Professional Pride

[Spock]

This lack of pride and professionalism is a constant source of irritation for me and at times I try to tell myself that I have set the bar to high. I don't know the solution but do believe pride comes from within and a strong mentor can bring it out for all to see. I never served in the military but do believe that EMS would be better off it it adopted more of the military training modules. Wear your uniform to paramedic class and stand inspection before the class starts. That would be interesting.

I'm older than dirt.

Live long and prosper.

Spock

[Kaisu]

If you are lamenting the lack of pride and blaming it on the young and/or the absence of mentors, the culture, etc. then I have news for you. You are part of the problem. A single person can make a difference on the shift and on the station and then on the company. I am living proof. I am still a newbie medic at my company. I have not hit the magic 2 year service that qualifies me to be an FTO, a mentor in any official sense or eligible to precept anyone. (as it should be). I have no interest in advancement for the company and thus it is in no one's interests to kiss my butt or to do anything I ask of them, but I know I have made a profound difference on my shift. Once regarded the red-headed step child of the company, we are now considered the premier shift and it is acknowledged by all shift supervisors that we don't have a single "bad apple" among us.

How is it done? First and foremost by example. I will not tolerate half-assed anything when it relates to the job. My rig is spit and shine and ready to run at the beginning of each shift. I come in 20 minutes early to make sure and I don't give a crap who turned over a bad rig to me - If it ain't right, I fix it. I am extremely tolerant of people's idiosyncrasies, personal likes and dislikes, sexual orientation, bad language, poor sense of humor, ever hungry ego, etc. etc. anything at all AS LONG AS IT DOESN'T IMPACT patient care.

I sure don't want to sound like a know it all saint, but I am in this business for the right reasons. I also have the added bonus of financial independence, so I can pretty well take stands on anything of importance to me without fear of retaliation.

I will not tolerate slipshod performance, lack of pride or professionalism or anything less the the very best from myself and anyone in my control (my EMT partner). It is done with sensitivity and tact, but 0 tolerance. It spreads. Amazing but true. If you truly care about your co-workers and your job, and take the initiative to go the extra mile, you can influence all around you and create positive change.

Do not sit around and wait for someone to fix this. Take on the role yourself in whatever part of the EMS world you find yourself.

[46Young]

Unfortunately, we live in the age of entitlement. The vast majority of minors nowadays are raised in an extremely lax environment. Is it due to the single parent not spending enough time at home, and therefore feels guilty to give discipline? Are both parents working so much that someone else (or the streets) are raising their kids? Do the kids threaten to call the cops when corporal punishment is attempted? Are the parents just soft? Are the parents too afraid that their children won't love them if they don't buy them everything they want, and do everything for them at home? Who knows.

I believe that children that are made to work a PT $hit job during the summer or a couple days a week while in school to pay for clothes, dates, a beater car, etc will build character, teach the value of a dollar - to include saving and investing, and also to appreciate a real job, a career quality job when they earn that right after much sacrifice.

Entry into EMS is all to easy. Many that I've come across don't take the job particularly seriously, like they're doing the place a favor by showing up, as they're destined for bigger and better things, and the job is already beneath them. It shows in pt care, driving, appearance, timeliness, badmouthing the company (they don't pay me enough to do this the way they want), language, and disrespect for authority. Many who get their EMT and then go to work right away don't take the job that seriously. They are most likely single, living at home, with no overhead other than car insurance and clothing bills. If they get fired, it's no big deal.

Professional pride should be an innate quality, or at least a function of a proper upbringing. However, this is the real world we're talking about. Generally speaking, the level of professional pride appears to be dependant on several factors - difficulty in getting hired, compensation/benefits, treatment by management, and proximity/availability of similar places of employment.

When I started my EMS journey at hunter Ambulance-Ambulette, a fine pulse and a patch IFT operation (per diem, can't live on 9.50/hr), there were plenty of bottom feeders, including one medic who would routinely spend an hour on the floor (no exaggeration), and an hour at the drop-off, citing poor pay. NSLIJ CEMS was at once THE place to go, and still ranks high as an attractive employer. That place was run militant, very busy IFT, mandated L/L updates when greater than 20 mins onscene or at destination, strict uniform/grooming policy, shoe buffer in the hall, etc. It takes time to get hired there, and many are turned away. The pay is competitive for the area. You can also work 911 or IFT depending on the shift. The employees are expected to up their game as such, and for the most part do so. However, things like overbearing management, rearrangement of schedules every 9 months, lack of OT have resulted in turnover and disgruntled employees as of late. Charleston County EMS was also run quite strict, as they are the highest paying 911 EMS agency in the region. They eat their young with a ferocity not seen in other agencies. the employees there are forced to behave, but look to leave at the earliest opportunity. The hiring process for the Fairfax Co FRD is lengthy, including a polygraph. The pay is stellar, as well as working conditions and benefits. Completing a lengthy academy is required prior to going out into the field. Many regard it as a career, and therefore come correct. I know the last example is fire based, but you can use any quality "go to" third service agency to serve the same example.

