Comments on: The Medics are Revolting

By: One year must be the Pink Blogoversary | Life Under the Lights

One year must be the Pink Blogoversary | Life Under the Lights — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:49:28 +0000

[...] So I give you my first post on this incarnation of Life Under the Lights, “The Medics are Revolting” [...]

By: Pj

Pj — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 03:17:00 +0000

No one else has chimed in yet?

“You said it, they stink on ice!”

Good post. It’s frustrating how many people (nurses, primarily, but some ED docs are just as guilty) think that EMTs and paramedics can contribute nothing more than a strong back to patient care.

U of MD once had a masters-level EMS degree…don’t know if they still do or not.

By: MsParamedic

MsParamedic — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 02:02:46 +0000

Amazing post, CK!!! I thought I was the only one who was constantly beaten down by the “obedient” ones… Keep ranting, my friend, yours make more sense than mine!

By: msparamedic

msparamedic — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 21:02:46 +0000

Amazing post, CK!!! I thought I was the only one who was constantly beaten down by the “obedient” ones… Keep ranting, my friend, yours make more sense than mine!

By: EMS 2.0: The Wet Blanket Post – A Day In The Life Of An Ambulance Driver

EMS 2.0: The Wet Blanket Post – A Day In The Life Of An Ambulance Driver — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 16:11:45 +0000

[...] how those throwaway lines can ignite a firestorm. Since then, much of the EMS blogosphere has latched onto the concept, riffing on the ways we’re going to drag [...]

By: Blood Cancer - Causes and Treatment | Cancer Health Wisdom

Blood Cancer - Causes and Treatment | Cancer Health Wisdom — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 18:36:17 +0000

[...] The Medics are Revolting – Life Under the Lights [...]

By: Ckemtp

Ckemtp — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:57:51 +0000

I completely and utterly agree with ya Tot, as I do with most things. I’ve never seen the NAEMT do anything. Not just anything for me, I mean ANYTHING.

Is there any NAEMT supporters out there that would defend them? I mean, I’ll accept your opinions. I WANT to be wrong here.

By: Ckemtp

Ckemtp — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 16:55:46 +0000

Since I work rural EMS, there’s a lot of volunteers that have a LOT of lights in their personal vehicles. Since this is Wisconsin, they are allowed to run red lights and sirens and are afforded the same legal status as regular emergency vehicles when responding.

And I mean a LOT of lights in their POVs.

I’ve often wanted to stop them at the scene of an EMS call after they’ve run lights and sirens to get there and ask them the pathophysiology of the complaint that they’re going to. I wonder how many of them would know it off hand… as opposed to knowing how many candlepower their WheelingCode37 MX50q32 Strobe lights put out.

By: roguemedic

roguemedic — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 14:02:58 +0000

A nice Howard Beale entry. Let's hope there is not a Howard Beale exit.

You make some great points. These are well established problems, but that does not mean they should be tolerated.

There are programs that have masters degrees in EMS. Hahnemann/Drexel University used to have a masters program, but they even closed the BS in EMS program.

We do need to get rid of the people who want more dazzling uniforms, bigger utility belts, and noisier sirens. A move to having educated and experienced people running things would be great for our patients.

By: totwtytr

totwtytr — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 12:40:44 +0000

A big part of the reason is because we are treated, and treat ourselves, as a skill set, not a profession. We are an add on skill set to fire fighters, police officers, athletic trainers, and you name it.

Until we, as nursing did, take control of our own profession and destiny.

NAEMT, the other EMS organizations, publications such as JEMS and EMS don't help either. Their publishers always seem to take a preachy - paternalistic attitude towards their readers.

Working EMTs and medics have to take control of the destiny of the profession or we're doomed to be just interchangeable cogs with a useful skill set.