EMT Gets Suspended and Resigns After Breaking Rules

[ERDoc]

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20131227/NEWS/312270334/-1/NEWSLETTER100

Discuss.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I see both sides of the story, there needs to be a happy medium, but this shows a glaring problem that there were three calls that went unanswered during this time.

[ERDoc]

Putting the other calls aside as that is a whole other thread that could take several pages, it sounds (based on the limited info in the article) that the medic on-scene was requesting the ambulance to get there as quick as possible. Maybe he did the right thing. It also sounds like he may have had disciplinary issues in the past and this was the final issue needed to get him out. Those of us in the field know that we should be skeptical of someone who volleys/works at 3 ambulances, 2 fire departments and 2 police departments. We all know those types, hell we even have names for them. Unfortunately the court of public opinion is not privy to this sort of information. At my VAC, if you weren't a "certified" driver, you could drive if there were no other options but it was no lights, no sirens regardless of pt condition. Better to get there in 6 minutes instead of 5 than not get there at all.

EDIT: Here is another article/oped piece that I pretty much agree with.

http://thesocialmedic.net/2013/12/ellenville-emt-suspension-causes-uproar-and-illustrates-the-lack-of-discipline-policy-for-volunteer-agencies/

EDIT#2: Here is the article that is linked in the above edit that provides quite a bit more info.

http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20131227/ellenville-emt-who-was-suspended-had-previous-violations-squad-captain-says

Edited December 30, 2013 by ERDoc

[Just Plain Ruff]

All that I read about this guy is that he's had discipline problems in the past and this was the final straw for the board. The captain even said in a interview that if it was his first time they would have told him "don't do it again" but it wasn't his first time so bam, he's suspended.

He got angry at the suspension, from a give your work for free job, and he reacted like a angry child and took a piece of paper and wrote out his resignation and then left. He didn't give notice, he just quit right there.

Do I think he did the right thing, sure he helped the kid out, the system seems at first broken there, not enough providers and units to cover the area but we are only seeing a snapshot in time and this might have been just a very busy time.

It appears that EMS/Police/Fire is his life and he really needs to get a work life balance. But that's just my impression.

[paramedicmike]

He broke the rules. Rules he agreed to when he became a member of that organization. Rules he knew about yet consciously chose to ignore. I'm not sure what the problem is. Break the rules and pay the price. This is a pretty widely held societal standard.

When I initially read the article and noted how many places this guy worked/vollied, and the variety of positions he holds, I wondered what kind of person he was along the lines of what Doc mentioned. We do, indeed, have names for people like this and we've all known people like this. It certainly raises more questions about his involvement in the organization. Sure. One could argue that he's dedicated to giving back to his community. It could also be argued he's a huge whacker with self esteem/self image issues.

I like the op-ed/blog piece Doc linked, too. I think the arguments are well thought out and presented. This is especially true for the last point made about emotional maturity.

Flipping this around to the volly organization I think it raises questions about staffing and the provision of service that this situation was even allowed to happen. Of course, that tangential discussion has been hashed out many times in the past.

[triemal04]

Bears repeating...

Sawyer thought about Mobile Life Support Services, where he also works and drives ambulances...

<snip>
Sawyer, who's also a volunteer firefighter and a part-time police officer in two Ulster County departments,...
<snip>
revoke his title on the communications committee and his title as advisor from the Youth Squad that he restarted as a 15-year-old squad member....
<snip>
The suspension Sawyer was offered came from a "culmination of different incidents" in which he violated policies and bylaws as well as other aspects of the Dec. 11 call, Gavaris says. He says he can't elaborate on those incidents.

What's the term? Whacker? Ricky Rescue? Nothing to see here folks, move along.

That's really all that was going on; this is a complete non-issue on the side of some douche acting like a moron. The real issue is the fact that this vollie department is apparently unable to meet the needs of their community. This is ignoring that the patient was also very likely extremely stable and potentially didn't even need transport. Unfortunately, most people won't understand that and will jump on the easier to see "they fired the super special hero who saved the little girl" mindset. Sad and pathetic, but hey, welcome to 'merica.

But...since the threads about what is is...let's have some fun. This guy is most likely an immature wannebe with a hero complex as is evidenced by his actions that day. He didn't attempt to get any kind of mutual aid or backup to come...he didn't attempt to contact any of his superiors to see if an exception could be made...he didn't notify anyone after the fact about what he had done...and then when he get's disciplined for breaking the rules (read being an idiot) he cries and quits. Yeah...that group is better off without him, and EMS as a whole would be better of if he and all those like him vanished.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Actually I only take issue with one point of yours Triemal, I think the guy did try to get mutual aid, I think it was pointed out in the article that he did.

Here is the article quote

At about 11 a.m. on Dec. 11, EMT and squad leader Stephen Sawyer, 20, was at the squad's Webster Street headquarters when a call came in about a 4-year-old having seizures.

An Ellenville paramedic soon arrived at the boy's home in an SUV, Sawyer says, and called for an ambulance. Sawyer, who was alone at headquarters, put in a call to the Kerhonkson Accord First Aid Squad, but they were busy on another call.

But he didn't try to go further out and get another service to come in though. So he played ricky rescue hero and broke the rules thus sealing his fate.

He's another cowboy who apparantly thinks that the rules don't apply to him and that his being the hero would save his ass which it didn't.

But yes, this whole incident shows that there are enough paramedics on this service to provide service to the community but not enough drivers, that's a fail if you ask me.

Plus what I also read, there were two emt's there, one being ricky rescue and the other being an unnamed emt which one can only assume is also under the age of 21 as well. Does this agency not have any EMT's who are over the age of 21 that could have responded?

Rules are rules, they are NOT arbitrary guidelines meant to be broken, but alas, we don't really know how stable the kid was or if the kid was really sick but in the end the volunteer squad is going to take this in the teeth because they fired the hero of the hour.

[island emt]

Sounds like the case of a testosterone induced 20 yr old wannabe hero to me.

But then I'm old and only 28 hours away from retirement so my views may be clouded by old age. :-}

[ERDoc]

So let's summarize what we know. Homeboy, another EMT and a driver are at their station. A call comes in for a 4y/o with seizures. A medic is responding to the scene. My first question is, why didn't they roll the bus (this is NY baby!) as soon as the call came in if they had a full crew AND a medic going to the scene? They get a second call for an arm injury while still at the station. Common sense should kick in at this point and someone should have said the driver and one of the EMTs should head to the seizure call (I would assume it would be the higher priority based on the limited info we have). Why would Ricky Rescue send a fully staffed ambulance to a lower priority call while still trying to get a crew for the first, and higher priority call? The only reason I can see is that he wanted to be on the glory call and be the hero. There is nothing in this story that makes sense otherwise.

[triemal04]

It may be a system where BLS units only automatically go to BLS calls and wait to be requested for ALS transport...of course if that was the case the part about there being such a loooong and terrible wait doesn't make sense.

I think that just helps to show that this bozo is an idiot, and that, unfortunately, that area is being done a big disservice by the whole group of vollies; apparently they aren't capable of prioritizing calls and making decisions on the fly.