Ambulance Driver = EMT = Medic

[ffemt8978]

Well, I guess nobody agrees with me. This is why I am currently pre-med and so many of my friends who were great paramedics now have their RN or MD or DO. This is why we don't get the respect we deserve at the hospitals. This is why I get paid only 12 bucks an hour running on average 9 calls in a 12 hour shift in the inner city. This is why we are turning into a taxi service for the poor. I see paramedics in other countries who are respected and there are long waiting lists of applicants hoping beyond hope to work on a moble intensive care unit, not a glorified taxi like here in the USA. Tell you what, lets just let RN's start calling themselves doctors. After all, they work really hard and do a lot of the same things MD's do. It's just to hard remembering the difference between MD and RN so lets call all of them doctors to make it simple for people. Besides, we cant let the ego of our MDs get out of control, we cant let them actually take pride in their superior training can we?

Okay, now I'm confused....

Since nobody agrees with you about this subject, that is the cause of the lack of respect you feel you deserve from the hospitals? Or am I just misunderstanding you because of your superior training?

Taking pride in your accomplishments is a great thing, and you should do that. Taking that same pride and looking down or being condesending towards others that haven't completed that same training is arrogance, not pride.

I agree that sometimes it seems like we are nothing more than an expensive taxi service for the poor. But is that caused by the EMT's that cover approximately 90% of the area in this country, or could it be caused by our current healthcare system? Things like COBRA, malpractice and negligence lawsuits, providing lifesaving medical care to people that can't afford it, and such.

Getting back to keeping it simple for people, I always thought "paramedic" meant "similar to a medic", not "medic". The only true medics that I know of were in the military. By the way, what's printed on your certification (not your degree)? "Paramedic" or "Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic"?

 

[Guardian]

Ego's can be a good thing guys. Do you want some timid little MD preforming emergency surgery on you or do you want a larger than life cocky know it all who can back up what he/she says. Sure, too much of anything can be a bad thing but in the words of the great Dr. Phil, "lets get real." Farmer brown with emt-b training does not deserve to hold my title. People should not be lied too (ex. dispatcher telling someone that paramedics are on the way and having a couple of FR's show up). When an emergency MD steps into the trauma room in the ED, does he say "were all equals here, what do you think i should do?" or does he start giving orders. I know for a fact that my ego has saved lives..........................just something to think about

 

[Guardian]

Okay, now I'm confused....

Since nobody agrees with you about this subject, that is the cause of the lack of respect you feel you deserve from the hospitals? Or am I just misunderstanding you because of your superior training?

commenting of english grammer skills to avoid real issues are we?

Taking pride in your accomplishments is a great thing, and you should do that. Taking that same pride and looking down or being condesending towards others that haven't completed that same training is arrogance, not pride.

Your right, I tired of those condesending MDs looking down on RNs

I agree that sometimes it seems like we are nothing more than an expensive taxi service for the poor. But is that caused by the EMT's that cover approximately 90% of the area in this country, or could it be caused by our current healthcare system? Things like COBRA, malpractice and negligence lawsuits, providing lifesaving medical care to people that can't afford it, and such.

Sure the health care system plays a big role in our problems but they won't give us the time of day if they don't respect us

Getting back to keeping it simple for people, I always thought "paramedic" meant "similar to a medic", not "medic". The only true medics that I know of were in the military. By the way, what's printed on your certification (not your degree)? "Paramedic" or "Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic"?

FYI, I consider myself to be way above the average military combat medic trained in crash course of BTLS. I'm trained to handle almost every emergency in every age group with state of the art equipment.

 

[JJR512]

Ego's can be a good thing guys. Do you want some timid little MD preforming emergency surgery on you or do you want a larger than life cocky know it all who can back up what he/she says.

I want the best doctor performing emergency surgery on me, and I don't care what his personality or ego is, I don't care if he's timid or a loudmouth. You're combining two different things in an attempt to make a point and it doesn't hold up. Just because one doctor acts like a "cocky know-it-all", it doesn't necessarily mean he can back up what he says. Nor does it necessarily follow that the timid doctor isn't one of the best doctors on the planet.

Sure, too much of anything can be a bad thing but in the words of the great Dr. Phil, "lets get real." Farmer brown with emt-b training does not deserve to hold my title.

