is done to the public they serve. This is not just in my area but across the country if you again would just educate yourself about the profession you are attempting to discuss on a public forum.

Obviously because I am not a paramedic I am of lower intelligence.

No, it is because you have stated little knowledge about EMS or what the topic is actually about.

[Mateo_1387]

Another expert that has never been here. I don't have to ponder things. I actually work here and KNOW how this department is structured' date=' organized, and staffed. I can't speak for many other places like the rest of you because I have only worked and are knowledgeable about here. Here I can tell you that you that you are FAR, FAR better riding in a Memphis Fire ambulance than one of the local private services that "specialize" in EMS.[/quote']

Your department from everything you have said is sounding no different than what we expect, no different than what EMTCity members are saying, and no different from most of the other EMS based fire suppression agencies. So what makes Memphis any better than the rest? We have given reason after reason that it is hurtful for EMS as a profession, so why is your system better?

[spenac]

How many paramedics are there certified in Tennessee?

[oneilljb]

I debated wading into this fray. I resisted because on my last visiting of this site, nearly a year ago, I decided the unnecessary vitriol cast upon fire service based EMS providers would never allow me to participate in intelligent discourse here and that my position as a firefighter would cause me to be looked upon as a “half-breed,” as unclean and unworthy of holding a countering opinion to any I read previously. In this case, after a friend told me about the chatter found here… Well, as my saintly great grandmother often said about me when I was a pup, "Sometimes the boy just cain’t hep hisself."

I have worked on both sides of this fence. I am no stranger to volunteer, hospital, private or fire based EMS systems. I have worked here in Memphis, as a Paramedic when the woeful “Unit Man” was lucky if he ever got back to the fire station to eat; or, if he did make it back for a few minutes, it was only to find no meal left for him. I worked here when our 20 ambulances, each featuring two paramedics, were unable to handle the city's call load on any given day and would swap crews in the street after the 7 AM shift change on the way from one call to the next without turning off the red lights, much less the engine. I worked here when I was lucky if I only made 20 calls instead of the average 24 during my 24 hour shift. I am sure many of you reading can relate and continue to suffer similar conditions with resplendent dedication to your craft.

I tell you those days are here no more in the Bluff City. In the last 7 years, the Memphis Fire Department has increased the number of ambulances from 20 (with an additional 3 peak hour units) to 33. The number of ALS equipped companies has gone from a daily minimum of 13 to 34. It is written into policy that with every new fire station in every newly annexed area, a new ALS fire company and ambulance will be staffed. Because of the number of new hires and the requirement that all new firefighters become paramedics, we will be able to provide ALS with 100% of our companies in a few short years. We have participated in, or are participating in, a number of clinical trials and studies, including pre-hospital 12 lead EKG studies, prehospital use of CPAP in respiratory emergencies, and adult intraosious infusion using powered IO needle introducers. I no longer pull tours on ambulances and often wish I still could. The desire to promote, to better provide for my family, and to gain a position where I can have positive influence on those around me has led me on a different path.

To those who question whether my or any fire department can provide a quality educational experience, I can say that:

A) You should familiarize yourself with the Seattle Fire Department's Medic One program.

Without a doubt, our paramedic education program cadre is more than qualified to teach the curriculum. Preceptors will be required to not only antend the intial qualification program, they will be expected to meet extra continuing education requirements above those in already in place, and have or obtain ACLS, PALS, and BTLS instructor ratings (none of which were required of me when I precepted students from any of the local college based programs). Instructors will be required to meet the minimums set forth by the state to be paramedic instructors. In fact, most of the instructors selected already hold bachelor's degrees or higher and a couple of them are RN's with extensive ER and critical care experience. All of them have extensive teaching experience in our previously existing training program or from other agencies and institutions. Our medical director is the former medical director for the TN Department of Health EMS Division, a past chairman of the Mid-Soputh EMS Council, and is the medical director for every EMS provider in the county (private AND fire based). Additionally, he is the Medical Team Manager for our FEMA US&R Task Force and a Medical Manager for a FEMA US&R Incident Support Team. He is well respected and often sought out by many other EMS agencies. To say our program staff will be well qualified would be to horribly understate the fact.

I can also say that the TN Department of Health EMS Division did not want us to have this program. They wanted us to stop teaching EMT. Fortunately, a couple of state legislators disagreed and helped changed the law so we could have a chance. The state EMS division still is not excited about this venture, so the Program Director and Program Coordinator both spent the last 18 months developing our curriculum and getting it approved. The $275,000 budget mentioned in the article covers the first class and does not touch, by a third, the money spent developing and equipping the program during the approval process. Money spent on our new SimMan alone brought a tear to the eye of the city finance officer, but it was a small percentage of the money we invested before we knew if we could even start the program. This first class will be scrutinized to the minutia by the state (in the hopes of many on the board) so they can say this was a failed experiment and terminate our accreditation. Our instructors know that and they will not fail.

Regarding the aforementioned vitriol, the discussion of "fire monkeys and paragods"...

Because I have been in the back of an ambulance and shared more than one class room with the now derided Lt. Kramer, I know that, not only, does he not really need me to defend him, but also that he is intelligent to his detriment and that he is well versed in the ways of EMS. Rest assured that he can hold his own on any EMS call and will not hesitate to wade neck deep into blood, guts, hair, teeth, and eyeballs. If he and I disagree on a point, while I may want to tell him to pound sand, he has earned my respect well enough for me to listen, without prejudice, to his point and ponder its meaning without immaturely attacking his intellect and before providing a considered response. If any of the rest of you has a poor relationship with the co-responding emergency service provider or its members, then that is unfortunate and I am glad to say that I no longer endure that problem here on the Memphis Fire Department. This dispersion of vileness upon those you do not know, organizations with which you are not familiar, and schools of thought you are not witness too, however, is not only narrow minded, but also, in a way, a form of bigotry. I really hope those guilty can show enough professionalism and humanity to overcome this unfortunate character flaw.

Feel free to cast aspersions my way. I am a big boy and I think I can take it. If I do not respond, however, please do not take offense. Simply look inside yourself and ask “Who do I really hate?”