So, you think that your EMS system is broken? Maybe even that EMS is broken? And you’ve got the solutions: enhanced education, independent practice of paramedicine, an expanded scope of practice, getting rid of the deadwood, and definitely increasing the pay.
Well, la-di-da. Welcome to the party. You’re by no means the first and won’t be the last either. Plenty of smart people have tried to do the same things. The state of Texas initially was going to create a new level of paramedic to do just that. In the legislative process, it got watered down to be the same level of paramedic, but with an associate’s degree or higher. (See “licensed paramedic” in Texas.) Several bloggers have pushed for EMS 2.0. Mark Glencourse and Justin Schorr in particular. Big name EMS educators like Kelly Grayson, too. And the EMS Agenda for the Future started out with pretty lofty educational standards that were lowered to meet the needs of certain providers.
Plenty of people as smart as you (or even smarter) have said the same things. Just as many of them have been like shooting stars — burning brightly, then fizzling out (or even crashing) rapidly. Heck, I’ve even been in that fight myself. (See my formerly ongoing pointless battle with a large third service EMS system about credentialing first responders as advanced providers.)
So what to do? Simple. Find the best EMS system that you can practice in. One that works for you. Make it the best place to be a medic that you can make it. And the bad stuff? The parts you don’t like? Roll with it a little. Things can be a lot worse.
In the words of Kenny Rogers, “You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em,
Know when to walk away and know when to run.”
