In Your Opinion, What Is Holding USA EMS Back?

[spenac]

So we need to do away with all levels other than Paramedic on the ambulance. We need better education which the leads to the end of the you call we haul taxi driver system we now have. We take EMS away from fire and law and make it strictly a field of healthcare professionals. We then flood the public so that they recognize us as healthcare professionals and not as ambulance driving firefighters.

[Dustdevil]

Don't forget the lights and sirens. :wink:

[firedoc5]

So we need to do away with all levels other than Paramedic on the ambulance. We need better education which the leads to the end of the you call we haul taxi driver system we now have. We take EMS away from fire and law and make it strictly a field of healthcare professionals. We then flood the public so that they recognize us as healthcare professionals and not as ambulance driving firefighters.

Sounds like a plan to me.

To simplify my earlier post, I was trying to say that EMS got off to a rocky start. But even so, it's turned out to not be too shabby. Sure, it's not perfect. But thanks to dedicated, determined, and persistent people like us (well, some of us) it has evolved and will continue to advance.

[Dustdevil]

To simplify my earlier post, I was trying to say that EMS got off to a rocky start. But even so, it's turned out to not be too shabby. Sure, it's not perfect. But thanks to dedicated, determined, and persistent people like us (well, some of us) it has evolved and will continue to advance.

Meh... I haven't really seen any true advancement in three decades. Some places have seen some advancement, but certainly not all, nor even the majority. Some places, like LA County, are still exactly where they were in 1972. I think that most of what we think of as "advancement" is really nothing more than keeping up with the times. In other words, EMS is not advancing, but medicine is advancing, and we just keep up with that. That's a far cry from EMS actually advancing, which is pretty rare.

[WANTYNU]

… I haven't really seen any true advancement in three decades.

With all due respect Dust, I believe that is the point of this entire thread.

The question is: what is the solution to obtaining advancement?

And yes, I think we should have lights and sirens on emergency vehicles (even though they do give me a headache), I don’t wish to tread on the no bashing rule, but I don’t believe the comparison with air transport is a reasonable one.

So we need to do away with all levels other than Paramedic on the ambulance. We need better education which the leads to the end of the you call we haul taxi driver system we now have. We take EMS away from fire and law and make it strictly a field of healthcare professionals. We then flood the public so that they recognize us as healthcare professionals and not as ambulance driving firefighters.

In a nut shell, this is pretty much the take I am suggesting. I’ve seen other posts that mention a “Paramedic Practitioner” who would have the ability to do the equivalent of an emergency house call, with the authority and education to make a diagnoses of “you-ain’t-that-sick-here’s-some cab-fair…”

The danger with that of course, is our call volume might drop and we’d have to take on Fire suppression calls, or car stops, to boost our call volume.

As always IMHO,

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

[Dustdevil]

The whole paramedic practitioner thing is just stupid. It already exists. It's called "go to PA school." That's exactly what it was set up for. Reinventing the wheel isn't exactly a good way to make friends and bring respect to our profession. It certainly does nothing to improve our primary function, which is where the problem is.

[CaneMedic]

except many nurses don't work in controlled environments nor in hospitals ...

the Emergency Department is not a controlled environment

home health, Primary care, Occupational health ( and response roles attached to OH), military, event medicine doesn't occur in the hospital

Oh c'mon. The ED is about 99% a more "controlled environment" than any scene call. You're not worrying about stepping on used syringes, the pit-bull down the hall, the "questionable" people in the apartment looking at you, and lack of decent lighting. Plus when the patient gets violent you have "security" close by. I've yet to see an ED room with horrible lighting and without an abundance of tools/equipment/manpower close by.

I worked in both environments, things may be different in the UK, but don't run that line of crap over here.

[Dustdevil]

Oh c'mon. The ED is about 99% a more "controlled environment" than any scene call. You're not worrying about stepping on used syringes, the pit-bull down the hall, the "questionable" people in the apartment looking at you, and lack of decent lighting. Plus when the patient gets violent you have "security" close by. I've yet to see an ED room with horrible lighting and without an abundance of tools/equipment/manpower close by.

Focus on your patient. While all of those things are valid concerns, they are not concerns at all on a great majority of EMS runs in the United States. And if you are letting those factors significantly distract you from your patient on a regular basis, you need more experience. Or to get out of the ghetto.

[zippyRN]

Focus on your patient. While all of those things are valid concerns, they are not concerns at all on a great majority of EMS runs in the United States. And if you are letting those factors significantly distract you from your patient on a regular basis, you need more experience. Or to get out of the ghetto.

and as for hospital security ... they haven't seen some of the dubious specimens we have in the Uk - needless to ay they are worse than useless especially as in some places they aren't even SIA basdged so can't touch members of the public or patients

[WANTYNU]

What we have here is a failure to communicate…

We should not be bashing similar or related professions, we are PRE-HOSPITAL CARE, comparing us to Doctors, Nurses or PA’s, is off point.

The question was: What is wrong with EMS?

IMHO WE HAVE AN IDENTITY CRISIS… Until we know who we are, we will never have a voice.

Until we have voice, nothing will change.

Be Safe

WANTYNU