Are we (EMS) Lazy, Scared, or Indifferent ?

[Just Plain Ruff]

I agree. so out of all the suggestions where do we start. What do we consider the top issues confronting EMS in the current scheme of things.

[GAmedic1506]

Love you techmedic -- good response. Well i think part of the problem is that the task is overwhelming, and people see it as undoable (new word). I think we need to eat this elephant one bite at a time. I have found on more than one occassion that it is not that difficult to have success, but you have to take the first step. You may not wind up where you thought you would, or on the time-table that you thought, but if you try -- more times than not, you will succeed. Lets take one of the problems that was listed --- pay. I can fix pay in one week, and do so without paying union dues:

1. How many of you work two jobs ? What would happen if every medic in your area, on a date-specific, decided they would no longer work that second job. I didnt say quit, I didnt say call in sick, but lets just say we chose not to sign up in Spetember because we had plans. If you could get all the medics to do it, pay would change overnight. If because of new EPA standards the cost of an ambulance went up by 50%, you better believe your company would still find a way to buy an ambulance. Just as I am sure they are having to deal with fuel prices now. But someone has to take some action, instead of just sitting back and whining, and we have to stand together, as well as sacrifice if we need to.

2. If thats too mean for you, why not ask for an incentive plan based on performance. If I were your boss, and you came to me and said boss, if we could increase revenues by 10% this year, and decrease expenditures by 10% would you reward us with a 5% raise ? There isnt a boss in the world who wouldnt take that deal. So how do you raise 10% in 911: You transport a few more than you would've, you fill out the bill with acccurate information, you hustle so you dont have to roll a call to another provider. How do you decrease expenditures -- dont call out sick when you arent sick, you swap out of the truck when the brakes first start squealing instead of when they are metal-to-metal. You dont waste fuel or supplies.

Now thats my 2 suggestions, that are both possible, but not easy. I bet someone else has a better idea. Fire away

Now I bet someone has a better suggestion

[JPINFV]

Now, EMS, where do we start? From the bottom up? Educating people of our abilities. Educating ourselves. Take private EMS out of 911? Or from the top down? Throw money at the problem, and it will all fix itself?

The major things have to be top down. Take education, for example. Until there is a tangible difference in pay and scope between degreed and non-degreed providers, there is nothing to push people to become degreed. Now lets say you require a degree. First, do you have enough degreed programs in your area to supply you with medics? Are you going to be able to develop a bridge program for your non-degreed medics? Are you going to have a bridge program for people with other degrees (example would be an entry to nursing MSN program that several universities have)? Who ever makes this first jump will need to prime the degree pump and drag the old time medics kicking and screaming into the 21st century.

[TechMedic05]

Okay, now we're getting places.

Working 2 jobs - not many aren't guilty. Some depend on it, no? It's a tough situation because it hits the employees where the emplyoers don't want to be hit - the wallet. I'm all for it [Hell, I'll stock shelves as a second job for a while], but we need something larger scale. We don't even have a single EMS Union or federal unit yet, as discussed several times before.

EMS is too cut-throat - We needn't be every person for themselves.

If ambulance got more expensive, sure, they'd still get bought...eventually. There are too many excuses out there for companies to blind employees with to keep them from sharing money. Excuses from my current company on why we can't get adequate supplies: We lost a share of a tertiary hospital's discharges, fuel, STATE WORKER'S COMP is too high, they pay too much in benefits, the main station just spent XXX dollars, and there's nothing left. It's all a crock. That's just for what's needed on trucks. [shady, I know.]

EMS Employers [again, not all, but quite a few] know EMT's and Medics are dispensible.

2 - I like the plan, but it's probably not doable in many situations. I'm sure companies would lose track of that sort of thing. I absolutly am thrilled with the idea, however. I think profit sharing is a great idea. Smaller companies who just listen to employees is an even better start.

I mean, how far is too far? Is it considered professional to bring legal action against your employer who may not be paying in accordance with Federal Law? Is that a start?

In what I've seen, it's still too easy to identify one troublemaker and make an example out of them.

We need bigger numbers.

[GAmedic1506]

City Sponsor, I would like to hear what you think are big topics. As far as college degrees, I think that will happen with time. We have to remember that our profession is not nearly as old as Fire, Police, or Nursing. I imagine degrees will become mandatory for management jobs in the future. I do not think it is necessary to raise pay-rates now. There are not enough of us to go around, so we could demand a higher wage if we chose to. Again, you have to have some solidarity though -- you cant do it alone.

Education is my pet-peeve, but in reverse of techmedic, I think we need a bigger focus on real training programs that improve our skills on the streets. You can track the decline of EMS to when ACLS decided no one could fail. The thought of having to take ACLS use to make people so nervous that they would vomit, now no one even opens a book before they take the class (but in the old days you can bet your ass that most medics (not all) knew their acls backwards and forewards). I think that once we make "education" important, then degrees will become important.

[Just Plain Ruff]

Here's one:

Everyone on this board develop a CEU class for their department. Doesnt' have to be much but it at least needs to be one hour at least in length so you at least get 1 ceu. Submit it to your EMS service and see if the education department (if you have one) can get it set up for ceu for your service or get it out to your states medics and emt's.

M

[TechMedic05]

I believe it was JP who brought up education. I generally leave education at a large blanket statement of "We don't have enough, next."

And there are slight differences between education and training, too.

Everyone knows we need more education except for the gross majority of people who are hindering us getting what we want. :wink: How's that for vague?

Private companies or services only fund so much, and everyone wants the cheap, easy, 2 days a week for 16 months, in and out, no fuss, no muss schooling.

Once Canada finally decides they wnat to invade the US, and is successful [because they will be], EMS will be a bit better off. I'm not 100% sure of their requirements, but it seems their education is closer to what it should be. I should move north.

National oversight with higher requirements for education. Period.

I mean, how can we compete when services are putting a new 120 hour basic and a 80 hour First Responder on a truck, and wishing them well? People get away with it.

If only there were a tactful way of educating the public on what they're missing...

[GAmedic1506]

The profit sharing plan can work anywhere, its just harder if you are a government system. But if you asked for it now, for your 2007 Budget, you would have time to make it work. There isnt a politician or owner who wouldnt jump at a no-lose situation, remember if you dont make the goals, you dont get the raise. Now I imagine you wouldnt necessarily have to set it up as an all or nothing plan --- you could have a staggered scale of lower raises compared to the percentage of success you had. It is easy to track monthly, every organization already pulls those numbers -- and of you are a government agency, you can get those numbers through an open records request if you have to -- but most governments have to publish their budget somewhere. I am not wild about unions, but that maybe what is needed to tie us all together with a common voice. I prefer this solution, as it is management and employees working together for a common goal -- it isnt adverserial, like my other suggestion, or the use of unions.

See, its not as hard as we think -- by tomorrow i bet there will be atleast 5 more good suggestions that are doable.

Pick another topic, lets see where this takes us.

[GAmedic1506]

Good idea city medic -- and i will do you one better --- when you get it completed, share it on this site, so that all of us can use each others. THink how nice it would be if we had 1000 good-canned CEU courses on this site that anyone could use. Even if it doesnt help our companies, which i think it will, maybe we can help that guy in the wilderness who works for a service that doesnt offer any training.

[AZCEP]

There are already CEU programs ripe for the picking on this and many other sites. The individual putting the program together just has to see them for what they are.

The scenarios forum is one place. The Students forum is another. Right now the Educational forums thread is pushing 5 pages and going strong. Pick some of those topics and run with them.

Flip through a medical dictionary, and pick a problem. Use it as a basis for your CE program.