nsmedic393 Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 If my partner does something blatantly wrong, and I know from my knowledge that it is, you bet your booty I will speak up, but only out of respect for my patient. It's their emergency, not mine. Either way, I'm never going to go head to head with a paramedic on an ALS issue. I try to define my boundaries as solid, but sometimes it spills over, and I do have proffesional respect for my partner, but that doesn't mean I'll let that get in the way of proper pre-hospital care. I think that about sums it up, nice first post!
nsmedic393 Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 A very wise Paramedic once told me that Paramedics save lives and good EMT's save Paramedics. Thank god this is expression is never used where I am from. There is absolutely no evidence to back it up and I am beginning to suspect it is something that EMTs say to make themselves feel better about the low position they have on the totem pole.
RegularEMT Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 I think that about sums it up, nice first post! Thanks, and ya, alot of EMT's do use that as a cop out for being the low man. Just be satisfied with who you are, EMT-B or EMT-P. I'm satsified being a basic atm, it's fun, the people change, it's challenging, and I enjoy it. Paramedic isn't even on my radar at the moment, I don't want to rush into something I ain't ready for, and sure as heck ain't gonna put people at risk to be able to do more.
Dustdevil Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 I think that about sums it up, nice first post! Definitely! =D>
craig Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 Thank god this is expression is never used where I am from. There is absolutely no evidence to back it up and I am beginning to suspect it is something that EMTs say to make themselves feel better about the low position they have on the totem pole. This is why there is a percived gap in the ems system. To tell people about the "Low position on the totem pole" that they occupy only belittles them. remember the public when in their time of need dont care if the attending officer is a basic or advanced person...they are injured,hurt and wanting assistance....any assistance at the time. If an ambulance rolls up they are glad, they dont worry that it is a BLS or ALS unit...it's a bloody ambulance and thats what they want...... The high and mighty position that some paramedics place on thems selves only reinforces the paragod syndrome. Here in Australia we have another name for these types.....DICKHEADS... I agree it is a term that I do not like , but so is the insinuation that only paramedics are they good guys and can save lives and are better than anyone else..........S H I T.........if I was above some on on a totem pole shatting on those below, i would worry about who was above me....... We have to remember at time where we ALL started......you dont start at the top rung of the ladder.......these basics that we all at times put down may one day be better paramedics than the rest of us...........a long journey starts with one small step stay safe
Dustdevil Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 One-hundred to two-hundred and fifty hours of first aid doesn't even put you ON the totem pole, as far as I am concerned. :roll:
RegularEMT Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 Craig, given the ammount of training we barely get, I'd say it's not my fault I'm under-educated, it's their fault. If you want me to feel better about my job, give me more education, and better pay. 8) Atleast that's what I think, sadly we are massively under-educated as EMT-Basics, and I feel as if most paramedics are under-educated as well. Given the fact that we are responsible for peoples lives, an associate should be a huge must have for a paramedic in my mind, but we all have our own opinions. I maybe the low man on the totem pole, but I still take my job as serious as I can given my line of work(which is to take it serious, but never take myself serious) Why are paramedics upset at basics and calling them the low man on the totem poll? Because basics are sitting there saying they save paramedics. It's a simple rule of thumb, once insulted, insult back.
Ridryder 911 Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 You know this is the same B.S. I hear from LPN versus RN's........seriously folks, if you don't like being on the bottom of the pole then do something about it !.. Like, almost every other Paramedic did.. GO TO SCHOOL!.. Then guess what, you won't be on the bottom... you will be in the middle.. there will ALWAYS be someone over you ! Waa.. waa.. !.. Such egos..! Yes it is a team approach.. sorry the higher level is the captain of the ship.. want to be the captain, want more respect, do more procedures... tired of being "just the driver" ?.. then you know what to do about it .. Go to school! Do you really want to get in pissing contest on how many F**k ups I have seen basics commit ?.. You know, nobody wins especially the patient & the system. Now, if we are really soooooo concern about our patent's & really sooooo concerned about EMS systems, why don't we ask ourselves ... After 40+ years, why is there still even a Basic level ?.. Sorry, the "everybody starts somewhere" B.S. won't fly! Physicians don't start out as a CMA then P.A.'s then M.D.'s ... RN's don't start out as CNA, then LPN then RN so why in the heck do we ?.. Please.. save me the "oh, my poor community speech".. they have a nursing home, clinic, hospital... then they have a RN.. able to afford that didn't they? Yes, there is remote areas that will never have anything... & no I am not discussing volunteer issues either. EMS has settled to provide the lowest care possible to U.S. citizens, & it doesn't matter on financial, political, or staffing issues. We are to blame.. we allow 50+ acronyms of EMT's to be placed.. all saying the same thing ; almost, based upon, similar, near -like, to the Paramedic level. We that are in EMS are to blame for hundreds of people daily NOT GETTING THE BEST CARE POSSIBLE , sorry BLS is not the best!. Short and simple... Again why is this still occuring ? We have the schools to teach it, we have the employers to hire them, we have the need of the patients to use them.. so again I ask: Why are we allowing lower level of care to continue ?... Hmm wonder what it could be ? R/r 911
TTLWHKR Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 I could see a good two to three hundred more hours of training tacked onto the EMT-Basic class. I feel they should be given more to do as far as Scope is concerned. But that doesn't mean more toys, it means more education. There are some things that I would like to have done when I'm getting on a rig for an intercept. I would like to know the patients BGL, I'd like to have an IV initiated with Epi & Atropine already given for a code, I'd like to have a patent airway in place, I'd like people to stop dying before I have a chance to get there.. Simply because they needed something that I have, and the municipality is too cheap to give their paid ambulance some ALS personnel. And in PA, I'd like to see more effort. They allow BLS ambulances to carry EPI Pen kits, yet I have not seen one since it was begun, three years ago. If you have the ability to save more lives, why not take the steps to do so? They say, too expensive, they expire too quickly.. That's what is wrong with EMS, we're still putting a price on a human life. I'll quote a good friend, he always says "You can't save a dead man a dime"...
RegularEMT Posted April 22, 2006 Posted April 22, 2006 TTL and Rid, I completely agree, I feel absolutely uneducated from the moment I recieved a little card that said I was an EMT. I'll never ever be fully prepared for any situation, but the only way to get better prepared is clinical knowledge(actually working) and furthermore by further education. Sure, you can tack on whatever you want to make fun of me for being a basic, but in the end when the crap hits the fan, we all have EMT infront of our title, and we're all there for pre-hospital patient care. I wish I could have more education, and will eventually. I am not fully ready to become a paramedic myself, and you can't knock me for knowing my current limitations and fears, being 20 years old in this proffesion is scary, having people calling you the youngin', idiot, basic dweeb, whatever they want gets to ya. Either way, the moment something goes wrong, i'm going to co-operate with you, and I hope you have the same respect for patients as I do, and co-operate with me. :wink: I know you guys will, but there are others who won't fully do that. We are allowing for this standard of care to continue Rid, and if you hate the laws get em changed. I'd love to further my education as a basic emt because there is so much I don't know. I'm not ready for the next step yet, is that wrong of me? It can't be as long as I know my place in the EMS world, atleast to me. If I see my patient needs a paramedic, I'll do my best to supply such. BLS ain't the best, but it's something.
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