Post by Gator on Jul 30, 2008 13:44:23 GMT -5
I am at wits end with the state of EMS in this country. As time goes on, private, for profit companies are taking over EMS. There was a time when EMS was run by local governments. Some smaller towns relied on volunteer services. This of course was back when the requirements for a basic patch were fairly simple. Little more than a first aid card & CPR certification.
Nowadays, you need at least a semester of college and about 50-80 hours of clinical work to apply your skills in the field under the supervision of licensed professionals, JUST to get in the door.
Bottom line, the requirements are greater, the liability greater, the sacrifice greater. (in terms of getting you patch)
Yet, as more and more services get assemilated by for profit companies, and the bottom line becomes more and more important, the ones who lose out are the medics, the ones in the field saving lives.
When profit margins are examined, we are the first to take the hit when it comes to cutting costs.
I have spent 6 wonderful years in EMS, wonderful in the fact that I have had the privlege of working alongside some decent individuals. People that WANT the ball when the ultimate game is on the line...but I have also seen many of those same people leave this business because of the way they have been treated by big business. That leaves the burned out and the greenhorns, most of whom think they know it all in 3 months. This is what EMS is fast becoming. To a large extent, law enforcement does just that, enforces laws. Firefighters fight fires. The sole purpose of EMS is to preserve life, yet we continue to be the least compensated for our occupation. When cops get shot, they call us. When firefighters get burned or suffer smoke inhalation, they call us. In most every 911 call, we are present...often times by ourselves.
I'm not saying that we are more important than the other two services, but we DO deserve equal recocognition AND compensation. What does it say of the overall pool of people who work EMS when the guy who has 6 years at a grocery store makes more in salary and benifits than I do?
Do yourself a favor. Contact your local government, ask about your local EMS. It just may be a matter of life or death....come to think of it, it is.
Nowadays, you need at least a semester of college and about 50-80 hours of clinical work to apply your skills in the field under the supervision of licensed professionals, JUST to get in the door.
Bottom line, the requirements are greater, the liability greater, the sacrifice greater. (in terms of getting you patch)
Yet, as more and more services get assemilated by for profit companies, and the bottom line becomes more and more important, the ones who lose out are the medics, the ones in the field saving lives.
When profit margins are examined, we are the first to take the hit when it comes to cutting costs.
I have spent 6 wonderful years in EMS, wonderful in the fact that I have had the privlege of working alongside some decent individuals. People that WANT the ball when the ultimate game is on the line...but I have also seen many of those same people leave this business because of the way they have been treated by big business. That leaves the burned out and the greenhorns, most of whom think they know it all in 3 months. This is what EMS is fast becoming. To a large extent, law enforcement does just that, enforces laws. Firefighters fight fires. The sole purpose of EMS is to preserve life, yet we continue to be the least compensated for our occupation. When cops get shot, they call us. When firefighters get burned or suffer smoke inhalation, they call us. In most every 911 call, we are present...often times by ourselves.
I'm not saying that we are more important than the other two services, but we DO deserve equal recocognition AND compensation. What does it say of the overall pool of people who work EMS when the guy who has 6 years at a grocery store makes more in salary and benifits than I do?
Do yourself a favor. Contact your local government, ask about your local EMS. It just may be a matter of life or death....come to think of it, it is.