thatoneguy

I won't disagree with the fact that the NFPA is a joke, however it is a great resource for the bean counters. The NFPA bases their staffing recommendations on the population in a given area, not the number of calls. I also understand that you can never tell which calls are BS, but that has nothing to do with sending multiple apparatus to every call. I too have been sent to routine calls that turn into big ordeals, but all you have to do is call for backup. We are all supposed to be capable of handling things until backup can arrive, especially with so many resources in a given area (as in most munincipal areas in Fl.).

Unless I am wrong, I thought the NFPA set forth guidelines to justify staffing levels to the bean counters, not responding to "BS" calls. I am not saying that there is no reason for current staffing levels. I will say that if this system used a priority dispatch system, then nobody would be driving across town with lights and sirens blaring period. In the end though sadly this all comes down to the typically tired argument of who gets to respond to intersection xy or not. I see this article/argument as the jumping off point for fire to take over EMS.

you know, I am not trying to nitpick here, but not every vet has "issues" to be resolved when the come back. In fact there is absolutely no reason to assume a vet has issues until proven otherwise, to do so is actually quite absurd and off-putting to the individual vet. Again, I am not trying to nitpick, and in no way am I trying to argue or point an individual out, just trying to put out some food for thought, afterall we are all only as crazy as the next guy lol. Have a good one and be safe

Just my.02: I do not currently work in OC, I do however work further south. Down here the majority of depts have opted to provide 3 personnel to every rescue. I can understand the thinking with this idea, however on big calls, they still send an engine, an EMS capt., and a bn chief. On top of this, they also send a "community action team" of 2 people to handle pt family, as well as a division chief if the call is an MVA/shooting, ect. My argument is this: If you insist on staffing the ambulance with 3 people, why still all of the extra hands on what is essentially an upper level als call? To top this off, the county I am speaking of has given the Paramedics the option of downgrading any pt to BLS and call a private transport in order to be available, as long as they meet certain criteria. In my experience this leads to a lot of Paramedics looking to meet BLS criteria instead of performing a thorough and complete assessment. While I am not fundamentally against fire-based EMS, I am against poor pt care. What further pisses me off is the constant bickering on all levels. Instead of worrying about who is going to transport a pt, why don't we concentrate instead on providing the absolute best pt care we can, regardless of which entity is providing it? I think everyone involved needs to take a step back and reassess what is going on (myself included). I challenge everyone here to go out in their respective area and ask the general public if they have any idea what is involved with an ems response. In my experience most people just have no idea, no matter if they are rich or homeless. I think there is a lesson to be learned here, why don't we start a concentrated effort on public education? These are just my rambling thoughts and I apologize if they don't make sense.

And if your wife/husband is having "the big one" the 4 closest ambulances will probably be on a fire call Or the ambulance will hurry through your "time wasting" medical call because their dispatcher just sent the rest of their station to the structure fire 3 streets over

lol to dust!! I do have to agree that I too am happy that it is at least being addressed. I have a feeling that over the next year or so there may be more and more issues popping up regarding these types of issues. Hopefully the recently passed tax reform will help to shake things up a little bit and at the very least get people thinking and talking about some very obvious issues. kudos to the agencies involved for at least seeing the problem, now all they have to do is get past the bickering and...... whalahh some positive change might come about. Or the fire departments will gobble up the entire world and I will be the "dork" that has no desire to leave the ambulance lol.

I agree with vent. And just a bit more fuel to the fire, how about the (un-named) county that contracts out their BLS calls to a Paramedic staffed private ambulance. I have to admit I am fairly new to being a Paramedic, and I am definitely new to Florida, but just a few of the systems I have seen have been interesting to say the least. I also noticed that the end of the article went on to explain that the Fire departments have a desire to take over the system. While I do not pretend to have knowledge of this particular system, the fire based systems that I have seen (at least on the east side of the state) have left much to be desired. I too was not sad to see the tax reform pass, as it has at least made life more entertaining watching the firefighters run around like ants in an attempt to maintain their bloated budgets. As my ever-present disclaimer I apologize for any grammerical errors and/or Rambling. Take it easy and be safe

I too recently transplanted to Florida, and it was surprisingly easy to challenge the state test. Just be patient as the state wheels turn quite slow (in my case anyhow). I suppose I did not post any new information, but oh well. Good luck to you and your friend anyhow.

haha Dust came the closest. I actually moved from California to Florida. Pretty brilliant eh? Anyway, I hope that helps explain my complete disbelief in the Paramedic shortage, lol. And by the way, I apologize for the thread hijack.

Well put Dust. There are always more ways to skin a cat. I have to say personally that if there were more opportunities for civilian certification (and therefore interaction) it would have probably made me more apt to stay in. You are absolutely right that retention would probably be higher if people have a more realistic idea about what awaits them. (if I interpreted your post correctly) P.S. I recently moved to the state where even your mailman is a Paramedic any guesses anyone? haha.

I actually like this idea with proper oversite and such it could be a pretty big value to all involved. The problem with that plan is this... The military doesn't have much interest in its members being civilian certified, as this would not help their already problematic retention rates. If everyone were certified to do their military job as a civilian then many more people would get out. It is a lot nicer to work as a medic, or truck driver or whatever without constantly being sent overseas and being shot at. Many of my friends that stayed in did so because they did not feel they could gain worthwhile employment on the outside. There are a few programs within the military that offer a NR paramedic certification. As stated before these usually have to do with Special Forces and the like. These operators operate on a very different playing field than the rest of the "regular medics". In closing the system used in Canada would be nice for the individual Medics, however it would not benefit the military greatly.

As a former Corpsman I completely disagree with this proposal. I happened to be fortunate enough to have been stationed within a critical care department of a large Naval Hospital, as well as 3 years with the Marine Corps infantry with 2 deployments to the sand box. Even with all this experience I was completely un-prepared for street medicine, as I learned very quickly in a rural system. As stated before, the knowledge gained within the military can be very valuable although without the requisite knowledge gained in Paramedic school it will take you nowhere but very uncomfortable situations very fast. I think that if you want to incourage military Medics and Corpsmen to continue on in Pre-hospital medicine you should cut out some red tape and let them go to the front of the line that is full of kids just out of high school. With all this being said, let us please cut out the fuzzy wuzzy lets "help" the vet attempts that are led by politicians. Let us instead focus on assisting the young men and women adapt to civilian life without free handouts such as quickie Paramedic schools. Lets make a real attempt at helping them attain true professional status. As this is my first post, and I just got home from a verrrry long shift I must apologize for any rambling and/or grammerical errors. Be Safe