Somehow I doubt Dr. Phil would really approve of your attitude, but that's beside the point...Getting back to the point: Nobody is suggesting EMT-Bs be given your title. Your title is "EMT-P" or "Paramedic". In case you didn't notice, what some are suggesting is the title "medic" be universally applied to all pre-hospital emergency medicine providers whose certification titles start with "EMT", whethever what follows is "-P", "-B", "-I" or whatever. Please try to understand that. You're a "paramedic", people are suggesting all EMTs at any level be called "medics" for brevity and clarity, "medic" does not equal "paramedic", so nobody is suggesting that non-paramedics be called by your title. So get over it.

Oh, and please stop equating all EMT-Bs with redneck bubba farmer brown. Just as those guys wouldn't like being called "city folk", those of us who actually are city folk don't like being called redneck bubbas. (Short version of this paragraph: If you're trying to make an enlightening point, don't make ignorant generalizations.) Thank you.

 

[Guardian]

I tend to think you are the one tring to generalize. I never said every emt-b was a lowly redneck. Believe it or not, even i was an EMT-B once a long time ago. You're the one generalizing calling every tom, **** and uncle joe bob with an emt card a medic.

 

[Guardian]

my only point was that ego is not always a bad thing and from my experience, the good healthcare providers usually have big egos for a reason.

 

[MMiz]

I'm a bit late to the fun, but I can't help but jump in. My BS-o-meter is ringing off the charts.

Well, I guess nobody agrees with me. This is why I am currently pre-med and so many of my friends who were great paramedics now have their RN or MD or DO.

Being pre-med is like winning the Special Olympics... well you get my drift. You could be pre-med at a community college, or pre-med at Johns Hopkins.

I thought you didn't know any DOs? I thought they weren't common? Around here we have tons of DOs. Sometimes I've been at a hospital and couldn't find an MD.

This is why we don't get the respect we deserve at the hospitals. This is why I get paid only 12 bucks an hour running on average 9 calls in a 12 hour shift in the inner city.

There are many reasons why you don't get the respect at the hospital. The hospitals respect me and my partners quite a bit. We treat the hospital staff with respect, dress neatly, do a damn good job, and treat the patients as we'd treat our own family, and the RNs and MDs love us (even the DO's!)

You make $12 for many reasons. Partly because of the lack of education required to be both an EMT and Paramedic, partly because of the high cost of providing EMS services, and partly because a million other reasons. In the inner-city around here Paramedics make $16 an hour, and the real money in EMS comes with overtime. I don't know many other professions that give out so much overtime!

This is why we are turning into a taxi service for the poor.

Really? Oh god help me now. EMS is a taxi for the poor for hundreds of reasons. I can't think of a single reason that includes an EMT as the excuse.

I see paramedics in other countries who are respected and there are long waiting lists of applicants hoping beyond hope to work on a moble intensive care unit, not a glorified taxi like here in the USA.

I work for a service in a country called the United States of America. There is a waiting list to be hired at my service, and Paramedics go through intensive college-sponsored training to become Critical Care Paramedics. They even get a huge truck with more crap on it than could ever fit in my BLS mod (We moved up from the Type II vans last year, life has been great).

Tell you what, lets just let RN's start calling themselves doctors. After all, they work really hard and do a lot of the same things MD's do.

Nah, we have nurses and doctors. A nurse is an RN, BSN, LPN, etc. Doctors are the MDs and DOs. A doctor is a doctor, and a nurse is a nurse.

It's just to hard remembering the difference between MD and RN so lets call all of them doctors to make it simple for people. Besides, we cant let the ego of our MDs get out of control, we cant let them actually take pride in their superior training can we?

Deep breath... in.. and out... and in.... and out.

When I read your first message, and then your reply, my first instinct was to tell you to take a deep breath, go sit in a chair outside my classroom, and write down on a piece of paper why I sent you out there.

Then you'd write "Because you disagree with what I say," to which I'd reply "Nah, that's just a cop-out."

I'd then ask you why you were so angry. Did I make you angry? Did I treat you unfairly? What about some of your board-mates? Did someone on this forum treat you unfairly?

You'd give me some BS response about this, that, and why you're a damn good paramedic. I'd reassure you that you may be the best damn paramedic on this forum, but that you're clearly angry about something else.

When it was all said and done we'd be at the root of the problem; why you're so insecure about your position as a Paramedic.

See, I stole this example from my seventh grade classroom. I think this is your issue, not ours.

I love when people disagree. I love to have a passionate debate. But I absolutely won't tolerate ignorance or belittling of others in my classroom or my forum.

