Ever since I was in college, I’ve always been fascinated by the way different systems ran.I always jumped at any chance I got to get on anyone else’s ambulance just to see how they did things.When I was around twenty years old, I belonged to two Volunteer EMS Departments, and would help out when a third was short.I also spent time doing ride time with out County Medic Units as I got ready to further my career inEMS. When I was a Paramedic Student, I spent the first week of my field internship on a 40-hour ride along with FDNY.I spent three days out ofMetropolitanHospital, and two days out ofJacobyHospitalinBrooklyn.While I got some good skills, I was more interested in how they worked.I took a lot from that experience, much like I did from my time inAlameda County,Californiawhich I’ve talked about ad nausium. Since I got into this whole Social Media craze back in February, I’ve met many people from many different systems big and small.One day this summer, I got to thinking, “How can I get a better picture of what everyone is doing?”The answer was right on my phone: Twitter.The result was the creation of a Hashtag, #MyEMSDay. Over the last six months, what started out as a few different contributors has grown to daily and hourly Tweets, vaguely detailing the events of everyone’s day.Each day, I see Tweets not only from theUSbut from all over the world.I get to see Paramedics and EMTs professionally and respectfully sharing their thoughts about the events of theirEMSsystem on that given day.Some people may vent, and some people may share that big call that they feel really good about, but all in all, it’s a way for everyone to see what everyone else is involved in. Do you follow #MyEMSDay?If not, you should add it to your Twitter, right next to #CoEMS, my other favorite Hashtag.Take a look, read a little bit, and share your own thoughts.We want to hear...

For the last couple of days, I’ve been reading a lot about the changes that have happened in Detroit, regarding their responses to EMS Calls.If you want to see a great summary of how it is working, check out RJ Stine’s take on it over at Hybridmedic. I’m not going to get into my views on tiered responses, and Priority Dispatch.Do I think its the right thing forDetroit?Honestly?I don’t.I think they have bigger problems to solve systemically that has nothing to do with putting more of their leadership on the chopping block, but for me to sit here and bad mouth what they are doing from 500 miles away just isn’t fair, so I am going to reserve my right to share my opinion until things progress a little more. I realize that I might have been very critical in the months that closed out 2010, and it was because all that I was hearing from Detroit Fire’s hierarchy was excuses and half hearted solutions to problems.Brainstorming, and tossing ideas around the table is one of my favorite things to do, but when you have the ear of the people who can make those changes happen, and you don’t take advantage of it, it just turns to lip service.That’s all that I was hearing from the previous leadership of Detroit Fire: lip service. I have decided to turn this post into positive words for the new leadership ofDetroit Fire.Why am I applauding them?Because without really saying it, they’ve admitted that there is a problem, and they’ve taken a step towards fixing it.Romewasn’t built in a day, andDetroit’sEMSproblems won’t be fixed overnight, but showing the willingness to change how things are done is a giant step in the right direction. Now, my advice to them as they progress is to continue to embrace change as an organization.Everything you try might not work the way you intend it to.Don’t get discouraged.Carry on with what works, and learn from the mistakes that are bound to happen.In time, you will find the formula that works perfectly forDetroit, and being fluid and willing to evolve over the next year or two will make that happen a lot quicker than...

CareerCast’s Best and Worst Jobs of 2011 have been released, and guess where Emergency Medical Technician ranks?That’s right, number 195!The career I have chosen is the 6th worst in the country. CareerCast evaluates the jobs based on Work Environment, Stress, Physical Demands, Hiring Outlook, and Income.If you’re interested in seeing their full methodology, its right here. I took a closer look at our score, and how we stood up against some higher ranked jobs.Our Work Environment score is comparable to that of a General Practice Physician, which is ranked #83.Job Stress is similar to that of a Lawyer, ranked #82.Our Physical Demands score is about the same as Heating and Refrigeration Mechanics, who are ranked #93, and our Hiring Outlook is better than the #20 ranked job of Economist. Where do we fall short?Its really no mystery: Income.As I perused the articles that accompanied CareerCast’s report, I stumbled on a great quote from Andrew Strieber in his piece about The Ten Worst Jobs of 2011: “. . . jobs like EMT have considerably better hiring prospects (than the others at the bottom of the list), but rank in the bottom 10 due to harsh working conditions, high stress, and inexcusably low pay given the extremely important nature of their work.“ Let those last couple of words resonate for just a few seconds: “inexcusably low pay given the extremely important nature of their work.”Mr. Strieber gets it.While his words are alarming, and spell out the struggle of our profession, its refreshing to me to see someone in the media voicing a concern with how our profession is treated, even if it is just an excerpt out of a Paragraph.So how do we fix it?How do we move forward in improving our profession, and moving up on the list? Its time to focus on establishing a united front as a profession.Once we come together, and take control of our own fate, we can improve so much of what we do, not only for ourselves but for our patients as well.For now though, we are left to be the pawns of the Public Safety and Medical communities. What’s the first step in getting out of this rut...

