What are we?

[revirDecnalubmA]

After doing a 15 minute search throughout EMT City, I could find no recent threads concerning this subject. If I have missed one, please let me know.

What are we, in the eyes of everyone but ourselves?

If you were to read about an EMS provider in the media, what would you expect to hear us referred to as? EMT's, Paramedics, Emergency Workers, etc?

This has been discussed on other EMS forums, such as "EMTLife.com", but I didn't care for the quality of discussion found there. This is not meant as a slight to the few of you EMTCity folks that do frequent that forum. I just prefer EMTCity altogether.

Please read this article from JEMS, if you haven't already, and share with us your thoughts & opinions.

Personally, I prefer the term "Paramedic" myself, but this is definitly not an opinion shared universally.

[tniuqs]

From the article:

There is, unfortunately, no consensus on what we should be called in the media. Our friends to the north (in Canada, for the geographically challenged), drank the Kool-Aid and re-named all their levels of certification “blank” paramedic. What we call an EMT-B, they call a primary care paramedic. What we call an EMT-P, they call an advanced care paramedic. And they have critical care paramedics, tactical paramedics and so on. Collectively, they’re all paramedics. That makes it easy for the Canadian media.

I am afraid this information is incorrect and poorly researched, their is a problem with title protection in Canada and a bone of contention because as of yet there is not a consensus or a national registry.

Even the Canadian commentators in JEM's do not understand the national picture, in fact the term EMR never came up and we are progressing back to that less than EMT-B equivalent in many places. I digress.

That said everyone wants to be called PARAMEDIC but when you do in many cases you confuse the public as they are still in the mind set of Gage and Desoto, put PARAMEDIC on ever truck when your not getting 12 lead and drugs is deceptive / misleading, this when some "Paramedics" can't even take a B/P and some can start Central Lines and put in Chest Tubes. Just try to explain the difference to the public the terms of "primary care" "advanced care" "critical care" Paramedic and see where you get.

Personally keep it EMT and Paramedic the public understands this. The point of the JEMS articulation is what the writer think the Media is to call us and frankly speaking they will call us what they wish to. the prose, puns play on words and rhyming of their story has more bearing.

Oh and welcome and this topic has been discussed in detail but searching for the "thread" topic may be a bit of chore.

cheers

[fiznat]

When watching coverage of the recent events in Tuscon, the media referred to all EMS on scene as "first responders." The president did it also in his address about the incident. It irked me.

[revirDecnalubmA]

Ok, perhaps I should not have referenced that article. "My Bad".

When thinking about our profession, what term do you see being used to refer to us, as a whole?

The nursing profession has nurses, even though some may be LPN's, LVN's, etc. I even see CNA's referred to as nurses. I do know that some RN's feel slighted when that happens, and they can get over it. Their profession is an established and respected one (usually).

Now that I think about it, i do remember a smillar thread, months and months ago.

[JTpaintball70]

This is one reason I like Canadia's naming scheme for prehospital providers. Everyone is a paramedic of some kind. That kind of naming convention is something that would simplify things. Or if medics would stop getting annoyed at being called an 'EMT'... Although that is changing anyways with NREMT dropping EMT from the Paramedic's title.

[mobey]

Although it seems to be conveniant to call everyone a Paramedic, the problem is, the public is begining to understand the difference between Paramedics and EMT's. They do not understand bls vs als.

That is where the politics enter.

Here in Ab, we still use EMT & Paramedic.

In Sask, they use "Paramedic" for all.

To the public, Sask has the superior service, since they are all Paramedics. In fact: the Sk gov't may not invest any money to further enhance the ambulance service since there is already "Paramedics" in every community, unlike it's neighbor Alberta which still has EMT's.

Get the picture? It seems good on the surface.... but it is abused by those who understand it.

[revirDecnalubmA]

This would work also. I have no issue with media, or the general uneducated public referring to me as an EMT.

I just wish there was a standard, whatever it may be.

[Chief1C]

Media wise, and I can only speak for my locale... Post 9/11, they group us all together as "First Responders". I only see the term "Ambulance Driver" used in EMS related literature, when someone is ranting.

[Bieber]

We're da ambulance drivahs.

Weee-ooooh, weee-ooooh!

Edited January 18, 2011 by Bieber

[uglyEMT]

In my local area in the media we are simply called EMS, emergency medical services, covers both the ALS and the BLS side without much hassle and pissing matches.