That said, I think you need to take some time to evaluate your insecurities. There are countless ways that each and every forum member on this forum is better than you, but they're far too humble to belittle you.

They're professionals.

 

[Guardian]

[/QUOTE]

I want the best doctor performing emergency surgery on me, and I don't care what his personality or ego is, I don't care if he's timid or a loudmouth. You're combining two different things in an attempt to make a point and it doesn't hold up. Just because one doctor acts like a "cocky know-it-all", it doesn't necessarily mean he can back up what he says. Nor does it necessarily follow that the timid doctor isn't one of the best doctors on the planet.


Somehow I doubt Dr. Phil would really approve of your attitude, but that's beside the point...Getting back to the point: Nobody is suggesting EMT-Bs be given your title. Your title is "EMT-P" or "Paramedic". In case you didn't notice, what some are suggesting is the title "medic" be universally applied to all pre-hospital emergency medicine providers whose certification titles start with "EMT", whethever what follows is "-P", "-B", "-I" or whatever. Please try to understand that. You're a "paramedic", people are suggesting all EMTs at any level be called "medics" for brevity and clarity, "medic" does not equal "paramedic", so nobody is suggesting that non-paramedics be called by your title. So get over it.

Oh, and please stop equating all EMT-Bs with redneck bubba farmer brown. Just as those guys wouldn't like being called "city folk", those of us who actually are city folk don't like being called redneck bubbas. (Short version of this paragraph: If you're trying to make an enlightening point, don't make ignorant generalizations.) Thank you.

"nobody is suggesting that non-paramedics be called by your title...So get over it"

well i'll be, i'm over it now. I was really upset there for a second but now i am totally over it just because you said to get over it so thanks

I'm going to try and make this as simple as i can, when you call everyone Medic, people will not know the difference from an emt and paramedic. When you call yourself a medic, people will mistake your job from mine. I'm sure this makes you very happy because you would love to be a paramedic but as for me, i feel sick. Put yourself in my shoes for a second. I told a family member what i did not to long ago and they automatically compared me to an emt they knew who volunteered down from where they lived. This volunteer was a fairly typical obese, beer drinking, redneck with huge tires on his tiny peice of crap ford explorer complete with rebel flag. This guy has an 8th grade education. In short, i love the guy, but i want people to know that i'm a little better than him and that what i do is a real career and not just an excuse to come and watch tv with my friends at the station.........get the picture?

 

[ffemt8978]

Thanks, MMiz. I was trying to figure out how to say the same thing, but being out in the sticks I guess I'm not edumacted enough yet.

 

[Guardian]

I'm a bit late to the fun, but I can't help but jump in. My BS-o-meter is ringing off the charts.



Being pre-med is like winning the Special Olympics... well you get my drift. You could be pre-med at a community college, or pre-med at Johns Hopkins.

I thought you didn't know any DOs? I thought they weren't common? Around here we have tons of DOs. Sometimes I've been at a hospital and couldn't find an MD.



There are many reasons why you don't get the respect at the hospital. The hospitals respect me and my partners quite a bit. We treat the hospital staff with respect, dress neatly, do a damn good job, and treat the patients as we'd treat our own family, and the RNs and MDs love us (even the DO's!)

You make $12 for many reasons. Partly because of the lack of education required to be both an EMT and Paramedic, partly because of the high cost of providing EMS services, and partly because a million other reasons. In the inner-city around here Paramedics make $16 an hour, and the real money in EMS comes with overtime. I don't know many other professions that give out so much overtime!



Really? Oh god help me now. EMS is a taxi for the poor for hundreds of reasons. I can't think of a single reason that includes an EMT as the excuse.



I work for a service in a country called the United States of America. There is a waiting list to be hired at my service, and Paramedics go through intensive college-sponsored training to become Critical Care Paramedics. They even get a huge truck with more crap on it than could ever fit in my BLS mod (We moved up from the Type II vans last year, life has been great).



Nah, we have nurses and doctors. A nurse is an RN, BSN, LPN, etc. Doctors are the MDs and DOs. A doctor is a doctor, and a nurse is a nurse.



Deep breath... in.. and out... and in.... and out.

When I read your first message, and then your reply, my first instinct was to tell you to take a deep breath, go sit in a chair outside my classroom, and write down on a piece of paper why I sent you out there.

