PND14

Please excuse the shocking grammer and spelling errors.

In South Africa we have a similar ECP program to that of the UK (as a matter of interest the prototype was actually developed as joint venture sometime back between the Brits and Safers and the Brits ran with it, we playing catch up now...but it looks very promising). The future of EMS in S.A. well....as of the the near future (end 2010), all short course training (BLS, ILS and ALS courses) will cease and all those who wish to pursue a career as a EMS professional will have to complete one of two tertiary courses (or both): 1. A 2 year National Higher Certificate in Emergency Medical Care(aka: Emergency Care Technician - ALS level practitioner with a protocolised scope) 2. A 4 year professional degree Emergency Medicine and Rescue (ECP - Autonomous clinician, etc). Thereafter on can continue on with a MSc, Mphil, etc in Emergency Medicine. There is talk of extending the degree by another year and the introduction of an community service year due to our 'lock' practitioners into assist in our massively overburdened health sector (but lets talk facts, and we'll wait and see about the rest). As has been mentioned by a few members earlier, prehospital emergency care and rescue is a relatively young profession. Which has devloped out of a 'bastardisation' of various medical fields, giving use the mixed bag we have today. It is however, our 'mixed bag' profession, and we start unmixing ourselves (the analogy just popped into my head, just go with it). The tendency for us to fall into the shadow of nursing teachings or medical school teachings, etc and even other EMS system teachings are all too apparent/convenient (remember what works in a rural African province, might not in a metropole in Europe). Now, I'm not saying that these teachings are bad, cross pollination and diversity is certainly required to develop a well rounded and educated practitioner, However, we really do need to create our own research and own body of evidence to start being taken seriously. It still surprises me that in a lot of places of the world, Paramedics/ECP's/prehospital professionals, etc still 'practice' under a medical supervisors licence. Whats more, some people believe its a good idea cause then we can 'be safe' in our practice and less likely to get sued or whatever....I realise each system is different, and there are still leaps and bounds to make in this profession. But c'mon.... To the 'noob' who is dealing with the assignment, I would offer this; Do not pose the question of "Where is this profession heading?" but rather, "Where are we taking our profession?" We need to take responsibility for ourselves, and I believe autonomy as clinicians and extensive education form a substaintial part of whether we will remain glorified ambulance drivers or specialists in our field. Anyhow, use it don't use.... Thats my rant, I'm new and this seems like a cool site. Thanks. Be safe out there guys.