Proposed Maryand Law Asks for State Board of Paramedics

[scubanurse]

The course I took was titled Intermediate Paramedic which is what DC classifies their EMTs as I believe. It is the same as I/99 though.

[JPINFV]

...but what does your certification say? Otherwise it would be like me saying I'm a medical student because the program I'm currently in is run through the medical school.

[scubanurse]

I said IN intermediate paramedic not to BECOME an intermediate paramedic. I was just clearly stating the name of my class that I took not the resulting certification. jeesh people.

[WolfmanHarris]

Titles can be a bit weird sometimes though. Consider that as a BLS provider I will be a Primary Care Paramedic, but in Alberta the equivalent would be EMT-A (for Ambulance I guess) and their ALS providers are EMT-Paramedics while in just about the rest of Canada they're Advanced Care Paramedics. You have to call yourself whatever your system uses. Now I think the systems need to standardize for the country you work in ala the new levels in the USA or Paramedic Association of Canada's NOCP, but you can't fault the individual provider on this one.

[tniuqs]

Titles can be a bit weird sometimes though. Consider that as a BLS provider I will be a Primary Care Paramedic, but in Alberta the equivalent would be EMT-A (for Ambulance I guess) and their ALS providers are EMT-Paramedics while in just about the rest of Canada they're Advanced Care Paramedics. You have to call yourself whatever your system uses. Now I think the systems need to standardize for the country you work in ala the new levels in the USA or Paramedic Association of Canada's NOCP, but you can't fault the individual provider on this one.

VERY Good point!

The biggest issue north of the border is lack of solidarity, ie in BC Paramedic PCP will be offended when they come to AB and told that calling themselves "paramedic" is against the law as it it a protected title ... as will ONT which by far exceeds the amout of training hours of the EMT-A with gap training = to most EMT-I (and about time) ... The EMR level is ~ EMT-B in the US +/- dependant on the state training program and exams.

Point is the term "NREMT-P" or "Paramedic" or "Medic" is synonymous with Advanced life support in the USA and this is where the confusion comes from.

Hence my qualls are village idiots helper when easily I qualify as CCP ... and AB does not recognise that level ..... YET!

Heck in industry in AB everyone is called "medic" EMR up ... pfft. whatever get over it, call me a bandaid ... differnet story .... ooooo!

So on to the term "Doc" ... this is a term used but the USA, from past US Miltary history "medics" whatever level and a more or less acceptance and a right of passage in the US military model, being called squad "Doc" is a form of respect, and usually earned under fire.

Funny when working with the US friends on a remote deployment(s) it used (past tense) would piss me off (I am not an MD I would say!) they would call me Doc ... then I learned ... dumb ass me for not recognizing, they were just being respectful.

Live and learn I guess.

cheers and somewhat off topic ... blame the rhum.

[tniuqs]

Didn't mean to stir so much of the pot.... UM Student... don't know who you are but you obviously know who I am... I don't think it's okay to just stop at an I certification but for some it is a stepping stone, just as Basic is a stepping stone. I agree there are too many who sit complacently and don't strive to learn more. I also happen to be a nursing student who has taken A&P so I am probably more/better trained than other EMT-I's.

Would be happy to take that one on too ... Why do we need stepping stones OMG Im sounding like dustdevil ! ... point in fact "I am a med student" "I am a this or that student" ... means nodda to me sorry, the patches I wear have lots of blood, puke, crap, and urine on them.

But being an RN Grad or student ... you DO have to be supervised in one form or another ? And please correct me if I am wrong, thing is Scuba we the seniors here do respect you ... you back your posts with a great knowledge base and evidence based medicine.

Not trying to be hurtful or anything but being a student quals for nothing any education is great but untill all is said and done .......

BTW RNs here can not work on Car until they have registration as at least EMT in AB ... a safeguard put in place over 15 years ago, no disrespect just specialised fields.

cheers

[EMS49393]

Personally I take a offense to this. I worked my ass off for over a year in Intermediate Paramedic class and feel just as qualified as anyone who took a 2 year associated degree course to become a P. Some of us don't have the opportunities to become a P as it does take 2 years to achieve. And my experience at UMBC was a horrible one at that where I experienced the gender biased department head who essentially believed the rumors of one student over the facts. But that is a different story for another time. To say that university trained paramedics are superior to those of us who take a class at our training academy or a hospital is unfair. It is fair to say that people get out of their training what they put into it. If you wander through course work at a university and do not care much for the patho/phys of diseases then you are probably worse off than the student who busted their ass in their academy class to learn as much as they could about everything related to things we see in EMS.

Just my 2 cents worth.... But I do think a paramedic board would be beneficial to the state as a whole...beyond the medivac program which seems to be under a spot light lately.

I take offense to people that worked half (or less) as hard as I have but feel they are just as important. I take offense to having an intermediate taking care of my family because the county didn't feel they needed to spend the money to hire actual paramedics with actual college educations. I really take offense to this "oh, whoa is me" attitude so many people have when it comes to education. "Maybe you had the ability to go to college and take all those classes, but I can't." That's total BS. There is no "can't." There is only "won't." If you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it happen, period. Plenty of us have worked hard to find a way through college.

Maryland has the capability to rid itself of the demon that is the academy half a medic program. It has several community colleges that offer a paramedic degree, and one fantastic university that offers even more. I hope this proposed Board of Paramedics can facilitate advancement of the paramedic through educational requirements, competency requirements, constant review and advancement of the scope of practice.

[paramedicmike]

I take offense to people that worked half (or less) as hard as I have but feel they are just as important. I take offense to having an intermediate taking care of my family because the county didn't feel they needed to spend the money to hire actual paramedics with actual college educations. I really take offense to this "oh, whoa is me" attitude so many people have when it comes to education. "Maybe you had the ability to go to college and take all those classes, but I can't." That's total BS. There is no "can't." There is only "won't." If you want something bad enough, you find a way to make it happen, period. Plenty of us have worked hard to find a way through college.

Maryland has the capability to rid itself of the demon that is the academy half a medic program. It has several community colleges that offer a paramedic degree, and one fantastic university that offers even more. I hope this proposed Board of Paramedics can facilitate advancement of the paramedic through educational requirements, competency requirements, constant review and advancement of the scope of practice.

I think this pretty much settles this discussion. Well said 49393!