new personnel

[Dustdevil]

Yep. All a student need do is read his or her own textbook to see the inadequacy of the education they are receiving. When you realise that all that physiology in the textbook was glossed over by your instructors and never tested upon, that should be a pretty clear indication that there is much more to the job. The problem is, they simply don't care. They don't want an education. They just want a patch and a job. And the very minimum they can get by with in order to achieve that is exactly what they are more than willing to settle for. Consequently, I have no hesitation or remorse for giving those slackers a rude awakening when they swagger into my station with their shiny new patch and know-it-all attitude. If they have the proper attitude to succeed as a medical professional, they will answer that wakeup bell and improve themselves. If not, they'll simply hit their professional snooze button and continue to merely "get by."

Some of you mistake "eating our young" for simple tough love. It's a test of their commitment to the profession. And I don't lose a moments sleep over those who fail that test. Unless they're hott.

[cosgrojo]

Some of you mistake "eating our young" for simple tough love. It's a test of their commitment to the profession. And I don't lose a moments sleep over those who fail that test. Unless they're hott.

Tough love is fine, as long as it is qualified with some level of personal respect. It's like teaching a child new things, when you discipline them you don't just hit them without explanation or without re-enforcing that you love them. Just berating new employees without letting them know that this is what they need to expect and that you are not doing it because you hate them or disrespect them, just that you need them to prove themselves in the field (as well as demonstrate knowledge).

And yes... if they're hott, we all have more patience... we're all sexist to some point.. men and women.

[CROM]

Personal Respect. In this business the respect should always go up and be earned. What do I mean? When a Newbie comes in - Respect the experienced providers and listen, if you find out that the "Old Timer" doesn't know what he's doing then respect is lost.

As a new employee you are not giving respect - you must earn it. Work, Listen, LEARN. Not everything you were taught in EMT school fits w/ real life. You will be tested and treated bad. It is a hardening/learning process. When you hit the door running either on Emergencies or multiple non emergent transfers I don't have time to cuddle your learning or be nice to your feelings. I do not condone making newbies do the dirty jobs because I don't like them or dislike the jobs, I make them do them to learn something. It's better to be hard on them now than wait until a call makes it hard on them and they can't get the airway suctioned while intubating and figuring the correct dose of the next medication.

Its a lot like a military boot camp. What kind of warriors would we have if the D.I.'s cuddled the recruits and respected their feelings/emotions at every level?

As I stated earlier not everyone who passes the EMT Certifications is cut out to be in EMS/Prehospital care. A Weeding out must be done because our education system only coddles and passes for the money earned the teaching institution or out of fear of a violated rights law suit.

[whit72]

As Far as I can remember I didnt know anything when I got of school, I must be different from all you. I highly doubt you were blessed with the skills you have today . Those skills are learned out on the street, not in a classroom. To expect A new EMT or MEDIC to be able to handle what is going to... or could possibly go wrong out there is ludacris. They have the base of their knowledge from a classroom or with someone looking over their shoulder. Its a little different when you are not in the controlled setting a classroom provides for you. What I see here is a bunch of ems proffesionals here, who forgot where they came from, that what they know didnt come from there 8 month class, it came from being out there doing the job day in day out. As far as a paramedic student who wasnt sure how to put the leads on a patient correctly. Instead of reassuring him which im sure was just confusion you find the need to ridicule him, cause Im sure you never put the leads on wrong or made a mistake, or bad treatment call. The only people we have to blame about poor emt and medic performance is ourselves. Because If they dont know somthing Im sure their going to quit and find another job after paying 10,000 dollars for their class, and investintg all their time in becoming one of us......No their just going to continue not knowing whats going on and maybe the next call they go on is someone you care about. So maybe in your busy day you could find sometime to maybe help them along or you could continue ridiculeing them that they will never ask a question. I have been in ems 15 years and still ask questions. and learn new things every day. If I see someone who needs a hand or is having a problem with a skill or just understanding. I will be the first to ask if they need a hand or need some more information on somthing. I dont know about you but I dont work 24 7 and eventually these new emts and pareamedics will come across someone you love or know.....Wouldnt you want them to have all the information they need to tend to your loved one. I know I do.