As I am writing this, its Tuesday afternoon, and my area is planning on spending much of Wednesday dealing with Blizzard-Like conditions.Predictions for my area are going anywhere from six inches of snow to a foot and a half.Only time will tell how much we end up getting. It’s Winter Time, and snow is a given where I live.We might not get as much as say, Tonawanda,New York, but we do alright here.So far this year, we have gotten pretty lucky, but all of that could change tomorrow.If a blizzard was to hit where you work, how ready are you for it?I’m not talking about your service, I’m talking about you personally. Do you have a Winter EMS Survival Kit?Maybe its time that you make one.I am fortunate enough that I live about a mile and a half from where I work, so the need for me to be “fully prepared” is not as great as it was, but when I lived farther away from work, I always had a kit in the trunk of my car that was ready to go if I ever needed it.Here’s what it had: 1.Spare clothes — I always carried a spare uniform with me, right down to the skivvies!You never know when you might need them, especially in the snowy, winter tundra ofNew England. 2.Two Pairs of Socks — As funny as it may sound, its always important to take care of your feet.One extra pair is good, but two will get you through for a while, if need be. 3.Shower Supplies — I always had an extra towel, along with soap, shampoo, and flip flops!While the towels in my service get washed, they’re also used to clean up the ambulances.Gross, right? 4.Toiletries — Always have a spare stick of deodorant, and a tooth brush and toothpaste handy.No one wants to sit in the truck with a stinky partner. 5.Extra Boots — Again, think about those feet!I usually go through two pairs of boots a year, one in the Spring and one in the Fall.Usually, my Spring/Summer boots are in good enough shape that they could still be worn if needed, so I keep them as a...

Just before the New Year, someone dropped off a huge bag full of Beanie Babies at our office. While its difficult to put unwrapped toys in the trucks for kids due to regulations, we graciously accepted the gift. In the weeks that followed, some of us adopted them as our personal “Mascots.” This guy caught my eye, and I snatched him up! His little Tag says his name was Paul. That really doesn’t seem appropriate to me, so I want to name him, and I want YOUR help! While some folks on Twitter offered up a few great suggestions, I think I’m looking for something more EMS related. So what do you think? What should I name...

I was visiting with one of our Educational Coordinators the other day, and I noticed this cartoon drawn by Paul Combs who you might have heard of over at The Happy Medic’s blog. Now, how does that cartoon make you feel?Do you have a little chuckle over it?Its very well drawn, and rather amusing, but to me, its quite alarming, and it defines our struggle pretty accurately. I fall short of saying that its the perfect depiction of the struggle of EMS because I would make one change to it.The yoke and egg whites would actually be money.Isn’t that really what it comes down to?Isn’t that really what is holding us back?Everyone is worried about getting their hand in the cookie jar, instead of worrying about what is truly important: the patients.Until that changes, we will continue to struggle, stay stagnant and fail to evolve Think about it: we are seeing abuse in every size and type of system, and if we redesign them to reduce transports, what does that mean?Less income.It will be very difficult the reduction of revenue flow in any service if you can’t supplement it from elsewhere.Municipal services such as Fire or 3rd Services use it to reduce their necessary tax basis.Private services use it to keep the trucks on the road, and the stakeholders happy. Simply put: money makes the EMS world go ’round. It shouldn’t matter if you get paid for this or you do it as a volunteer.It shouldn’t matter if you park your truck next to one that has hoses, or a police car, or another unstaffed ambulance.If you want the real answer to the question “Who does the best job providing prehospital care to the sick and injured?”it was best put into words by Michael Morse, author of Rescuing Providence: “An EMS system staffed by trained and motivated individuals is the most effective way to deliver quality patient care to the community.” I admit that I am taking his words out of context.At the time, he was talking about how efficient Providence Fire is at handling the EMS side of things in their city, but that sentence could be applied to any EMS system in...

2010 was a year of change for me, and a year of growth.EMSin the New Decade wasn’t my first attempt at blogging, but it’s the first time I’ve actually stuck with it.I was able to find my voice, and thanks to some help from some great people, I was able to get my voice out there to a much larger portion of our community. It all started with blogging for me, and after my experiences with some of the great friends I have made through the Social Media Community, that love of blogging expanded to Podcasting, which has become quite the addiction for me.What it all comes down to is if it wasn’t for people like RJ Stine, Kyle David Bates, Chris Montera, Natalie Quebodeaux and the whole Generation Medicine team, no one would have heard me. I created a simple pin, a symbol that has become a frequently displayed image on the internet, and has become associated with a great cause: EMS 2.0 and Chronicles of EMS.Thanks to Justin, Ted, and Mark for letting me play a little role as part of their team! Above everything else though, I’ve made some terrific friends.I could take up pages and pages naming them here.Through Tweets, text messages, Skype calls and blog comments, I’ve shared some great times and great moments with some incredible people.It’s an honor to know each and every one of you and I can’t wait to see what this year has to offer us. I have realized though that as 2011 opens, I still have a long way to go.While I have found my “voice” I am still growing comfortable with it.Very few people that I work with know about this blog.Slowly, I’ve become more comfortable with sharing it with some people, but that hasn’t been easy for me.I want more people to read it, but I also want more people to understand it, and learn from what I have said here, and the messages I plan on sharing in the future. While I was at EMS Expo in Dallas, I was sitting at the bar in the Sheraton with Steve Whitehead sharing a beer, while we waited for the rest of...