It's a sad state of affairs...

[ERDoc]

Came across this website. I can't imagine why EMS cannot get the respect it should. Feel free to hop in and add your opinion. Maybe you guys can help to educate the poorly educated.

Here is another posting on that forum with a similar theme. I'm sure some of our veterans will have a field day with this (cough cough, Dust, cough).

[spenac]

So doc I can just start giving morphine out like candy, because it can't be dangerous since you prescribe it to little old ladies with broken hips all the time. Dang people like that really hurt any attempts we make to be professionals. Probably a darn whacker.

Oh and now to just make it short and simple. No more vollys. Go paid or quit. Nuff said.

[brentoli]

Unbelievable.

Who cares if I don't know what Nitro does?

[kyle308]

even i know what Nitro does and im just a lowly CFR

[itku2er]

So doc I can just start giving morphine out like candy, because it can't be dangerous since you prescribe it to little old ladies with broken hips all the time. Dang people like that really hurt any attempts we make to be professionals. Probably a darn whacker.

Oh and now to just make it short and simple. No more vollys. Go paid or quit. Nuff said.

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[Lone Star]

Even as an EMT-B, I have to know what effect the drugs I can assist in administering will do. I have to know what desirable results I can hope to achieve by allowing the administration of these medications. Furthermore, I need to be able to react to the situation if the desired results are not achieved.

The difference between education and trained regurgitation of fact has been clearly defined. Any half wit monkey with the IQ of a broken brick can regurgitate fact, and pass a state administered test. It is the truly EDUCATED individual that can state the objectives of any treatment given, and be able to justify that treatment with logical progression of thought.

Just because 'the book says' is NOT a justification of treatment, and can ultimately lead to the loss of licensure as well as possible criminal and civil penalties.

The EDUCATED EMT, regardless of licensure level, will take the time to know the effects and desired results of treatments, any and all protocols that they must abide by (including state and local protocols).

If in the event that the aforementioned EMT (again, regardless of licensure level) cannot be 'bothered' to learn these things, the first thing they should do in a logical progression, is get out of the field, surrender their license and NEVER attempt to treat another patient.

State and local protocols were put in place for a reason! They not only define the scope of practice for each license level, they're there to provide the 'rules' in which we must adhere to, in order to provide a comprehensive level of medical intervention in the pre-hospital setting.

I can't think of a single instance that some Medical Control (Medical Command) doctor just made up some protocol off the cuff, just to interfere with the field crews, or just to give them 'something else to read, that contains useless information'.

It is your RESPONSIBILITY as a licensed health care provider (regardless of licensure level) to KNOW these protocols inside and out! You'll notice I didn't use the word 'professional' in this statement. The dedicated professional wouldn't dream of persuing such an inane process of thought!

If, in the event you're called into court, you have to be able to JUSTIFY your actions, or suffer very dire penalties!

[vs-eh?]

After reading EMS forums for some years now, do post's like this really surprise people?

It's just another brick in the wall the seems to permeate aspects of (mainly) American EMS. This seems especially to be the case at the basic and intermediate level, though paramedics certainly aren't excluded.

The attitude of "why can't I do this", "man, we should really have this" seems to run amok, again mainly in the US.

You can tell these people time and again the reasons why your 120 hours, or 500 hours education, doesn't "buy" you certain procedures and medications. But this attitude of medical entitlement (however little the cost) flows deep amoung far too many. People have this deluded sense of purpose of needing certain things that would be "for the patient". With these people that outlook is total bullshit, it is really for themselves.

The post that ERDoc linked I'm sure will continue on for many pages, but the simple fact is that you will never change the mind of this type of EMS provider. It typifies the "blue patient" gets the "blue bag" type attitude that unfortunately is the all to common conception of US EMS (again, I'm generalizing).

[Dustdevil]

Came across this website. I can't imagine why EMS cannot get the respect it should. Feel free to hop in and add your opinion. Maybe you guys can help to educate the poorly educated.

Call me naive, but I just have to write that one off as sarcastic satire, don't you think? That guy cannot possibly have been for real, could he? That has to be a joker trolling for a fight, right? :?

Here is another posting on that forum with a similar theme. I'm sure some of our veterans will have a field day with this (cough cough, Dust, cough).

I honestly have to say that I don't care enough about the people of NY to even get involved, lol. I mean, when some people out in the boonies are getting screwed, and don't really know any better, I am motivated to fight for them. But sheesh... Suffolk County knows exactly what it has. They know exactly what it costs them. And they know exactly what they could have for the same money. They just don't care. New York politics are all about entitlement. Consequently, nobody seems to begrudge anybody else their piece of the pie, so long as they get theirs too. It's hard for me to have any sympathy for them when they enable the perpetuation of such corruption. The only concerns I have about this situation at all are that, as ERDoc astutely observes, even this remote situation has a detrimental effect on the profession as a whole.

The vollies don't even seem to realise that, by calling the paid EMTs and medics granny toters and arse wipers, and proclaiming themselves to be the real heroes, they only confirm the original poster's point that they are selfishly in it for themselves, not for their community. It's really too bad that more citizens don't realise that those losers don't have an ounce of compassion in them, and that all their "giving back to the community" is only about self-recognition because they really don't care about the patients themselves.

Personally, I'd like to see the government pull the Border Patrol off of Mexico and put them around New York and New Jersey to keep all the whackers from moving out and ruining the rest of the country.

[scott33]

Call me naive, but I just have to write that one off as sarcastic satire, don't you think? That guy cannot possibly have been for real, could he? :?

I too think the first link was made in jest.

Suffolk County knows exactly what it has. They know exactly what it costs them. And they know exactly what they could have for the same money. They just don't care. New York politics are all about entitlement. Consequently, nobody seems to begrudge anybody else their piece of the pie, so long as they get theirs too. It's hard for me to have any sympathy for them when they enable the perpetuation of such corruption. The only concerns I have about this situation at all are that, as ERDoc astutely observes, even this remote situation has a detrimental effect on the profession as a whole.

I've said it before and I will say it again..all the money in the world, and all the potential in the world, but nothing will ever change if they are not willing to look outside the box. Shame really :roll:

It's safe to say that EMS Whackerism has reached pandemic proportions. There just seems to be certain regions with more virulent strains than others; rural NY having a particularly nasty infestation.

[CBEMT]

Call me naive, but I just have to write that one off as sarcastic satire, don't you think?

Considering he goes on (in another post I think) to describe just what it is that nitro does, my sarcasm alarm is ringing too.