The higher the caliber of employer, the more selective they can be in hiring, and the more demanding they can be of their employees, to include education, so long as the employees are treated well regarding working conditions, schedule, forced OT, leave policy. If you're a slacker, they'll drop you like a hot pop tart.

I've also noticed that those with a military background generally have a higher percentage of those who take pride in their job and do it well, even if it's a crappy stepping stone agency.

Edited October 26, 2009 by 46Young

[armymedic571]

I have read some neat opinions, and some.....well not so neat ones. I think this issue can be boiled down to this. YOU GET OUT OF IT, WHAT YOU PUT INTO IT! Meaning that if you want to present a good professional appearance....you will regardless of your agencies uniform standards or lack thereof. The same can be said for competencies. If you want to be the best, you'll study, ask questions, read more, and learn. If you just want a job, well that is what you have. Despite age, upbringing, past life experience it all goes back to work ethic.....

Some of us had great parents who instilled that good work ethic into us at a young age. Some of us might of had it kicked into our heads at basic training or boot camp. And some of us might have gotten fired from a few jobs before we got with the program. In this profession you have to GET IT! If you don't. Then your in the wrong career field........

But here is the kicker.....work ethic is a personal choice. But you can inspire others to get on the train. Go to your next shift with a good positive attitude, wear clean what ever it is you wear, hair neat and combed, boots clean. Call your pt's Mr, and Mrs. Sir or Ma'am. While your at it do that for your co-workers. Peers support your peers. Supervisors and FTO's motivate your subordinates. Subordinates, hold a high standard and show the bosses that your worth the money.....Bosses get with the times......If your employees are holding a high standard, reward them, motivate them. Show them that you appreciate their hard work. If you show that you appreciate their self pride, it will instill agency loyalty (which is a whole new thread in and of itself...)

I know....it is harder than it sounds. But if this was easy....Everyone would do it........Until next time....Cheers.

[HERBIE1]

I would take a step back and say personal pride is the issue- it's something either you have or you don't. One definition of ethics I really like is- how you act and what you say when nobody else is around. In other words, do you do the right thing/say the right thing just because someone is watching you or to keep yourself out of trouble? If the only time you behave correctly/do the right thing is when there is a possibility someone may see you, then you have have ethics of convenience. Right or wrong, I think everyone takes a short cut now and then, but as long as that is not your SOP, I see no real harm- we aren't perfect, nor are we machines.

I'll echo the comment about the Genx/Y'ers. It may be cliche or an oversimplification, but there is a different work ethic these days. This is the entitlement generation, and without derailing the thread, I'll just say I hope this attitude changes- for the sake of our profession, and for society as a whole.

[RavEMTGun]

Do many feel differently that I do when giving/taking points? That it's not based (as it is for me) on the quality of the post, or whether or not an opinion is expressed to the best of the posters ability, but that it's based on the popularity of the opinion??

I'm finding that many of the posts I see that have been given negative numbers simply have ideas that may not be popular, but that the posts themselves fulfill the standard set down by the Admin as well as the standards of many of us here. If this is KooK's experience, then why should s/he not say so that we can be exposed to this point of view and discuss it? And, if the above has been this poster's experience, then I believe that the opinion certainly belongs in a thread based on professionalism, right?

This post has good spelling, punctuation, decent grammar, actually used the accurate word 'derided' instead of resorting to 'treated shitty' or some such language, and expressed an opinion on behavior that is too often exhibited in EMS.

Can someone that gave a negative rating please take a moment and explain why you chose to do so? I'm not saying it was an incorrect thing to do, only that I don't understand it.

Thanks in advance.

Dwayne

Note: If I could vote for myself I immediately give this post a -1 for lousy sentence structure, but then give it right back for breaking the world record for the most commas used in a single post. But it's late, and I'm lazy, and I'm willing to take my beating rather than reword everything.

You were right on for a while... the reputation system enforces Group Think. Think like the group, get +1s. Think unpopularly, get -1. WE ought to be dealing with differences in ideas via responses with counterpoint, not votes as that is mental laziness. However, I'm not grading people on their english, either, so long as it is understandable and not painful to read.

I guess you, like me, aren't sure where to comment on this since the Reputation System thread was locked for I don't know what reason. I guess it makes sense to talk about it in the thread where questionable ratings are occurring.

