Malignant-Hyperthermia Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 I was witness, no instigator to an argument in the chatroom the other day that made the G6 riots look like a fart in a fan factory [insert lead in story here] Basically i said all patient trasnport capable vehicles should have someting like an Intermediate as the minimum standard of care with appropriate education (diploma), and Basic should be first responder or 3rd officer OR an intermediate in training. How silly of me to think this was a good idea - you know for those patients that get picked up? Anyway - a massive fight ensued where people to scard to think of new concepts used arguments such as Basics save lives Basics save paramedics Most calls are BLS Some paramedics are bad too Some basics a very good Not 1 argument against my suggestion was worthy of more than a slogan on a bumper sticker. So, for fear of causing another argument (we are all adults - right?) i would like to seriously know why people clutch so tightly to BLS and not believe practitioners should probably be doing more than advanced first aid??? May the debate start or not start..whatever Mal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnthonyM83 Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Probably because BLS believe they're doing good enough for their BLS patients. I would guess their thought process might be, "If it's good enough, why do you need higher level providers for skills we won't usually need and if we do, we just call ALS". I'm not sure. But I'm also of the opinion that there should be always be a medic with an EMT. The EMT can do the EMT/BLS skills, but it's good for the patient to have someone who has training at looking at the bigger picture of what's going on, even if just a BLS call. Then there's also BLS calls that get turned to ALS. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aussiephil Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Mal I get frustrated with the whole notion that u have brought up here, as well as the attitudes of us Vs them in ems. Just a few basic points to start. We all start somewhere. We r all different & have different goals in life. The attitude that any particular level is better than an other is just plain dumb. For a basic to say they save medics, is as well. Should we not all be looking to help each other & for those more experienced, impart knowledge to those who want to hear it. If we are asked a question & provide an answer that may be different(opinion wise) to some one else, should that not be the catalyst for a healthy debate instead of allowing the debate fall into an insult fling about who is better, who is smarter? The bast way for people to learn is to seek information, this site is & always will be a valuable resource, BUT, there is a need for respect to be shown by all members & guests to everyone else in the rooms, PM's & forums. This is not a healthy debate to have & we need to learn to work together. Basics help medics & medics help basics. End of story. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timmy Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Well I have also encountered this many times. When I first arrived on this site I was shocked to find out the EMT-B worked on Emergency Ambulances, even the standard of what you Americans call ‘Paramedic’ is quiet frightening. Now don’t get me wrong, EMT-B would be great as first response, but for continued care and patient transport I think it’s just isn’t good enough. In Australia EMT-B is basically the equivalent to what I am ‘first aid’ in my state you would not be allowed anywhere near an Emergency Ambulance. ‘Basics save lives’ well this is true to some extent, but theoretically speaking your called to an arrest, an EMT-B can only do CPR and Defib, am I right? Well why wouldn’t you want a paramedic there to preform advanced things such as drug therapy, the patient would have a much better survival chance. Why won’t you people realise that the patients care comes before your ego, so is it such a bad thing to have a paramedic on scene?? In my state we have CERT Teams and Ambulance Community Officers there basically EMT-B, they work in remote areas were the Paramedic response time is greater than 20mins, they mainly get called to cardiac problems. There job is to provide first aid/02/defib until the paramedic arrives and takes over. Next we have ASL Paramedic which is a 3 year degree at uni, there able to give drugs and what ever. If you’ve been a paramedic for more than 2 years you can apply to be an Intensive Care Paramedic (MICA) which is another 1 year at uni. After you’ve got some field experience as MICA you can apply to be aeromedical which is another 6 month course at uni.There’s also specialised courses such as paediatrics and clinical support that you can elect to do which take longer. And I’ve heard it only takes 1 year to become a paramedic over in America?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akflightmedic Posted November 9, 2006 Share Posted November 9, 2006 Phil covered it nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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