Breaking: Hundreds of EMTs, paramedics said to be working with fake credentials

[HERBIE1]

I should have prefaced this towards smaller departments. Those with less than say 20-30 people. Those seem to be the services which have the hardest time getting their staff relicensed and educated.

For a big department there should be NO reason why you couldn't get a CEU program up and running with some of your smarter people. But then again, I don't work for a large department so I don't know the pitfalls. Maybe it isn't so easy. But there surely has to be some people who would step up and help out right?

The continuing education and licensing mandates comes from a consortium of the resource hospitals, which are independent of the departments and organizations. They in turn report to the state's department of public health. For years they have been trying to get the department to be it's own resource, have it's own medical director, and be responsible for these things. Many reasons why it has not happened, but politics, power struggles, and egos are the primary issues. Our training division coordinates and assists with the hospitals, but the ultimate responsibility is with the resource hospitals. We have plenty of very bright people- with vast teaching and work experience, but they are underutilized. Training positions are more about WHO you know, then what you know. Things like prerequisites, background, minimum education, experience, qualifications, etc are often ignored. That's the way things go in a big city.

[Dustdevil]

Agreed that there should be mass decertification, with no exceptions. Such a breach of integrity cannot be overlooked or excused by the profession.

It is extremely unfortunate that yes, the firemonkeys and cops will keep their jobs because, well... they don't have to have EMS certs to keep their jobs, and their unions will argue on their behalf. But any without the integrity and shame to quit should be killed in the streets like the dogs they are.

[WolfmanHarris]

Union or no, up here you'd find yourself not collecting a paycheque until the ministry and base hospital was done with you. In this case I'd imagine that if the medics knew their cert was fraudulent they'd have their A-EMCA pulled by the Ministry of Health and the Medical Director would pull their ticket. Precedent has so far shown that the Union has no standing in issues of certification maintenance as it is outside the employer-employee relationship. The employee would be fired on the grounds they were no longer qualified for their job.

I'm not sure how this could happen on a large scale up here though, all programs have to be approved by MOH-LTC (Ministry of Health and Long Term Care) before that student can write their provincial exam. Maybe some out of province grads seeking equivalency could sneak in from a bogus course, but they still have to write the test. Then complete the written and practical testing needed to get hired and then pass Base Hospital certification.

Yes all these providers need to be fired. Depending on the specifics of how they committed this fraud and the wording of the applicable statutes they may even be guilty of a criminal offense. But moving past that, this illustrates a need for better quality control and oversight at a state level to ensure that providers are properly licensed.

[JPINFV]

Get stoned at a concert and pop hot on a drug screen for doing a little harmless weed and you will be fired and possibly lose your cert. Show that you're ignorant, lazy and morally bankrupt and you get retrained.

Pfft... this is Massachusetts we're talking about here. The fire unions were fighting drug testing even after 2 fire fighters died while fighting a fire while under the influence.

[MAS Medic]

Pfft... this is Massachusetts we're talking about here. The fire unions were fighting drug testing even after 2 fire fighters died while fighting a fire while under the influence.

Agreed! Take it from someone who is a licensed provider in the state of MA but refuses to work there, nothing and I do mean nothing, will happen to these idiots. I suggest everyone of us with integrity write a letter to the DPS ALS liscensure contact: Lynn Doyle. Her email is on their website. This is complete crap and these idiots should be terminated, made to pay restuition, and be charged with purjury!

[HERBIE1]

Agreed! Take it from someone who is a licensed provider in the state of MA but refuses to work there, nothing and I do mean nothing, will happen to these idiots. I suggest everyone of us with integrity write a letter to the DPS ALS liscensure contact: Lynn Doyle. Her email is on their website. This is complete crap and these idiots should be terminated, made to pay restuition, and be charged with purjury!

Unless their EMT license was a condition of employment, the crosstrained folks very well could go back to being a "regular" FF.

Sickening. Immoral. Unethical, and for a profession that claims to have so much pride in their work, apparently it doesn't apply to their medical training- the majority of their calls.