As you remember from my last post, recently, I have seen an increased interest in a lot of the blog posts and articles that I’ve been sharing with some of my coworkers. Now, here I was on a Sunday evening with our Training Coordinator sitting in front of my computer.
I went straight to http://www.levelzeromovie.com Ever since Ted Setla released his documentary about Alameda County EMS, I’ve been trying to find some way to work it into sharing it with as many employees as I could. He paints the providers in the movie as true professionals who love their jobs. Their messages and words of wisdom are so powerful and should be heard and understood by anyone who is trying to get into this field.
After showing him the Level Zero trailer, I told Dave that I thought that this would be a great way to spend 20 minutes of our New Employee Academy. He liked what he saw, and liked what he had heard, and told me that if I could get him access to it and permission from Ted to use it, he’d be happy to include it. Well, 20 minutes later, after a brief conversation with Ted, I had everything lined up and ready to go for the premier of Level Zero at my company.
Monday morning, I was still handing out a few copies of Steve Whitehead’s Blog Posts. People were reading them and saying, “Wow, yeah, that makes sense.” Or “that’s the exact problem that we’re having here!” Eyes were starting to open. At 9am, I walked into our daily management meeting, laptop in hand. After we had gone through the regular business, I looked at a few other members of the management team. “Can I borrow you guys for 20 minutes?” Three of them agreed to stick around, and I fired up my Netbook, and started streaming Level Zero for them.
To say that the reactions that I got from them were positive would be an understatement. Not only were they impressed with the quality of the production, but they loved the message behind it all. They loved how the providers were portrayed not only as EMTs and Paramedics but as people. They loved how the focus wasn’t on the “action.” While the action was present, the movie focuses on what it means to be an EMS Provider, and how just one person can have an impact on their patient and the community they serve. That’s very special, and powerful thing.
The environment I work in is one that isn’t always very receptive to change. People just seem to want to plug along from day to day, and not be bothered. I was starting to get discouraged about the lack of a desire to move forward, and thought that things would never change. Then, in the last week, I’ve seen us take what I feel is a huge step forward. People are starting to sit up and take notice of what is out there. They’re reading, they’re watching, and they’re listening.
To everyone out there who is involved in the EMS 2.0 movement, and are “agents of change” (and if you’re reading this, I’m sure you probably are) stick to what you believe in. Keep sharing your opinions and views. Eventually, you’re going to find someone who is not only willing to listen, but will in turn share what they’ve learned from you with those around them.
That is where it starts. That is how we help the movement grow.