National Registry impending "Smackdown"

[captainstandup]

Excellent point Ridryder 911. Perhaps this whole national "scope of practice" has blinded us to the fact that prehopsital therapies offered in metropolitan areas may not be the best therapies to offer in rural mountains and vice versa. Your point regarding geography etc is right on and especially considering transport times, community demographics and common disease patterns.

[SARgal]

I graduated my EMT-B class, passed and tested out last May. Because we are a low-volume agency, I take every and all CE classes I can get to and thus, have already acquired all but one of the necessary CE's to renew my license with the state. I can't imagine how many I will have at the end of three years! They're easy to get.

In reviewing those credits last week, I began to wonder what the NREMT required and for the life of me, I have NOT been able to find that info on their website. I must be dumb and blind.

Now, I'm sorting through this thread and am thoroughly confused. Can someone tell me exactly what is required for me to re-new my NREMT when the time comes? I've read the NREMT site, it's as clear as mud.

Thank you!

SARgal

:edited:

Found the link RIGHT after posting this... not surprised... LOL

Here it is for anyone else..

http://www.nremt.org/EMTServices/rr_basic_history.asp

[Ridryder 911]

You know I read and hear about how "stupid" and "out dated" many nurses there are. Now, with that in mind, remember many states do NOT require any CEU's, refresher education for re-licensure for them.

I know in my "home state" the only requirement is that all I have to do is click my mouse and make sure my Mastercard will process through, and my State taxes are paid up. Sure, it is very easy.. so easy, there are card carrying members everywhere that can acclaim they are RN's. Even though, they have not reviewed or read any literature in 40 years.

EMS has always required CEU's because of the ever changing profession and treatment. In fact, many have taken notice and implementing changes on their professional recert/license similar to our profession. Can one imagine, if we did not? Yep, it would like those "horrible, stupid nurses" that many complain of. We have enough ignorant and poor medics out there, let's not make it any worse...

R/r 911

[captainstandup]

Since I started this post my greatest fear was that someone would bring up the point of your last post ridryder 911. To this I have no meaningful response. I don't want us to be licensed or registered just because the nurses are, but I really wish we could somehow gain the recognition they enjoy regardless of their skill level or clinical ability; or lack thereof.

[chbare]

Captianstandup, I would be careful about stating sweeping generalizations directed at an entire profession.

EMS will never gain the respect it deserves until the individual providers put aside petty and selfish desires and concepts. EMS professionals must band together and demand sweeping changes in education levels, the work environment, and the legislation. This is how Nursing moved out of the dark ages. Unfortunately, how can we expect any changes when we have providers fighting over the color of the new first out bag or the size of patch to wear on their department jacket when they go out to eat?

Please do not hate on other professions for the problems within the EMS community. We have only ourselves to blame for the sad shape of affairs in EMS.

Take care,

chbare.

[Dustdevil]

I don't want us to be licensed or registered just because the nurses are, but I really wish we could somehow gain the recognition they enjoy regardless of their skill level or clinical ability; or lack thereof.

Let's be careful to differentiate between recognition and respect.

We have recognition. We have more recognition than we deserve. If another EMS based television programme hits television, my head may explode. People turn their heads and admire us as we walk down the street. Kids want to be us. The minimum wage kids at the burger counter can't wait to give us our half price discount. Cops cut you slack when you're driving like an arse. EMT schools are so packed with people who want to be us that they have to turn applicants away. Recognition is just an image that is easily manipulated, and not necessarily earned. It is something we have no shortage of.

We do not have respect. Respect is earned. Anybody who thinks they earned respect with an EMT course that was shorter than nail technician training is delusional. Anybody who thinks society should bow to their greatness for completing a paramedic course that was shorter than barber school has not the slightest clue what being a medical professional is all about.

Nobody spins their head in admiration when a nurse walks down the street (unless she's like really hott). The only television shows about them stereotype them as incompetent whores who are just in it to marry a doctor. Their nursing licence doesn't get them a discount at Dairy Queen. And most people wouldn't want their job. Nurses don't get half the recognition that medics get. So then, why do they have respect? Simple. They're professionals. Before they ever earn that title, they spend two to four years at a very minimum proving that they have the aptitude and the attitude to actually succeed as a professional nurse, as well as the commitment to devote that time and effort to achieving the bare minimum educational foundation to begin practising. Then they go on to do a job that few other people want to do.

