EMS Director

[HERBIE1]

Short answer to your question-

Yes, an MD with no EMS experience CAN be an effective Medical Director IF- and only IF- he/she has a person or staff under him that IS familiar with that EMS system. This team needs to be well respected, educated, experienced, and keep up with current issues and trends in the business. No leader is well versed in everything, but as long as they surround themselves with people who ARE experts in their respective fields, they can be effective. I would hope that at least the doctor's specialty is Emergency Medicine, or I retract my original statement.

[crotchitymedic1986]

Anything is possible, but I would suggest this is not a good move. Before my comments get taken out of context, I realize that any physician has many years of college under their belt, and are obviously more intelligent than the average person, but it has been my experience that many ER Physicians have little knowledge in management, personal relationships, and budgeting (ever seen a doctor curse out a nurse in public, or throw a chart across the ER; do they practice good budget practices for their facility or practice defensive medicine that blows the budget). In this economy it is mandatory to have a leader who understands budgets and reimbursement or you will soon find yourself privatized.

[HERBIE1]

Anything is possible, but I would suggest this is not a good move. Before my comments get taken out of context, I realize that any physician has many years of college under their belt, and are obviously more intelligent than the average person, but it has been my experience that many ER Physicians have little knowledge in management, personal relationships, and budgeting (ever seen a doctor curse out a nurse in public, or throw a chart across the ER; do they practice good budget practices for their facility or practice defensive medicine that blows the budget). In this economy it is mandatory to have a leader who understands budgets and reimbursement or you will soon find yourself privatized.

You are correct. One of the perks of being an ER doc is that most often, you either work for a group that staffs your ER, or are a member of the hospital staff. That means you do not have your own practice, do not hire and fire employees, do not schedule, do not have HR issues, and unless you are a director, are not responsible for making policy or protocol decisions- although you certainly may have input. Does that mean an ER doc cannot do these things? Of course not.

[congomedic]

Thats just it!The person in question refuses to surround themselves with those who are considered specialist and has chosen to feel their way through. Surrounded by at least 4 others are not even EMS inclined and so they make decisions on what they feel is right. Yes the would be MD had functioned as an ER doc but was in the process of being reassigned because of being deficient in skills and inability to function under pressure. At the time the director prior to them was being ousted for hands in the cookie jar and so what better place to get rid of the MD, put um in charge of EMS.

Herbie and Crotchimedic you're getting my drift.... If they can just change their frame of mind we all would be willing to work with them.

[BEorP]

Can a Medical Doctor with no management or EMS experience effectively function as EMS Medical Director and EMS Chief? Better yet can someone with no EMS experience effectively manage an EMS Agency and help the department to get from point A to Z?

I think it depends on what we're talking about being an "EMS Chief" and "managing an EMS agency." If we're talking about the top person, I think that this can be done by someone who has an understanding of EMS even if they have not actually worked on the road. Yes, EMS experience would make it easier for them to do their job, but I do not think that it is absolutely essential. Good management and communication skills are much more important. There is a very good EMS Chief/Director in Ontario whose background is actually in dispatch. She has never worked on an ambulance, but she does a very good job of running the service.

If we're talking about an Operations Manager type position though then EMS experience is critical. Not extensive experience necessarily, but some.