Saved by the bell ?

[Kiwiology]

Depends what services you want from me, did I mention I have an instrument rating and that one of my buddies works for the New York area TRACON (terminal radar approach control) on Westbury, Long Island? .... aren't I a fun date?

ILS is intermediary life support generally taken to mean IV fluids, ECG/defibrillation and limited medications generally restricted to "core" ACLS meds (adrenaline/amiodarone) and maybe glucose or naloxone.

New York State has Advanced EMT-Critical Care and Advanced EMT-Intermediate at the ILS level; don't ask me what the difference is because heck, even the guys I worked with in Westchester didn't know!

There are some systems who have phased out BLS and just ILS/ALS or have phased out ILS and are just BLS/ALS. NYC is an example of a no ILS model whereas Australia is an example of a no BLS model.

Edited December 8, 2009 by kiwimedic

[Happiness]

Well been reading this thread on and off today and I have to say that I am a paramedic by all means of the word but I am not and advanced life support or critical care paramedic. Just like Drs they are specialized area's of paramedicine. If a Dr. is a ENT or a GP they are still doctors.

As for the Hose Monkeys as this was the inital posting I think it is great that they do the training as they have help me so many times on calls. Just having the knowledge makes it easier to direct them to what I need help in and plus they save my back.

My hubby said to me one day "How come we always get to the scene before you guys" and my answer is because your suppose to so that you get shot at first.

[Kiwiology]

I agree Happy - a Dr is a Dr regardless of whether they are an ER doc, pathologist, primary care, cardiothoracic etc just like a nurse is a nurse be they assisted care, public health, renal etc etc etc

However I think the distinction here is that people understand the difference whereas the media has done a wonderful job of marketing advanced life support as the capability of every ambulance out there. This is misleading and I believe inappropriate to label somebody as a "Paramedic" if they aren't at least the ILS level.

This is a personal belief and may infact just be my own thinking and not something that the public perceive as a problem.

[tniuqs]

Sorry to rain on your parade but having a Doctorate (the distinction of DR of _____) is NOT necessarily Medical Doctor.

ie Dr of Theology ... the term DR is a lay term, but when in labour negotiations defiantly an advantage

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctor_of_Medicine

And

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedic

The only place in the WORLD that allows this title to be used in BLS is Canada. Call yourself a Paramedic any other place and you may be in very hot water, include AB there too because we will come down and HARD its a fine here and many BC types sure have there little noses out of joint with that.

Strong like Bull, Smart like Refrigerator! j/k

And because my dear Happi they have better funding and their in most classes sitting just sitting around holding mattresses down in the larger centers.

[Happiness]

Squint I dont think I want to talk to you today You totally missed my point on the Dr thingy. And your right my nose is out of joint.

[HERBIE1]

OK, I'm trying for a qualification, here: The reference used here, of ILS? Can I infer translation of that to be "Intermediate" Life Support?

It's been a while since I went on this rant, but feel I must do so again: Different areas around the world do not always use what any individual here might, and incorrectly so, consider to be a universal "alphabet soup". Is the initials ILS meaning Intermediate Life Support, or Instrument Landing System? Please, don't use initials unless you translate later on in the sentence.

We now return to the string.

Richard- I asked this same question before and took a beating for it.

I totally agree with you...

[Richard B the EMT]

Kiwimedic, would that be the TRACON in, I believe, Garden City, NY? That is one of the busiest in the US.

Happiness, sounds like trouble in Paradice if you'd say that to your husband, even though it could be true.

Tniuqs, That is also true, as I, as an EMT-B BLS provider, have more medical authority than my brother, who is a Doctor... a PHD in education, specifically. He teaches American History at the University of North Dakota in Grand Forks.

[treaux]

I understand what Happiness was trying to say, but I think the comparison is inaccurate.

Happiness referred to different specialties a Medical Doctor can go into. Yes, no matter what they're still a medical doctor and be called a doctor.

As far as the term "Paramedic" goes, it's different in different areas. While I understand there are some countries where the word "Paramedic" refers too all Emergency Medical Technicians, there are also many that don't (including the US). Our levels are EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, or EMT-Paramedic. Thus, referring to yourself as a paramedic means that you are at the EMT-P (ALS) level.

Therefore, Happiness, were you to come to California and tell me you're a paramedic, I'll think that you are ALS certified and can start an IV or administer meds for me.

[melclin]

I think kiwi mentioned all us Aussies being called paramedics. Here's some cents, it may or may not add up to 2, I'm far too tired to count.

Here in Vic at least, everyone used to be called officers (Ambulance Officer (BLS-ILS), MICA Officer (ALS) ). I think it was after someone decided all the AOs should become "ALS" qualified, that they all started being called "Paramedics" (Ambulance Paramedic (quasi-ALS), MICA Paramedic (proper ALS).

I think it made sense here, where the non emergency patient transfer is pretty separate and no one really considers Patient transfer officers to be 'in EMS' the way EMT-Bs are in the states. Also, no one (the public) was ever really attached to the term ambulance officer (seeing as though officer is a non-specific term) as being specific to the person who turns up when you ring an ambulance the way Americans/Canadians all seem to be familiar the term EMT. The change in terminology, I think, was supposed to reflect the upgrade to 'ALS' as a minimum level of care, but I don't see how given that no one here is familiar with the trans-pacific differences between and an EMT and Paramedic. In any case it gives people a more familiar word to use for us seeing as though the word Paramedic pops up on the teli a lot, and it looks nicer on the news.

It may also be more appropriate from the 'scope' point of view seeing as though our basic paramedics have substantially more education than the American P and a scope of practice equivalent to a progressive service's I or a backwards service's P.

[JPINFV]

Well been reading this thread on and off today and I have to say that I am a paramedic by all means of the word but I am not and advanced life support or critical care paramedic. Just like Drs they are specialized area's of paramedicine. If a Dr. is a ENT or a GP they are still doctors.

That's not a fair analogy. All physicians have the same basic education foundation and then specialize after graduation. To compare the concept of "basic life support," "intermediate life support," and "advanced life support" to physicians, a better analogy would be emergency room technician, emergency medicine specialized physician assistant, and emergency medical physician. Like the EMR, PCP, ICP, ACP desginations, these three levels have different levels of education, training (whereas all physicians have the same, or equivalent, level of education), and scope of practice.