Volunteerism in Rural EMS

[brentoli]

You still are looking at the end, and not the means to the end. How do we get EMS to that level where that education is required! Thats the problem I am saying we need to find the answer for.

The end is always easy to find, the MEANS to the end is the tricky one.

[Dustdevil]

Good point.

I spent some time in Central America in the 80's and found that there are few problems that cannot be solved through the liberal use of death squads.

And I am truly about to the point where I think that may be warranted.

Sometimes you have to crack a few eggs to make fruit salad.

[AZCEP]

How to get to the end point? Quite simple in realization, quite difficult in practice.

We stop allowing the special interest groups that want to take part in the provision of medical care from influencing the decisions that are made. Fire chiefs want to be heard, volunteers want to be coddled, the public is completely in the dark about what type of service they will actually receive.

Let the public in on some of the decisions. Get more of your colleagues to realize that a volunteer system will soon be unable to cover the call volume that is in the future. Voice your concerns to your representatives. You are but one voice, and that one voice can be muted. Everyone that is willing to take a few minutes to bring light to the situation can affect a change.

We are working toward getting this realized, and if you would like to know more drop me a PM, or visit the sites in my signature. It can be done.

[Rescue0ne]

Yes, so far we have the "Dean" (Dean Martin) the "Duke" (John "The Duke" Wayne), and the "Princess" (Princess Leia) of EMT City. I am surprised that nobody has adopted these other titles...

Well, I almost went the "Dark Lord" route, and pulled up my Vader avatar, but I think less is more, so...

<----- BEHOLD.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. Whatever that was.

[Rescue0ne]

Additionally...

Just for the record, I fully support EMS as a profession. Educational standards will be the one of the cornerstones of this happening.

Personally, I feel the phasing out of volunteers will be harder in Virginia than most other states. For those not fully aware of Virginia's role in "Volunteer EMS", give me time to duck before you throw the rotten fruit, and/or an open sharps box.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Stanley_Wise

I know Wikipedia isn't a real reference tool, but sometimes it suffices in a pinch. This is one of those pinches, since the Julian Stanley Wise Foundation appears to be closing down.

It all started in Virginia (the volly side of it). Don't hold that against all of us.

There are so many agencies throughout the state that have realized they can not continue as 100% volunteer. Career/Paid staffing has grown exponentially. There's still plenty of Rescue Squads and/or Lifesaving Crews, state-wide, that would fight intergration/replacement with tooth & nail. These cases are a prime example of DustDevil's Death Squads being a good idea. There's many volunteer agencies that are state of the art, 100% patient & community devoted. Then there's the many that are backwoods, nepotistic, & jealous of their "status" within the community (see death squad argument).

I've always been an all-or-nothing type. Here's a prime example. Those Volunteers who have the publics best interest at heart will understand & embrace the eventual transition to career staffing. Those that don't have the publics best interest at heart, won't. These people don't matter. Feel free to steam-roll right over them.

In the meantime, we will do the best we can with the resources available to us. For my "home" agency, it means a transition to Part-paid. It's a necessity. For those who can't grasp this, the last thing they will see is the steam roller.

As the county population grows, so will the need for Full Time Career EMS. I have no doubt in my mind that when this happens, the volunteer element will still be in place, if to only back up the career medics.

[JonathanGennick]

Ever notice that the janitors, lawn mowers, mechanics, phone answerers, city/county clerks and secretaries, road pavers, attorneys, judges, engineers, and water department are all paid? Ever wonder why those personnel are considered worth more than us? Ever seen people rushing to volunteer for any of those jobs?

I don't see anyone rushing to be the janitor :-). But I do believe we actually have plenty of people who work for minimal amounts of money. City Commissioners and the Mayor in my town get paid only a token amount. I believe they get paid a set amount per meeting. School Board people, I think, also serve for little or nothing. There is a Downtown Development Authority, a zoning commission, a property tax board of appeals, and I'm really not sure what all else. I honestly haven't delved into the nitty-gritty details of how much people on all these commissions and boards make, but I'm pretty sure that none of those positions are fully-paid jobs. There is some money to be made, but people really do the work for their own motivations.