[Ridryder 911]

Appearantly you did not read most of the beginning posts. First, I started as a Paramedic not an EMT, second 30 years ago most of it was OJT. Like in medicine, you are shown one, do one, teach one. Today, however, there are clinicals and laboratory settings to hone and perfect basic prepatory skills.

Not to expect a new medic or EMT to understand care is ludacris. They passed the test, they are to have the minimal competancy of being able to make clinical impressions and perform treatments. They do not they do need to be in the medical profession. Part of the problem is like you discussed 8 month program(s) in which the bare minimum should be at least 2 years of education.

Make mistakes, no one said that they should not be bale .... but not to have basic knowledge in regards to minimal patient care is non-negotiable.

Whenever, enough EMT's and Paramedics get tired of recieving inadequate and poor training in lieu of preparing them for the workforce then things will change. Like, Dust described in comparrision of nurses is the educational community actually wanting their student to suceed and pass and be prepared for the workforce? Why do you think mentoring and specialty nurse internships came from ?.... Instead of shrugging it off we demanded more classroom hours, more in-depth labs, and clinical hours. As well as the difference between the two is instead of bitching and griping, I never hear complaints of the need of education (especially to be at collegiate level) and the taking a board examination, and learning the "ropes of the job".

Ironically, I was reviewing litreature in regards of RN orientation to the ER. (Journal of Emergency Nursing; December 2003: p 525-527) In this discussion, the required the new RN's to have at least 2 years experince, go through a 12 week orientation and atttend classes after the shift. As well, they had attend the usual alphabet courses (ACLS, TNCC,etc) and report to an instructor for testing. Should we look at this avenue? Can you imagine us requiring a (not an EMT) Paramedic to work on a transfer service at least 2 years to obtain patient experince, then mentored for 12 weeks, and and being tested regulary?...

Yes, we need to incrase education requirements and more in-depth clinical hours, with more specific objectives... again it is not the employers responsibility to "educate them to perform their job, but to hone their skills and increase their education".

R/r 911

[Dustdevil]

As Far as I can remember I didnt know anything when I got of school, I must be different from all you. I highly doubt you were blessed with the skills you have today . Those skills are learned out on the street, not in a classroom. To expect A new EMT or MEDIC to be able to handle what is going to... or could possibly go wrong out there is ludacris.

I knew this was going to start happening as soon as that rapper started calling himself Ludacris. The word is ludicrous. A lot of today's medics would do well to pay more attention to education and less to pop culture.

Anyhow, I believe you are discussing a different point than most of us. I have no animosity towards new grads whose skills or knowledge are inadequate. I fully recognise that their education was $hit, and that their lame arse school let them get by with the mistaken believe that they knew "enough." That is not completely the student's fault. But it IS their problem. And my patience with them is dependant upon their attitude. If when I try to teach them something they are attentive and receptive, I will give a full and totally patient effort to developing them into a good medic. I think we all would. But if I have to constantly go drag their arse out from in front of the boob tube in order to get anything accomplished, or if their reply to every bit of advice is, "Oh, I already knew that" or "Meh, I don't really need to know that" or "That's not how we do it at the VFD" or "Dude, I can't wait til we get a good wreck!" then yes, your time with me is going to be very stressful, and you're likely to not pass the test.

It's all about attitude, not competency. I honestly don't give a rat's arse how good your so-called "skills" are or how well you did on NR. You had best be ready to be a rookie. That means keeping your eyes and ears open and using your mouth for constructive purposes. It means immersing yourself not just into the job, but into the profession. It means accepting that your education has really just begun, and that it's not time to relax and just vegetate until the next trauma comes in.

If your attitude is good, your time with me as a partner will be both enjoyable and educational, regardless of your "skills."

[hfdff422]

"Dude, I can't wait til we get a good wreck!"

Nothing ticks me off more than a gung-ho NUG wanting something bad to happen so they can go "play". I always hope that nothing really bad happens, and that if it (God forbid) does then I am able to help them effectively. If anyone comes off with that "I hope we get the big one", I will let them have it until I am sure they will never utter such nonsense again. (And that goes for the fire side too for you super whackers out there)