Compare that to medics. How many people would commit to EMS if they had to spend two to four years of serious, full time education to achieving the entry level necessary to begin practice? I'd say that leaves about a good twenty percent or less of the people in EMS today.

You know why Marines are both recognised and respected? Commitment. They have it. We don't. Every U.S. Marine can look at any other Marine and know that he has achieved the very same level of commitment and professionalism as he has. Contrast that with EMS. We sceptically look at each other and just wonder how many hours of training the other had. We don't judge or admire each other based upon education or professional commitment. We judge each other on whether or not our system has RSI, semi tractor-trailer rig ambulances, or really cool badges. Bottom line is, EMS spends more time trying to impress each other than to giving the slightest thought to garnering respect from the public.

As for being "recognised" for your "skill" level, not a chance. If that were any factor, artists would be the most recognised and respected people in society. Truth is, most of them barely make a living. The guy who built my house is one skilled MFer. He has many more times the skills than any paramedic. And he’s better at them too. I respect him greatly. But just how much recognition or respect do you think he gets from society in his sweaty overalls? None, because carpenters are a dime a dozen, just like EMTs.

Image is an important thing, and we definitely need to be addressing it. See the "uniform" thread. But there is a lot more to the image we project than simple appearances. And when people look through the smoke and mirrors and see that the Emperor has no clothes, there is no reason left for them to respect us.

We will not have true respect a moment sooner than we earn it. And the only place we can begin to earn it is in the classroom.

[captainstandup]

Problem is there is no formal way to gain this respect. Like most of the folks that have responded to this thread I have a veritable alphabet after my name with exception of the sacred RN. Perhaps one day RP will mean something too......until then I suppose we will remain ambulance drivers and will be paid as such.

[mrmeaner]

Maybe not in yours, but in my area EMS is treated more like a sport than a profession by a lot of people. Typically, the people who do not treat it this way are moving on tn another career so they don't have a long influence. If EMS is going to move forward, there are going to be people left behind and I think that scares some people because they're afraid of being left/leaving others behind.

[captainstandup]

Thats a really insightful description of EMS. How long has it really been not much more than a club? So how can an industry fraught with a multitude of dangers (infectious diseases, back injuries, the risk of being killed by stupid ass motorists talking on the cellphone and crashing into our accident scene, low pay and lack or respect from pretty much everyone you deal with and finally virtually no conceivable hope of any meaningful advancement) attract and retain quality individuals? Beats me

[NREMT-Basic]

Problem is there is no formal way to gain this respect. Like most of the folks that have responded to this thread I have a veritable alphabet after my name with exception of the sacred RN. Perhaps one day RP will mean something too......until then I suppose we will remain ambulance drivers and will be paid as such.

Im still trying to figure out where you work that EMTs and Paramedics arent licensed. And lets start using the whole word because a Medic is a whole different animal than a Paramedic. While I am and EMT-B, when I am working a disaster drill or actual disaster, and someone hollers "Medic!" or " Corpsman!", aside from knowing what branch of the service they were probably in in a previous life, I know they are talking to me. But I digress.

I just wonder where you operate that Basics and Paramedics arent licensed. Please tell me so I can remember never to drive through that state.

I would ld also venture to elaborate on something my good friend Dust hinted at: We arent going to get respect from the public. Walking into your local eatery in uniform and having your radio squawking and all your patches and other bling, most of the public has no idea what we do. As an example....you where a patch that says "Paramedic"...I wear a patch that says "Basic Life Support Specialist" and a name tape that says EMT-B/D. Ask the average soccer mom the difference and she cant tell you. Hell, ask alot of doctors and they dont know the difference. You practice "pre-hospital medicine" and I practice "disaster medicine." Again, altogether different. My protocols are different than a standard EMT-B in my state and probably different than yours. My team uses equipment used by no one else but the military. But do you think anyone besides people in this field know that? Not bloody likely. As Dust said, recognition comes with the patch the NREMT sends you. Respect is earned. And no one should care about whether or not the public respects us because they are likely never going to. But we have to start respecting each other. Stop the petty Paramedic vs Basic argument (remember a Paramedic is also an EMT so to use EMT to differentiate a Basic from a Paramedic is technically not correct). Stop comparing the size of rigs and lets start figuring out how we can work together in a fluid manner. Its about standardization. THats why in disaster medicine, we can use our state's protocols no matter what state we go into. This is the way the whole field should be.

How Copy?