Our EMS here where I live operates as paid on/call. We get a small amount per hour that we are on call. And then we get paid a set amount for each run that we actually go out on. I hear the term "paid volunteer" used sometimes. That's probably a poor term to use. It's a bit of an oxymoron.

FWIW, I used to think I wouldn't mind being an EMT on a totally voluntary basis. Having worked at EMS now, I'm far less certain about the idea of working totally for free. I'm not sure I could, or would do it. I like helping people. But at the same time, I pay a price on many fronts for working the ambulance. I deal with stress, with time away from the family, with the inflexibility of being on call and having to be ready to run out the door at a moment's notice, with damage to my clothing sometimes, with the need to travel and pay for continuing education, with the risk of being in the back of a moving ambulance. The pay that I get in return makes all those things palatable.

[CodeBlueEMT]

Yes, so far we have the "Dean" (Dean Martin) the "Duke" (John "The Duke" Wayne), and the "Princess" (Princess Leia) of EMT City. I am surprised that nobody has adopted these other titles:

• King of EMT City (Don King, Rodney King, or Elvis photo avatar)

Queen of EMT City (Queen Elizabeth, Freddy Mercury, or Liberace' photo avatar)

Prince of EMT City (Prince or Will Smith, or any royal prince photo avatar)

Don of EMT City (Don Ameche, Don Knotts, or Don Corleone photo avatar)

Dick of EMT City (Dick Van Dyke or Dick Van Patten photo avatar)

Captain of EMT City (Captain Kirk photo avatar)

Sargeant of EMT City (Dick Sargent photo avatar)

Sheikh of EMT City (anybody with a schmagh [checkered Arabic headscarf] photo avatar)

Shah Of EMT CIty (Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran [RIP] photo avatar)

Ayatollah of EMT City (Ruhollah Khomeini photo avatar)

• Anyhow, back to the topic at hand... those who keep trotting out the tired old argument of how individual volunteer providers can be just as good as individual paid providers are -- and I suspect intentionally so -- missing the point. This is not about individual providers. This is about THE PROFESSION! The fact is that the state of the profession itself is our prime concern here. If the profession fails to progress, so does care at the lowest level. And so long as the profession is viewed as nothing more than a hobby that is not worthy of your full-time devotion, then the profession will indeed continue to fail to progress. It simply does not matter that you, as a volunteer, are personally devote yourself fully to your education and personal professionalism. If you are giving your services away for free, further cheapening our services and our image, you may be helping your individual patients, one at a time, but you are hurting the profession as a whole. That harm affects those who are working full time to make this a respected profession (which benefits YOU TOO!), as well as hurting the citizens who deserve better a better service.

Spin it any way you like. But once you pull away the blinders and look at the big picture, not just your current patient, there is no way that an intelligent person cannot see that volunteerism is seriously detrimental to EMS. Period.

What a load of self-centered rhetorical garbage.

Shayne

[Dustdevil]

What a load of self-centered rhetorical garbage.

LOL!

Okay, so if I maintain that we should be more concerned about the profession than individual egos, that is "self centered"?

More evidence that nobody should be allowed to represent EMS without a college education in English. :roll:

And minus 5 for overquoting (see Site Rules)

[CodeBlueEMT]

Dustdevil, who says volunteers are cheapening our services and our image? Is that your opinion? Do you speak for some organization? You don't speak for me. The rhetorical dissertations you create are meant to impress who? I can't believe you typed that crap. Do you believe it? Maybe a smart guy like yourself needs to reevaluate things. Certainly an educated person such as yourself is intelligent enough to find gainful employment elsewhere. The passive-aggressive responses are great. Try getting real.

Shayne

[akroeze]

Dustdevil, who says volunteers are cheapening our services and our image? Is that your opinion? Do you speak for some organization? You don't speak for me. The rhetorical dissertations you create are meant to impress who? I can't believe you typed that crap. Do you believe it? Maybe a smart guy like yourself needs to reevaluate things. Certainly an educated person such as yourself is intelligent enough to find gainful employment elsewhere. The passive-aggressive responses are great. Try getting real.

Shayne

Do you have any specific responses to arguements? That is how debating works.... you disprove the other person's points.