Controversial Exam for D.C. EMT's

[VentMedic]

Controversial Exam for D.C. EMT's

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/1208/576376.html

posted 3:15 pm Tue December 09, 2008

WASHINGTON - A plan to raise standards in the D.C. fire department is stirring up a controversy.

Some firefighters are losing their jobs because they can't pass a tough new exam for emergency medical technicians.

The new exam is part of an agreement with the family of murdered New York Times reporter David Rosenbaum. Now the department is agreeing to give recruits more chances to pass the test just to keep their jobs.

Graduation day was a proud moment for JaQuante' Staton. Born and raised in D.C., he always dreamed of becoming a firefighter. After six months of training, he made it.

"You have to understand, my whole family was there at graduation. They were proud of me, they were cheering for me. To have it stripped away just a couple of months later, it's not fair," said Staton.

Staton's dream was shattered when he was among the 28 percent of firefighters who failed to pass a new national registry exam for EMTs, put in place after graduation. Staton had already passed state standards.

"I'm not disgruntled. I'm sad actually. I'm sad that they would spend the money on me to graduate, shake hands with the mayor and the chief of the fire department and then fire me," said Staton.

"It was definitely a wakeup call because by no means have I ever considered myself a failure. I still don't. It was just one of those things. It was an unfortunate event and I did the best I could," said Evan Pace who was also terminated.

Both Pace and Staton say they studied extensively on their own, but that the department offered no instruction.

"There were questions about bears and what would we do if someone got attacked by one," said Pace.

You have like 30 guys sitting in one class with no instructor, said Ronnie Williams.

Even some veteran firefighters are having trouble. Williams fought fires for six years, but has now been on the bench for 11 months. He failed the test multiple times, he says because of his dyslexia. Williams is still on the city payroll.

"I haven't done nothing on a fire truck. And that's what I wanted to do to serve my city," said Williams.

When asked what he did for work everyday, Williams responded "Just go down there, sit in the classroom, get on the computer, do some test-taking online and try to find some ways to pass this national registry," he said.

"It is not true that the recruits have sat in a classroom without an instructor. There are independent study times," said Dr. James Augustine, acting medical director with D.C. Fire & EMS.

The department says there is training as well as mentoring programs for those who need extra help, both of which are disputed by six firefighters that were interviewed.

"You have to take a look at yourself in the mirror and say did I do everything that I could do to pass this test? Did I study on my own? Did I ask for help?," said Kenneth Crosswhite, deputy fire chief.

After our interview the department said it now plans to bring Staton and Pace back for three more attempts at passing the exam.

And this time, officials say they'll make sure the new recruits have every opportunity to prepare.

[WolfmanHarris]

Umm... for my response please see every other thread on education and why FD will kill proper education in EMS. Take my disdain in those threads and multiply by two for my current thoughts on DCFD. If this gets going I may come back later for my kick of the horse.

[VentMedic]

I thought they had taken care of some of the retraining issues last year when they tested the Paramedics about the time they gave them back the narcotics.

I take it that this very difficult exam is the "NREMT" and is used now instead of their own state exam.

When I went to the DC gov website to confirm this, I noticed that those in DC also spell HIPAA as HIPPA. I have now lost all confidence in what happens in DC.

http://hrla.doh.dc.gov/hrla/site/default.asp

DocHarris,

I agree this is a dead horse but unfortunately this is our nation's capitol and crap like this makes headlines in some of the most circulated newspapers in the country. The legislators who make some serious decisions about EMS may notice. The rest of the country must set a better example.

[WolfmanHarris]

Oh I agree entirely. I appreciate the article and found it interesting and frustrating to read. I just didn't want to dive back into it again.

[VentMedic]

There is an irony to this. In the Access to Emergency Care report, Washington DC was top ranking. Prehospital is not included in this grade.

http://www.emreportcard.org/overview.aspx?id=388

Based on key indicators that were able to be measured and included in the Access to Emergency Care category, the only A grade went to the District of Columbia, which benefits from being an area with a high population density and high rates of specialists, physicians accepting Medicare, staffed inpatient beds, and Medicaid coverage. The next highest ranked states are Maine, Massachusetts, Nebraska and West Virginia. The majority of states struggle with this category, with almost half receiving a D or an F.

[Dustdevil]

And this is just for EMTs?

Imagine if they started testing paramedics! :shock:

[AnthonyM83]

There's a questions about what you'd do if you were attacked by a bear . . .???

I'll go ahead and give them benefit of the doubt and believe their claim that they weren't properly educated prior to being given the test. Everyone knows I'm all about increasing standards and educational requirements, but you also can't expect an entire department to know exactly what's going to be expected of them without being told. Their EMT school apparently didn't prepare them for the test, so the department should give them the preparation (not just study time) before making them take the test. These are full-time jobs that people worked hard for . . .

(Again, this is assuming their claim of improper training/education for the test is true.)

[Dustdevil]

Their EMT school apparently didn't prepare them for the test, so the department should give them the preparation (not just study time) before making them take the test. These are full-time jobs that people worked hard for . . .

(Again, this is assuming their claim of improper training/education for the test is true.)

Actually, I think you bring up a good point. I think that what has probably happened is that they have been operating under a locally administered system and test for so long, that the school(s) are firmly entrenched into teaching the test, and nothing more. Therefore, when given a test in a different format, and comprised of broader knowledge, the students are not prepared.

Of course, I am sure that their answer will be to simply start teaching the new test, as nothing more can be expected of the quality of recruits you get in urban fire departments. Consequently, instituting the NR there will do a lot to shake up the current EMTs and medics, but very little to improve things in the future.

[WolfmanHarris]

Beat me to it Dust.

There's nothing I hate more than hearing "is this going to be on the test?" when teaching or in class. When teaching First Responder my answer is always yes.

Now every service I apply to will have both a written and practical test as part of the hiring process so even if our whole program was geared to the provincial test, there's tonnes of other tests oh ya, and that whole real life thing.

[JPINFV]

See, I have questions about the 'bear question.' Was it a question regarding bears or a scenario that used a bear as a plot device? One is acceptable, the other isn't. Either way, I bet it was a bear of a question.