darkangelx66 Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Hi my name is paul mellor and i am a member of the garfield volunteer ambulance corp (GVAC). i am 19 years old and i was in the running for 2nd LT position in my ambulance corp. i lost the position to a member who is an EMT for only 8 months compared to my year and a half. i also have more experience and i have a medical experience background. but unfortunately the person that was running against me won by a popularity contest instead of experience. this really pissed me off because i worked so hard for the spot and i lost it for a stupid reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBEMT Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 First post and you're already hanging your agency's dirty laundry out? How did you ever lose a popularity contest. :roll: All you're doing here is inviting a world of hurt down on yourself and volunteer EMS in general. Congratulations. :? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfmanHarris Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 What do you mean by medical background? Also, I personnally don't see a huge difference between 8 months and a year and a half when it comes to experience. I'd look more at call volume and types. Here's the thing. It's one of the biggest mistakes in EMS to equate time and competence on the road with qualifications for a supervisory/leadership role. I know some excellent, professional and clinical medic who I would not under any circumstances consider a good candidate for any position of leadership. Proper leadership takes maturity (not age), understanding of an organization in all facets, understanding of people and how to manage and almost most importantly a very good understanding of oneself and one's motivations to ensure they don't become a despot or micromanager in order to offset their own insecurities. There are many types of leaders with very different styles, but when boiled down they share some important characteristics. My only piece of advice is not to look at the person who got a job over you for an answer first, but to look at yourself and see how qualified and ready you would be for the job and what your motivations are for taking it. Only when you're absolutely clear on that on this can you honestly look at your opponent and compare your qualifications. You might be surprised. Finally, accept that what's done is done. You can either dwell on this loss of responsibility or realize that you can still give all the things you wanted to your organization without necessarily being in charge. If you let this embitter you (I've seen it in a volunteer organization before) than you can guarantee that you will never get the position in the future as your bitterness will effect everything you do. Others will see this and won't see you as a potential leader. Good luck and remember it's about patient care, not collar brass or a white shirt. Welcome to the board. - Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 19 years old and he's ready for a 2nd lt. position. Skeptical i am. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobey Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Perhaps they did a MySpace search and saw the eyebrow piercing, black goth clothes, eyeliner and chains, and decided they may need someone more professional? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rock_shoes Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 At 19 you would be better off working out how you can become a medical professional than worrying about losing out on a supervisory role in a volly service. It's all about priorities and at 19 education should be at the top of the list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Plain Ruff Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I went to his myspace page and it's set to private. Can't see what his pictures are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobey Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 I went to his myspace page and it's set to private. Can't see what his pictures are. Must have just happened.... I got in no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolfmanHarris Posted December 8, 2008 Share Posted December 8, 2008 Guys could we consider for two seconds letting him reply and potentially learn before we go for the throat? I know it's not usually our way, but what if we went easy on someone early and then they didn't get defensive and were more willing to hear input, learn something and maybe be convinced? Just a thought. Nah, maybe I'm just being crazy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darkangelx66 Posted December 8, 2008 Author Share Posted December 8, 2008 thank you. and what qualifies me for this position is that i've been on over 400 calls in the past year and a half varying in different scenarios. and to save my ambulance corp from falling apart i decided to ride every night for two weeks straight because we were so short handed. as for going to school i have a balance of college and volunteer. as for past medical experiences. when i was 13 i started learning first aid skills through boy scouts. after that i became a life guard for 3 years. after that i became a first responder for a year. then i became an emt. and even to this day i still use those past skills in every day life. as for being able to run a position where i am in charge, i was in the boy scouts for 10 years and also earning the rank of eagle scout which is highly reconized by many people Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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