Then you'd write "Because you disagree with what I say," to which I'd reply "Nah, that's just a cop-out."

I'd then ask you why you were so angry. Did I make you angry? Did I treat you unfairly? What about some of your board-mates? Did someone on this forum treat you unfairly?

You'd give me some BS response about this, that, and why you're a damn good paramedic. I'd reassure you that you may be the best damn paramedic on this forum, but that you're clearly angry about something else.

When it was all said and done we'd be at the root of the problem; why you're so insecure about your position as a Paramedic.

See, I stole this example from my seventh grade classroom. I think this is your issue, not ours.

I love when people disagree. I love to have a passionate debate. But I absolutely won't tolerate ignorance or belittling of others in my classroom or my forum.

That said, I think you need to take some time to evaluate your insecurities. There are countless ways that each and every forum member on this forum is better than you, but they're far too humble to belittle you.

They're professionals.

Please go back and read this thread carefully, you're so far off the mark it isn't even funny............where do i even start?......................

your pre-med comment is valid but you missed my point that GOOD PEOPLE ARE LEAVING EMS, that was the point for god sakes

I never said i didn't know any DO's, you dreamed this up, I simply wrote there are far fewer DOs than MDs and if where you live there are more DOs then thats just plain weird in my opinion

If you read on, you would have seen that I blame our low wages on a lack of respect for ems providers and that bubba will certainly not help with this problem

by saying that all RNs should be called doctors, I was sarcastic Removed Personal Attack,, you would see the obvious comparsion( RN is to MD as Emt-b is to Paramedic)

Lastly, i'm not angry, i'm just passionate about this issue.............

 

[Guardian]

for once, i agree with you....................just kidding

 

[Guardian]

In my last post, i was a little meaner than i meant to be, so i'm going to do something that i never do and say i'm sorry. now, bring it on suckers, i really feel strongly about this issue and i'm willing to debate it everyday if i have to. I will do just about anything to save our profession.

 

[Chimpie]

...I'm going to try and make this as simple as i can, when you call everyone Medic, people will not know the difference from an emt and paramedic.

People already don't know the difference between EMT and Paramedic. The only ones that do are the ones in the profession (MFRs, EMTs, Paramedics, and some doctors and nurses).

Most of the general public has no idea. All they know is that they called 911, an ambulance shows up on scene, they put the pt in the back of the ambulance and they go to the hospital. They know they pt is getting some kind of care on the way to the hospital but they don't know what. And all they really care about is that they get the best care possible.

They are not concerned with titles, and neither should you. It's the care that you are providing the patient that is most important. Anything else is just wasted air.

 

[JJR512]

What Chimpie has said above was going to be pretty much my point in response to Post #48 above: To the patient, it doesn't matter if we're an EMT-B or -I or -P. They just want to be helped.

Imagine this little scenario: Patient is on the ground for whatever reason, 911 has been called, an ambulance shows up with an EMT-B and a Paramedic. They walk up to the patient. One says, "Hi, I'm JJR512, I'm an EMT," the other says, "Hi, I'm Guardian, I'm a Paramedic." The patient looks at both and says, "Are you here to help me?" Both say yes. The patient smiles.

Get it?

We all already have several common titles. We're all EMTs at one level or another. We're all pre-hospital emergency medical providers. But it's not really that easy or expedient to walk up to a patient and say, "Hi, I'm Justin, I'm a pre-hospital emergency medical provider with the Anne Arundel County Fire Department."

For the record, I am not yet decided one way or the other on the use of "medic". I agree with many people here that it may be the best simple term to use for pre-hospital providers. However, in my (admittedly short, and only as a student) experience so far, nobody has been confused by the term EMT. Everyone I have talked to knows that EMT = pre-hospital emergency medical provider. They also know that Paramedic = pre-hospital emergency medical provider. I don't know if they know the difference between EMT and Paramedic or not, but once again, to the patient, it doesn't matter if they know what the difference is or even if there is a difference.

The only people that difference really matters to are the people who train, certify, supervise, work with, and pay (if applicable, as many are volunteers) you.

