Professionalism and the lack thereof.

[DFIB]

As for the inappropriate/sloppy dress and appearance. I run at a volunteer squad, therefore, I may show up not in a uniform shirt, or wearing blue jeans. But I do make sure that I'm not completely filthy and at least don't stink. There are strict rules here that you have to comply with to be on a truck. I.E. No shorts, no sandals/open heeled or open toed shoes(no crocs and socks deal), no low cut shirts, no clothing with profanity or an inappropriate motto on them, and no "pajama" clothing. Common sense kind of stuff. If you arrive for your duty night, you need to be dressed in a station uniform. (Meaning ems pants, station duty shirt, and boots).. Etc, etc.

Hello, I am not going to truy to bust your chops here and my comments are well intentioned but I would think the minimum expectation would be for personell at work to be properly uniformed. I understand that at the end of your post you mention what is considered proper derss. I would be concerned for the need to have a rule that people not show up to work in flipflops and cutoffs or all of the other things you mention. This need would make me think that your volunteers are way under trained and really don't have a clue about the basic role of EMS in the community and the high standard we try to set. If they had any kind of certs of schooling they would know these things because they are the first things all EMTs learn.

Do your volunteers not have access to EMT classes? If not, This might be something you would be interested in getting involved in.

If you are sick/injured/dying... is your first thought going to be "Damn.. they're not in a uniform." I.. highly doubt it.

By the tone of your post I assume that you live in a rural area where EMS service is scarce. It is great that you have folks that can respond from work. Even though people are grateful for "some" care I think a properly dressed EMT will give the patient and his family an impression of the quality of care they are receiving.

This is two pronged in my opinion:

First, the way we care for ourselves speaks volumes to the level of care we think we are providing. And the pride or lack of that we have in what we are doing. And patients can see this.

Second, your professional appearance tells the patient a lot about the level of care they might or might not be receiving.

When in my area of operation, I carry a uniform shirt and an Id badge in the truck just in case I need to respond in a support capacity. . I never wear open toe shoes, sandals or shorts so my pants will be kakis or jeans. If they need me they will call my cell. We don’t have radios or pagers for off duty personnel. Just because I am at my other job doesn’t mean I don’t try my hardest to be professional when I am representing my service and profession.

These are just some ideas your guys might want to toss around. You will be surprised the difference it will make for your service in the eyes of your community.

[BushyFromOz]

When i had time on my hands and i volunteered with the local bush fire brigade, i carried in a duffel bag my overalls, helmet, boots etc that were required in order to do my job. No one got on the truck without being dressed accordingly.

Why is it then once it becomes a "medical emergency" should you be exempt from also wearing your identifying, safety providing PPE or corporate uniform. Pull you overalls on and slip you feet into some boots and your done. o denim jeas, tee shirts, shorts or flip flops.

It just smacks of lazyness and whackerdom.

[Kiwiology]

Why is it then once it becomes a "medical emergency" should you be exempt from also wearing your identifying, safety providing PPE or corporate uniform. Pull you overalls on and slip you feet into some boots and your done. o denim jeas, tee shirts, shorts or flip flops.

It just smacks of lazyness and whackerdom.

Agreed; the local country cop who is on-call at nights will go out to jobs in his jammies and throw a Police jersey overtop and the local volunteer Fireys will pull their turnouts on over whatever they have on.

Now, if only the Ambulance Service would stop being queer and let its Officers wear a jumpsuit like AU and UK we'd be getting somewhere. We have overalls for helicopter and SERT (Ambulance Rescue) but are not allowed to wear them operationally because black and white "is more professional".

It's quite easy for Joe Vollie to throw on his onesie

[Jessi]

DFIB:

1) So the fact that I don't show up in a sparkly uniform all the time and am a volunteer in a rural setting means that I'm "under-trained" and have no idea what my role is?

2) The fact that I have had to run a call in jeans and a t-shirt means that I'm unprofessional and that the patient isn't going to get the proper/good quality care?

3) Because I'm in a rural volunteer situation.. that means that I don't care for myself properly and don't have access to EMT classes?

Not all rural volunteer EMS providers are rednecks that walk around with beer cans and a cigarette/dip in our mouth all the time with minimal training. We quite frequently have training at my station, we also have an EMT class in our county, and in a neighboring county.

[DFIB]

DFIB:

1) So the fact that I don't show up in a sparkly uniform all the time and am a volunteer in a rural setting means that I'm "under-trained" and have no idea what my role is?

I purposely steered away from saying that I was thinking of you in particular. I referenced to your volunteers. All of us have a need to continue bettering ouselves instead of justifying our personal preferences for the profession. You have an opportunity to be an agent for change and advancement for your service. You can try to lead your service into better practices. I don't set the standards. They are in all the books. If you don't follow them then you either don't know or choose to ignore them. If you would rather justify your current position that is your choice. You are an EMT. That makes you and me the bottom of the line in EMS. so yes I have a pretty good idea what your scope of practice is

I constantly learn from observations that are made on the forum and by peers. The fact that you will stay in the discussion makes me think you might have the will to do good things to advance the standard of care in your area.

2) The fact that I have had to run a call in jeans and a t-shirt means that I'm unprofessional and that the patient isn't going to get the proper/good quality care?