Edited October 26, 2009 by RavEMTGun

[RavEMTGun]

I would say that pride in the people we serve is a very large part of professional pride. I admit, I have not been a good example in this area in the past, and I still find myself sometimes slipping into the mindset, but I think it's imperative that people in EMS work undergo a major attitude shift. How many times have you heard EMTs and Paramedics groan when dispatched to an address in a predominantly immigrant area of town? What about jokes about the "trailer trash" we often find ourselves serving? Griping about going into nursing homes, even though the vast majority of our patients are elderly? Treating people who don't speak English or geriatrics as if they are children, or too stupid to know what's going on? I did quite a bit of thinking about this last night, and I came to the conclusion that lots of our EMS slang is actually very disrespectful to our patients - "frequent flyer" for example. Sure, you could argue that it is supposed to reference people who call all the time for very minor difficulties, but I've never seen it used for someone like that. In my experience, the term has been used for addicts, the poor (who have no way to get to a hospital, and no way to pay for non-emergency care), people with mental disabilities, elderly individuals with chronic conditions, in short: the forgotten of our society. Personally, I'm going to work to purge that term from my vocabulary.

Here's a short list off the top of my head of things I have heart EMS and Fire Service workers either state in person or write about in various Internet media:

-Joking about sexually assaulting minors in the back of the ambulance.

-Joking about taking Spanish-speaking patients across the border and leaving them in Mexico.

-Saying that a homeless "frequent flier" should just die already.

-Saying that an incontinent elderly gay man must have been "quite a bitch" in his younger days.

We all have our moments of ugliness, when a cruel thought comes into our heads (yes, it's a natural human reaction to frustration and weariness, but that doesn't mean it's right), but EMS seems to be an echo-chamber for those thoughts and words. If the industry truly had pride in who it serves, such attitudes and language would be unheard of, and regarded as utter nonsense. In addition, an attitude shift to one of service and pride would undoubtedly bring a trend of EMS/Fire clamoring for more education. After all, with pride invested in our patients, we would want to be able to give them the best care possible, not just "good enough" care.

Yes a truly bad attitude that affects patient care must be changed, but you need to understand that offcolor humor and dark humor is a natural and healthy response to stress and keeps human beings mentally healthy instead of keeping them dwelling on difficulties. You don't say it in front of the patient or the public. THAT is unprofessional. Joking about that dead guy on the last call with your partner, that is a stress reliever and makes sure you are going to last mentally in the profession. When your mind wears out, all your other ideas of professionalism will wear out shortly thereafter.

[RavEMTGun]

I think some of the focus is due to a different in cultural values. For many of the later generation, spit-shined boots and polished chrome are not signs of being a good fire fighter. I had a Chief who demanded a full clean after EVERY time a unit left the barn. He used to say "I don't have any working trucks. All my trucks are parade trucks all the time." Who cares if you knew you had one hour before you would go out on your next call, get to scrubbing. The wheel wells had better bet clean too!

Did that make us good EMTs? Did that lead to better patient care? Not only no, but HELL NO! Spending 30 minutes cleaning road grime off the ambulance in the middle of a snow storm at 0200 was not a good use of crew time. They should have been trying to rest so they could be fresher for their next call. During the day, what makes a more professional EMT? Spending 30 minutes squeegeeing and shining the rig or spending 30 minutes reviewing cardiology?

The EMS mindset doesn't fit all that well with the paramilitary mindset except in those who are already instilled with it. EMS is flexible and dynamic and focused on the patient. The rig is a tool, not a decoration.

The above does NOT excuse what I saw to be TRUE unprofessionalism: not caring about the patient, not caring about understanding the patient, not caring about understand what was wrong with the patient, not caring about improving ones knowledge and skills, not inventorying/stocking, not deconning, leaving things for the next crew... That was from people who were burned out, in the field for the wrong reasons, or otherwise just of poor character.

I think 'crotchitymedic1986 makes excellent points.

Edited October 26, 2009 by RavEMTGun

[Kookaburra]

Yes a truly bad attitude that affects patient care must be changed, but you need to understand that offcolor humor and dark humor is a natural and healthy response to stress and keeps human beings mentally healthy instead of keeping them dwelling on difficulties. You don't say it in front of the patient or the public. THAT is unprofessional. Joking about that dead guy on the last call with your partner, that is a stress reliever and makes sure you are going to last mentally in the profession. When your mind wears out, all your other ideas of professionalism will wear out shortly thereafter.

There is a big difference between "dark humor" and humor that is derived from hatred and scorn of others.

[Kaisu]

There is a big difference between "dark humor" and humor that is derived from hatred and scorn of others.

How do you personally make a determination between the two?