 

[TripperAdam]

Guardian, your "passion" in this issue is that :censored by Chimpie: and like someone else mentioned, your source of anger is YOUR issue. Yes, you're ego --- you keep suggesting that every EMT is a redneck, bear drinking bubba.... but I bet back you you were an EMT B you'd be asking for more respect, and you certainly wouldn't appreciate a Paramedic down talking you.
Someone who is an EMT-B can certainly be as dedicated at their profession, at saving lives. Just because you've gotten extra training doesn't make you "better" than that other person. Sure, you've got a higher scope of practice, way more in-depth knowledge of the human body and how to keep it living... but doesn't make you a better person.
Pride is useful for putting oneself on a pedestal, if that's what you want - If you feel that you need to cushion yourself from your peers of lower training. It will easily set you up for dissapointment later on, once you start to drive potential friends away.
Pull your head out, take a deep breath, and ask yourself:
"What goals and values might I share with an EMT? Why I am in EMS? Why is that EMT-B in EMS? Does it make sense for me to look down on them?"

 

[Wingnut]

There is a HUGE difference between confidence and ego.

There are some people who work in EMS to help people and some who work for the uniform, the "celebrity" (what there is of it), and these are the people who are usually pissed off about things like this.

And that's all I have to say about that.

 

[TripperAdam]

P.S.

You used the example "my ego has saved lives", and that you'd rather see a cocky doctor than a quiet one.

I think what you're trying to say is that a beneficial attribute in ER or EMS is to be "assertive," is to make things happen quickly. Yes, this may imply that orders need to be barked from the person of highest training. It's irrelevent what the person thinks of themself --- an egalitarian can still get things done as just as quickly as someone with "cranical rectal inversion."
It's confidence that will make someone an proficient "medic,"... but confidence doesn't imply pride.

 

[BrandoEMT]

I don't have much time here so I'll post more in-depth later but can we all agree that we are ALL EMTs? We're just a different letter at the end. At my new company they distingush us as EMT or Paramedic. Instead, why don't we call ourselves Basics, Intermediates, Tacticals and Paramedics?

Yes being passionate is a good attribute, I think everyone on this thread needs to cool down a bit.

Let me continue this later. See Ya!

B

 

[Jon]

Holy Cow... I'm away for a day or two, and I miss ALL this arguement?

I'm going to try and make this as simple as i can, when you call everyone Medic, people will not know the difference from an emt and paramedic. When you call yourself a medic, people will mistake your job from mine.

Can they tell the difference now? I've had my choice of phrases to use (with different squads) when I knock on doors or introduce myself... Fire Department, Ambulance, EMT, Paramedics, EMS. I've never had someone know the difference between them. Never had anyone other than an on-scene EMT ask if I'm ALS vs. BLS. No one knows the difference between a MFR firefighter and a EMT-P until we explain it.

I'm sure this makes you very happy because you would love to be a paramedic

I do want to be a paramedic... but I want to "earn" the title. I'm not really fond of the "Medic" idea either, but some places (Israel) have "Medic" vs. "Paramedic"

but as for me, i feel sick. Put yourself in my shoes for a second. I told a family member what i did not to long ago and they automatically compared me to an emt they knew who volunteered down from where they lived.

You are similar. You are in the same field... you just have more training, and probably do this for money rather than for free.

A Peditrician has the same basic training as a Neurosurgeon... The Neurosurgeon just has a LOAD more training in some VERY complex stuff... Peditricians can still treat patients, and are sometimes better at the "basic" stuff... They just aren't high-end specialists.

This volunteer was a fairly typical obese, beer drinking, redneck with huge tires on his tiny peice of crap ford explorer complete with rebel flag. This guy has an 8th grade education.

So?

In short, i love the guy, but i want people to know that i'm a little better than him and that what i do is a real career and not just an excuse to come and watch tv with my friends at the station.........get the picture?

Plenty of EMT's do this as a "real career" too. You don't have to be a paramedic to do this as a career. However, if you ARE doing this as a career, I think we agree that you should be a caring and PROFESSIONAL provider. I've seen plenty of folks who are caring and professional EMT's work as Volunteers. It seems your issue with "Bubba" is his "presentation"


Anyway... I'm tired, and I think I can't go to bed yet... I just had someone call and ask if we'd take them to "their" hospital... I told them to call 9-1-1. I'm 2nd crew, but 1st crew is out... Darn.. I've got to work tomorrow. Anyway.. if this isn't totally logical... I'm sorry... I'll correct any misconceptions Sunday or Monday

Jon

 

[RebelRescue]

I want Paramedics to be looked at as Gods so that we can attract the best to this profession and make it something we can all be proud of.

Dam talk about a serious case of paragod syndrome.Did you take a special class in egotistical or does that just come naturally?