A new type of Paramedic Internship (For AnthonyM83)

[AnthonyM83]

And still is. The latest plan I heard is having ALL LAFD FFs attend medic school (probably PTI, the super cheap, short, super easy joke school...from what I've heard)...seems like an assembly line

[JakeEMTP]

And still is. The latest plan I heard is having ALL LAFD FFs attend medic school (probably PTI, the super cheap, short, super easy joke school...from what I've heard)...seems like an assembly line

Is that the reason that the protocols are so weak in LA? I mean, the Medical director not wanting to sacrifice his Medical license on some poorly prepared medics?

[AnthonyM83]

Is that the reason that the protocols are so weak in LA? I mean, the Medical director not wanting to sacrifice his Medical license on some poorly prepared medics?

Basically. There's so many medics who don't truly care about the job because they were sent there or went to medic school in order to get hired as a FF though they hated medicine, that a lot just do the very basics on every call. No critical thinking required.

When I asked a medic instructor why the protocols were so basic, he sighed and answered "competence". The less they have to do and think, the less they can fuck up. And with the number of medics and large call volume they have, they're bound to have a lot of screw ups...aka lawsuits.

Also, Los Angeles City FD can do a bit more without making base contact than Los Angeles County FD can...tells you a bit about level of competence expected from them.

There are a few good medics out there, though. Some you can tell do real well within the limited system they were trained in...and others you can actually see they either went to a fabulous medic school or do a lot of off-duty self-educating.

I was blown away on an OT shift last week where a medic would actually stop to explain to us why he was doing everything and what led him to that decision. He even went to into dosages! He spoke of albuterol in terms of 5.0 and 2.5, not as "two things" or "one thing" like everyone else! Then, on an abd. pain I caught him checking to see if palpation would affect patient's inhale/exhale (forget what that test is called)...but I've NEVER seen anyone else do that....so at least there's some hope! I know where I'm going to pick up OT from now on....

[mediccjh]

Basically. There's so many medics who don't truly care about the job because they were sent there or went to medic school in order to get hired as a FF though they hated medicine, that a lot just do the very basics on every call. No critical thinking required.

When I asked a medic instructor why the protocols were so basic, he sighed and answered "competence". The less they have to do and think, the less they can fuck up. And with the number of medics and large call volume they have, they're bound to have a lot of screw ups...aka lawsuits.

Also, Los Angeles City FD can do a bit more without making base contact than Los Angeles County FD can...tells you a bit about level of competence expected from them.

There are a few good medics out there, though. Some you can tell do real well within the limited system they were trained in...and others you can actually see they either went to a fabulous medic school or do a lot of off-duty self-educating.

I was blown away on an OT shift last week where a medic would actually stop to explain to us why he was doing everything and what led him to that decision. He even went to into dosages! He spoke of albuterol in terms of 5.0 and 2.5, not as "two things" or "one thing" like everyone else! Then, on an abd. pain I caught him checking to see if palpation would affect patient's inhale/exhale (forget what that test is called)...but I've NEVER seen anyone else do that....so at least there's some hope! I know where I'm going to pick up OT from now on....

Further proof that the firemen shouldn't be running EMS, but that's another topic.

Looking back on my Paramedic class experience, it was scary, and I shouldn't be a Paramedic. I didn't see a lot of sick people, and I only needed about 65-70 ALS patients before my clinical time/internship was done. That's scary looking back on it now. That being said, I did have some strong Paramedics take me under their wing and guide me the right way. Between that and my thirst for education (which meant a lot of self-study), I think I turned out OK. Or, that's what they say.

I definitely believe that the Paramedic program needs to be a degree program, with a long internship program. One of the good things about NJ's Paramedic requirements is the number of hours required. It's about 800 I think (I'm not sure). The other benefit is that since MICUs are spread out in NJ, there is more opportunity to see sick people. Add in a busy system (like Newark, highest per-capita in the nation), and the opportunities to do things can be endless.

The biggest problem in EMS "education" (I use quote because these days it is a joke) is its stupidification. The material is created to teach to the lowest common denominator, as was explained about LA in the previous post. We need to educate INTELLIGENT people who want to be kick-ass Paramedics, not some wacker who only wants it for the blue lights, stickers, and badges. We need to weed out the wanna-bes from the true recruits, and educate them.

The other problem is how we, as an entity, treat and eat our young. Yes, there is a time and a place for it, but we can be brutal. Am I guilty of it? Yes, at times, but only to those who I don't believe have a place in this field.

I do work in a limited EMS System. People call New Jersey a "Mother-May-I" system. While that is true when it comes to standing orders, the fact that separates the great medics from the shitty ones are the protocol monkeys. When I call the doctor, I ask/tell them what I want, not sit there and wait for the doctors to tell me what to do. It's called thinking outside the box, because 95% of our patients do not read the textbook before they pick up that phone.

I'm going to agree that we need a total collapse of the EMS system and start from scratch. Either that, or someone important needs to die. Only then will the higher-ups realize that we have a system that needs to be fixed fast.