For those that are JUST EMTS and PARAMEDICS

[rock_shoes]

EMS is just a steeping stone job and will never ever truly be a career, that is just that.

Oh really. So those of us who push for REAL EDUCATIONAL STANDARDS are just waisting our time? There's no point having educated professionals show up to care for your friends and loved ones when they're experiencing a medical emergency is there? Why would anyone want to get edumucated when 13 weeks in a medic mill will get you out there on the truck pushing meds and putting tubes down peoples throats? This attitude is exactly why EMS needs to stay the hell out of FIREHALLS.

[tniuqs]

Is this really a suprise to anyone EMS originated from Fire, plus Fire based ems does not work in all communities. I am a little bias however I do work in a fire based system, and it works very well where I live. EMS is just a steeping stone job and will never ever truly be a career, that is just that.

Are you using your own meds ? Quite obvious you are a FF/EMT-B but you make an excellent point why Paramedicine should be removed from the firehall mentality in its entirety ... medicine is health care not public safety or save a basement.

In fact if you look just a little tad deeper than TV shows, Paramedics originated from corpsmen returning from war conflicts Korea and Viet Nam ... that is where the truth lies, not propaganda from an organzation bent in hanging onto taxpayers moneys.

cheers

[oz_paramedic_chick]

EMS is just a steeping stone job and will never ever truly be a career, that is just that.

In a perfect world, EMS would be pure EMS, and fire would put out fires. It doesn't work that way anymore.

Guys hate to burst your bubble but it is possible to make a career out of EMS and it is more than possible for fire to just put out fires and EMS to be pure EMS. Here in Aus that's how it runs. We have no paramedics on our fire trucks (unless they have become firefighters after being paramedics but even then they work only as a firefighter) and there are plenty of people making a career out of being a paramedic and on decent salaries in most states. The only time firies work with us is at incidents like MVAs and chemical hazards, or if we call them for back up to help us with lifting someone. I think it is wrong to have such a tunnel visioned view that EMS can't be purely EMS and can't be the sole career of someone. I'm pretty sure Aus isn't the only country in the world where paramedics is a career (UK, NZ, etc). I think for someone to be trained as a firefighter and paramedic is a big ask and I would question that they must lack skills in some areas (whether it be EMS or fire) due to the changing protocols and techniques of both jobs where study is endless (please note I am not saying fire/ems paramedics aren't as good and this isn't a "go" at anyone I just wonder how you could possible keep up with all the latest drugs, skills, techniques, etc in both professions).

To me it is slightly bizarre that you guys have "firemedics" and I still struggle to understand how that can work as efficiently as having pure paramedics but in saying that I haven't seen it in person.

From the little I know I think EMS in the US needs a new direction, a higher education system. This job isn't a game you have someone's lives in your hands and I would like to think that the paramedic who picks me up has undergone at least 3 years training and possible a university degree. I don't know how your training works over there but over here to become a paramedic it's generally 3 years on road and classroom training if you apply through your state ambulance service, or as I am doing, 3 years at university with on road prac included in that. Would love to know how long your paramedics spend training in total(this is a genuine question guys)? Now i'm not saying we should become "textbook" paramedics but i'm certainly starting to see the advantages of having some advanced science courses behind me.