Arff312 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 As to the badges making you look like a FNG i know alot of veterans who have a badge in there wallet. Hell they even wear them on duty. How do you look like a FNG wearing a badge if everyone has one. Is everyone a FNG. As for them requiring you to have something and not supplying it are you at least getting a uniform allowance ?
Dustdevil Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 How do you look like a FNG wearing a badge if everyone has one. Is everyone a FNG. IF everybody is wearing one, you don't look like an FNG. You just look like a dork, as does your entire organization, unless of course you are a public safety agency and not a stand-alone EMS agency.
678 Responding Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 My FD does not require us to wear badges on duty. If we're running EMS, we only need to wear a duty shirt and a pair of BDU's. As for special occasions, we have Class B uniforms that all have badges on them. You know, the eagle shield badge. But this is only when we have something going on. Badges do "UP" the profesional image of a department, when used when appropriate, thus we do not recommend using class B's while on EMS duty. (Makes you look like a LEO).
Arff312 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Ok i am mistaken i was thinking of a public safety originaization such as city ems, fire etc... as that is what i am a member of primarily. I am also a EMT for six flags and we dont get issued badges and would never think of getting one for them. Sorry i was mistaken...
Dustdevil Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Ah, that makes sense. Although, I don't like them for city EMS either. If you are not a cop, or a fireman in full dress, you have no business wearing a badge. EMS is not public safety. EMS is medicine. We have no "authority," and have no business pretending that we do. I'm all for uniforms and uniformity. It is important. But that doesn't mean you have to look like a Mexican general. There's a Six Flags near Fairfield?? :shock:
ERDoc Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 As to the badges making you look like a FNG i know alot of veterans who have a badge in there wallet. Hell they even wear them on duty. How do you look like a FNG wearing a badge if everyone has one. Is everyone a FNG. As for them requiring you to have something and not supplying it are you at least getting a uniform allowance ? I stand by what I said. I am not talking about wearing dress uniforms for special occasions. I am talking about when you are out in the field. You are not a cop or a firefighter, you just don't need it. You want to be treated as a medical professional or as an LEO? There is just no need for it. As I said before, put a patch on your sleeve so everyone can tell what level you are. Anything more and you are a buff. The badges imply some form of authority, which we do not have. As for the uniform allowance, I think we might have gotten a few bucks, but it was only like 15 or 20 dollars. Cheap-ass company (sorry, did I say that out loud?).
Asysin2leads Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 The department recently reissued badges to EMS members, and their have been mixed feelings towards them. The stipulation is that they are for off duty identification only. I have a nice holder for mine and it is a good place for my city, state, ACLS, BCLS, PALS cards too, so I all and all like it. Plus I can get through security at the hospital on my way into work without having to slow down. I really frown against EMS wearing a badge on the uniform on duty, but if you are issued one, it is a nice way to identify yourself off duty. Just don't try and do traffic stops with them.
1aCe3 Posted August 28, 2005 Author Posted August 28, 2005 Most people in my service carry the belt clip ons. The silver "sheilds" and the gold NYPD gold style badges. The ones on galls and on many sites that I've seen look like sheilds that security personal and some small town police officers wear. If I were to choose one, I'd be looking into the ny state emblem badge, but I've been having trouble finding them online. But i'd have to agree that like the vehicle ID's they would be more for off duty use... and thanks ditch... :roll: I'm just here asking about the subject. Some of these subjects at times seem a bit taboo to some of u guys.. get kind of defensive and just shoot out that I'm just trying to be a "buff" or some wanabe... but in all honesty you guys have been really good about it and have been a great help. After all, I did start leafing around here before I even went to tech school
jtward01 Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Here's a source for an EMS badge, instead of the EMT badge sold by Galls. http://www.firestoreonline.com/index.asp?P...amp;ProdID=1922 At Broward County (FL) EMS we wore light blue shirts with badges and collar insignia during the day, and dark blue jumpsuits with reflective trim at night. BCEMS issued everything but your socks and underwear, including shoes, belt, three sets of uniform shirts and slacks, jumpsuit, rain gear and a cold weather jacket. At the first rescue squad I ran with we wore hospital style smocks with uniform pants, then we switched to light blue scrub tops with dark blue pants. We had a squad insignia patch on the scrub shirt pocket. This was my favorite uniform of all and really made the medical connection. BTW, in Florida municipal EMS employees are considered public safety officers and are covered by the same state-funded hazardous duty benefits as firefighters and police officers.
Dustdevil Posted August 28, 2005 Posted August 28, 2005 Don't get me wrong. I am not saying your trying to be a buff. I recognize that you are still new enough to the field that you don't even know what a buff is when you see one. Hell, none of us did. Yep... I had a badge made up too. That's $75 dollars I still wish I had back now thirty years later. They are just stupid and pointless. What purpose do they serve? On duty, you're in a uniform that clearly identifies you. The big orange and white truck you drove up in is a pretty good identifier too. So what does a badge add? Nobody can read it unless they are in your face, which they shouldn't be. Off duty is where you seriously run the danger of being mistaken for a cop. When that shield flashes out while you're paying for your Slurpee, you're just inviting any con with a grudge against "the man" to waste you. And for what? So the Pakistani guy behind the counter will be impressed? I can guarantee you that no police officers are impressed. In fact, they too will label you as a wannabe, and possibly jack you up and hassle you just for their own entertainment. So the bottom line is, it serves no purpose except to stroke your own ego, both on-duty and off. It's nothing but a conversation piece. Something you flash at every opportunity so people will ask about it and you can tell them you're an EMT, just like a million other guys in NY. And by the way, do you see FDNY wearing shields? No. That should be a clue right there. About the only legitimate purpose I can think of for having a badge when none was issued is for quick ID at an MCI where you might respond off-duty. But even then, you'd be better off with a marked traffic vest, t-shirt, or windbreaker that can be seen front and back. Again, nobody can read that badge unless they are right in your face. Nobody here is trying to make any personal judgments about you our your motives. We've all been in the same place. We were all n00bs at one time with EMT stickers all over our cars, hanging our stethoscopes on our review mirrors, wearing an EMS t-shirt off duty. It's a phase that most of us go through. After a few years, when you no longer have anything to prove to anybody, you begin to roll your eyes at those guys when you pass them on the highway. We're just trying to give you an edge and help you bypass that pointless and embarrassing time in your career where you can barely afford gas every week, much less a badge that will end up on the bottom of a drawer somewhere in due time. If you're smart, you'll take good advice. If you're average, you won't. But remember, the people you work with can tell who is smart and who is average. Which one do you want to be? Get smart and spend that $75 dollars on a PHTLS or PALS course or a medical book. Something that will make you a better medic. Show your priorities are in the right place. Be a professional, not a wannabe. And just to show that I'm not a total dick, I just spent nearly an hour on Google trying to find someplace with in-stock NY style EMS badges. Sorry, but I didn't find a thing. Just the generic looking crap. If you see some other n00b wearing something you like, ask him where he got it. Maybe there is some warehouse in Chinatown selling them. But otherwise, you're going to have to get Galls to make you one up custom for $50 to 75 hard earned dollars. Good luck!
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