DwayneEMTP Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 I'm not pretending to know all of their educational standards either, and I truly went into remote medicine expecting to be the educational/intellectual stepchild. I've worked closely with medics from Aus, Britain, South Africa, Canada, hell, I don't know...all over the place, and have never felt even a little bit intimidated. I've often wondered why this is...Though they have more college time, supposedly, (I've not looked it up myself, only heard from others) are their college standards different? Do I only run into the 'lesser' medics where I work? You know what I mean? I'd not be afraid to enter into any kind of intellectual medical debate with any of those countries. As anywhere, there will be plenty that would hand me my ass...but generally speaking, I've not found any reason to be ashamed of our educational standards for paramedic where the world is concerned. And the same applies to nurses from other countries. Though very often we've talked about things that I didn't have a grasp on for it being too far out of my normal scope. But anatomically, physiologically, etc, I've seen no noticeable gap. But of course I'm not quizzing...only working with/near, so perhaps I'm not getting an accurate picture for some reason. As far as reciprocity, it's not really necessary with the type of medicine that I do. None of the countries that we serve have their own EMS system, and the higher ranking certification for each medic's home country suffices to allow us to work where we do. For my company it's NREMT-P (Often nurses too), ACLS, PHTLS, etc...Other countries have their own standards that line up more or less. I was pretty shocked to find that I've not run into medics from any other country that read 12 leads. Some collect them and then send them to the ER, but no other country that I'm aware of make decisions based on that information. And I've heard about the depressing education in the U.S., but man, I can tell you, that as I travel around, my general impression only, is that I see no sign of it whatsoever... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chbare Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 (edited) My experiences (n=1) have been similar although I bet a bit more limited in scope as the ones you speak of Dwayne. With that said, I also agree that I have worked with EMS providers from Canada, the United States, Australia, Uganda and South Africa. As you stated, I have not noticed that the thought process of these providers deviated significantly from my own. Also, if you look at the literature (somewhat limited, admittedly), you find that EMS provider outside of the United States suffer from some of the same issues we do here. One recurring theme I find is a consistent problem with medical math and dosage calculations. This also crosses barriers into nursing and appears to be a wide spread issue regardless of educational preparation. Never at any time have I found my-self in a position where I felt markedly "outmatched" by any international EMS provider or nurse for that matter. Additionally, the only degree I had was an AAS in nursing. With that said, I have to admit that I did not run into providers who I would call "consistently incompetent." All things considered I found my-self reasonably well matched with these other providers in spite of holding degree that was in most cases "inferior" to the degrees and presumably educational preparation that they held. With that, I am not saying improvements in education are not needed, only that when looking big picture, what makes a "good" provider is probably complex and an "optimal" educational prescription for a given provider is likely going to be difficult to definitively define. I imagine I may end up getting flamed a bit for changing opinions that I may have stated earlier, but I have to remain open to change and challenge prior beliefs when I encounter experiences that challenge said beliefs regardless of how good these beliefs may feel. Dwayne, I have had different experiences regarding XII leads, cardiac patients and pre-hospital interventions. There are providers in other countries using this information to make complex care related decisions. Edit: Added an "Enter." Edited August 29, 2013 by chbare 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DwayneEMTP Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 Thanks chbare, I don't doubt you that many use 12 leads, I've not not bumped into them yet I'm guessing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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