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ABC News says we are ambulance drivers.


jobberman

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I could see requiring a degree if you want to make this field your career but not if you're volunteering.

I am interested in why you believe that volunteers should be held to a different standard than paid personnel. Don't patients require the best care possible regardless of if the person is volunteering or not?

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Spoken like a true volly.

Funny how only those without education don't understand why it is necessary.

Why should a medical profession lower their standards, just so you can have a hobby? How about if doctors do that too? After all, there are a lot more people who would like to play doctor than play ambulance driver. Shouldn't they have a hobby that doesn't require formal education too?

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I actually had an Ambulance Driver as a partner, and even then he was Officially Entitled M.V.O.. Those days are long gone and the blame for the continued misinterpretations flows both ways! The general public only knows what they are told, if they are not reminded regularly of what we SEE and DO we get taken for granted! (consider the age old picture of the F.F. carrying a small baby...always apparently alive and well!!)I agree with the feeling expressed by a number of members, the feeling that in unity there is strength, I feel that entities such as NREMT and NAEMT etc.. are a good start point, what we need is an increase in Public knowledge and awareness. We need to Standardize training such as The National Scope of Practice Model Project, I should probably research it again before I speak but...anybody know where that sits? The fact remains we shoot our own toes off, I read post in here where comments like "Spoken like a true volly" and the like are thrown about with random indiscretion. I have been in EMS for just Eighteen years now and have seen many a "Professional" I would shoot before allow them near my Dog! I'm not picking I am pointing here, yes we definitely need to address skill levels everywhere and make the Tittle synonymous with professional quality care. The longer we dawdle with petty B.S. issues such as he called us this or that, the longer we remain open to ridicule and continued Misinterpretations.

P.S. to all It really does Agitate me to be called an Ambulance Driver, let them do compressions on the run and see what they call us then!

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Since all levels of EMS (EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, EMT-Paramedic) all contain the common title "Emergency Medical Technician", it's logical to refer to them as EMT's. Only those who are suffering from an over inflated ego MUST be labeled by distinction.

Even your college courses are broken down in this fashion, so it stands to reason that the National Registry will also use the 'lump grouping'.

You don't see doctors going through this 'chest thumping, degree waving' amongst themselves, to make sure that the public is well aware of who the top 'doctor level' is!

Could this be part of the reason that we're not viewed as 'professionals'?

How many times have you seen or heard of a doctor getting bent out of shape because they weren't addressed by some title that reflected their specialty? Podiatrist Smith, Cardiologist Levenstein, Proctologist Green, Orthopedist Thompson, Neurologist Malik, or Proctologist Sharpton? You dont! They have moved on from this petty 'stand out from the crowd' mentality and realized that they're all doctors, just as we are ALL EMT's!

*DISCLAIMER* By putting names and specialties together, I am in no way implying that certain ethnic, racial or gender groups are more predisposed to certain specialties. These were just simply the first name I could think of as well as the first specialties I could think of to illustrate my point!

I personally think that as soon as we stop this 'I'm more important than you are!' mentality, we may have just taken a huge step toward being recognized as the professionals that we are!

Let the fireworks commence!

Lone Thank You! This, in my 15 years of EMS experience, has got to be one of the best thing I have ever heard from any EMS provider!! I :salute: :salute: :salute: You! !!!

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Its a matter of pride, not just title.

I worked dang hard to get my medic and being referred to as a EMT is not what I expect to be referred to.

Just as a nurse works hard to get her RN she isn't going to be happy being compared to an LPN, of which both are referred to as nurses. But the RN isn't going to be happy when someone says Oh, you are a lpn then.

You are right as to the cardiologist title versus the proctologist but you can bet my next paycheck if you compared a chiropractor versus a dentist versus a MD or DO. YOu can bet that that MD would bend over backwards to educate you that they are NOT a chiropractor even though Chiropractors have the same title as MD's they are all doctors.

Plus, let's look at police officers

Police are police officers as it goes but if you say Hey officer come over here and it's a captain I can be you will get an education as to what their title is. Same with sergeants.

finally I point to the military- they are all soldiers right. What happens if you call a colonel or a major hey private come over here. Remember they are all soldiers under all the titles but you can bet that they will give you a fair education as to what they actually are.

So titles are very very important.

I could go on and on but I don't have time to do it but you get my point right?

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[quote="WANTYNU

Personally I think we should all drop this bickering and call ourselves Medics, educate the public that we are HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS and the rest will fall in line.

As Always IMHO

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

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Hey being an ambulance driver isn't that bad....Ernest Hemingway did it...

And don't forget that Elizabeth Winsor drove ambulances, and had to maintain their motors and tires, for the British Army during the Second World War.

You probably know her better as the current reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth the Second of Great Britain!

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Its a matter of pride, not just title.

I worked dang hard to get my medic and being referred to as a EMT is not what I expect to be referred to.

Just as a nurse works hard to get her RN she isn't going to be happy being compared to an LPN, of which both are referred to as nurses. But the RN isn't going to be happy when someone says Oh, you are a lpn then.

You're comparing apples to oranges.

"Nurse" is a general umbrella including LPNs and RNs. "EMT" is a general umbrella including Basics, Intermediates, and Paramedics. Calling an RN a nurse is not an insult, and calling a Paramedic an EMT should not be considered an insult either. You're operating under the assumption that EMT means EMT-Basic (or Intermediate), which simply isn't the case.

Look at the site you're on now. EMT City. Who is the "national governing body" of this profession? The national registry of EMTs. I just don't understand why there's stigma attached to the "EMT" title...despite popular belief, "EMT" is not a level of certification. It is many, including paramedic.

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