I'm sorry. I had the impression that you ran calls all of the time in whatever clothes were available at the moment. It least that is the impression I thought you were trying to portray. You can be a good EMT in your underwear but what will your patients and recieving hospitals think? Facetious but a tru consideration. People who strive for excellence do so in all areas of their life. Once again, It only takes one person to begin change and move your service into a different level of service.

3) Because I'm in a rural volunteer situation.. that means that I don't care for myself properly and don't have access to EMT classes?

I can only comment on what you said about yourself. You said that "But I do make sure that I'm not completely filthy and at least don't stink". That doesn't seem like you are setting the bar very high in the standards department.

Not all rural volunteer EMS providers are rednecks that walk around with beer cans and a cigarette/dip in our mouth all the time with minimal training. We quite frequently have training at my station, we also have an EMT class in our county, and in a neighboring county.

It might possibly be beneficial to spend a little more time in the first chapters of the book. It doesn't seem to have taken effect in the field.

Cheers

[Jessi]

I run in uniform as much as I can, but sometimes, it just doesn't happen that way.

As for showing up in underwear.. not a chance. Like I stated previously, we do have minimum clothing requirements you have to meet to get on the truck. That's just that. Non-negotiable in my view. If you aren't presentable, you don't need to be on the truck. As for "completely filthy and at least don't stink."... I've had to deal with my share of very stinky providers... was not pleasant.

And unfortunately... I've seen it happen. (not with my dept thank God.. but seen it happen none the less) We have strict rules about drinking/tobacco etc. You smoke? It's outside of the station and most certainly not on scene or in the truck. You dip? That's fine.. not on the truck (en route to a call or clearing it), not in front of the patient, not in front of the family, not during patient care, and not at the hospital. End of story. Drinking? No tolerance. No exception.

*edited for the sheer fact that my brain was working faster than my hands*

Edited October 24, 2011 by Jessi

[DFIB]

I run in uniform as much as I can, but sometimes, it just doesn't happen that way.

As for showing up in underwear.. not a chance.

No intention to offend with the underwear remark. It was hyperbole.

Keep up the good work and please hang around. I enjoyed chatting with you.

I am a little curious. What state do you work in?

[paramedicmike]

I think using the fact that you're rural is little more than an excuse.

I don't think Bushy's comments regarding keeping a bag in your car with a jump suit/uniform and boots is asking too much.

People will remember what you looked like well after the fact. No matter how much we like to argue to the contrary, image matters and first impressions are hard to overcome. Second, third and fifth impressions are even harder to overcome.

I've worked rural EMS. I've heard many of the same excuses. Please take note that I'm not necessarily lumping you in with the others who've made many of the same comments you're making, but those people were some of the laziest EMS-ers I've worked with. They always had an excuse for something and it usually centered around "... this is rural EMS... it don't matter as much out here...". Given the tight knit communities in many rural areas, I think it matters more because people know you and will remember you.

ETA: I don't know you. But judging by your posts I'm not inclined to think you're lazy. However, associating your comments with the lazies I've worked with before is akin to people looking at you (or me) less than favorably because you and/or your coworkers are not presenting a minimally professional image. That's kinda's what started this thread.

Just some thoughts.

Edited October 24, 2011 by paramedicmike

[DwayneEMTP]

If keeping clothing in the car is too much effort for a professional appearance, then you are so lacking in committment that you don't belong anywhere near an EMS scene. (Not addressing you in particular Jessi, but my experience with vollies in general.)

The the fact that there is so much excitement that the time can't be taken to change into proper clothing speaks volumes. This is just me, but if you're so excited as you can't take the 60 seconds necessary to present a proper image of EMS then I'm not going to trust you to do anything, as that shows inexperience and a lack of dedication.

If you've been doing this any length of time then you know that that 60 seconds will make no difference. And if you don't know that then it shows that you're moving to fast, almost certainly driving to fast, and you don't 'get it.' That you don't yet understand that EMS is not about doing everything fast..that is TV bullshit, but doing it more slowly, and correctly the first time, every time, to the best of your ability. Now, you can tell yourself that you're in such a hurry that you can't change clothes but that you DO do everything else slowly and correctly...but I'm going to call bullshit on you.

I stop before leaving for any call and make sure that I've got gloves on me, a couple of pens in my pocket, that my stethoscope is on the dash, write down the address and my dispatch time and that there is no one around the vehicle. Probably longer than it takes for you to grab a shirt out of your car and tuck it in and go.

'As often as I can' shows either a lack of committment, or an inability to plan for something as simple as having clothes available when you may respond. Neither of those is terminal, but both of those should cause you to give them a little thought...see?

I'm not bagging on you either. I think that you can I chatted for a minute in chat one night, didn't we? You struck me as smart, and funny...but you're off in the ditch here. Your responses drip of the common, "You can't judge me because I'm a volunteer!" Yet, I have the feeling that there is nothing common about you at all...

Dwayne

[BushyFromOz]

I think using the fact that you're rural is little more than an excuse.

Yep, rural fire monkeys can do it, why not EMS? Because lives are at risk dang-nammit!

If you've been doing this any length of time then you know that that 60 seconds will make no difference.

Not to the patient anyway, though the 60 seconds you take by not donning your uniform which and you sustain injury or illness by not wearing your uniform / PPE (reflective tape, appropriate footwear etc) then you may be wishing you had have pulled on some gear.

Edited October 25, 2011 by BushyFromOz