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emtp269

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  1. Most folks base their arguement on the study published by Wang, et.al. His study was interesting but in my opinion not completely inclusive of all the issues and variables faced as we find our patients in the field environment. I propose we (medics)conduct a scientifc anaylisis of our successes and failures and attempt to discover if these purported statistics are in fact valid. I would be happy to participate with any group or system to form a theory, develop a hypothesis and outline parameters for the conduct of a study that can be published to support or refute the current theory on prehospital intubation. I find it interesting that we as a group Q/A all of the invasive procedures we do, on all of the reports generated, within our community and have not presented this problem with as much voracity as those who do not function in our capacity and scrutinize us from the outside looking in. Lastly as a young profession we must ensure we do a better job with our education and monitoring than the healthcare professions we work with have done in the past. We should learn from the mistakes made in other medical fields and do our best at establishing a standard for us all to maintain.
  2. Asysin2leads, you are right on. The paramedics I get have completed pre-requisites and have prepared to enter the classroom ready to study and learn. We do have a unique program that provides the student the opportunity to prepare for the intensity of the didactic portion of our program. I have been fortunate to have all of my students find gainful employment and pass their certification exams very quickly after graduation.
  3. We do need or should have a minimum of at least an Associates Degree and I believe 5 years of field experience to instruct at any level of EMS. Bachelors Degrees in EMS are much easier to find and should be the goal of those currently in teaching positions. The nursing programs are requiring Masters in Nursing to instruct RN programs or soon will. I believe this is the best thing that could have happend to the paramedic industry. The shortage of BSN holders with a desire to teach has contributed to the shortage of Registered Nurses and provided ample opportunity for paramedics to work clinically in the hospital E/D' replacing them. Why should a RN, BSN or MSN settle for 40-65,000 a year teachng when thay can travl or work per deim for 75K and up being floor nurses? The shortage of instructors in nursing will effect the supply of nurses much more than they realize I fear.
  4. My response will not do justice to the question but I will try. We need to get out of the mind set that we have about the role of paramedics. Paramedics are not just 911 junkies looking for the next great story to share with their next partner. We are expanding and increasing the roles we play in public health. Paramedics are becoming force multipliers in an ever shrinking health care provider population. We are performing vital roles in keeping health care institutions open as we fill positions formerly held by other members of the allied health teams that extend the care people need. That being said we can only raise the bar and ensure we are up to the task, mentally and educationally. We must realize and ensure minimum standards are adopted in our paramedic programs. Paramedics should have a formal A&P education from a biology professor, english from an english professor, and so on. We should ensure our instructors are experienced and remain so. Professional development for instructors should include time allotted for practicing what they teach in the street in real time to real patients. Student should earn admission and meet minimum entrance requirements to get into programs and I think the should be EMT basics with ride time experience and at least 500 hours of patient care prior to starting a paramedic program. We have all learned things from one teacher that was re-instructed by another and that will probably never change. i think the prior exposure and pre-requisite would convince the candidate of their sincerity and motivation which they will surely need. The bar needs to be raised and we are the ones to raise it. We should all embrace technology that provides definitive positive patient outcomes and reduces the cost to us all for the overall treatment of our patients. CPAP, Capnography, 12-lead interpretation should be our standards and we should embrace interventions to come. At a recent seminar I discovered that their are many advancements in EMS that will be field ready in the near future. We will be doing things that will require our profession to be better trained, better educated, and better prepared to function in the field and make the difference in the lives of those who call us because they can not afford to be seen be any one else. The minimum standards are what you stand your program on the program standards are what you want your students to be. It should be a goal to become a paramedic, a lofty goal, and it should be harder to be a paramedic than it is to become one.
  5. :director2: Having read through the posts and operated in a rural area for over 30 years you are indeed only limited by your imagination. The FarmMedic Course is an excellent hands-on experience that will prove invaluable during real life rescue operations. Like you I operated in a rural area and can count the silo rescue/recoveries, PTO shaft entanglements, tractor rollovers, runover, rollover, stuck or swallow by a combine, haybailer, manure spreader, auger and various other pieces of apparatus on a calculator now. We never know what we will face next but what ever we are toned out for we must be prepared to conduct ourselves in an organized professional manner and make the difference we have been destined to make. Mass casualty incidents with out for warning make for excellent training scenario's. We one had 4 members of a farming family in a community not far from us perish in a confinement lot waste vessel. Bus accidents are always allot of fun as well. Good luck with your training and if al else fails place some of your service/department members in a vehicle and use them as victims. They will enjoy using their imagination and previous experiences as guides for the victims they have become. Require your care providers to give you accurate vital signs and depending on the injuries you have assigned every 5 minutes.
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