EMS Avenger Podcast

Can EMS really become a true profession without providing a clinical ladder that allows continued education and growth? Currently when a paramedic graduates from Paramedic school, that's really all there is. There are additional certifications to be obtained, but in obtaining them there is still very little room for growth in terms of ownership and authority. David Fifer and I transition from a conversation about degrees for Paramedics and to a conversation about the Paramedic Practitioner in part two of "One Degree of Separation: Paramedics and Practitioners".

Degrees shouldn't be a divisive topic in EMS, but they are. It's a also a topic that tends to be fatiguing, but there's a saying "When you're tired of saying it, people are just starting to hear it". David Fifer doesn't seem to have tired of the message, and I'm here for it. David and I got together to talk about degrees for Paramedics, where the nuance is in the discussion is, why we often sound like elitist pricks when we talk about degrees, and why the discussion has almost nothing to do with being able to start an IV or follow a protocol. This is part one of the discussion. Part two will transition over to the topic of the paramedic practitioner.

Nick Nudell returns one year following his debut appearance on my debut episode of my podcast. We get right into it, discussing EMS as an essential service, volunteerism, rural overtime, degrees for paramedics, the fire/EMS paradigm, and what paramedics need to do to become a profession. No stone is left unturned! One correction to a statistic mentioned within the episode- I cited 15% as the percentage of paramedics working full time in the field. This number is closer to 30% according to pooled sources.

Dr. Brandon Morshedi is a humble, unassuming physician and medical director who is in a significant position of influence, both locally and nationally. He is also ahead of the curve as far as keeping up with educational trends and harnessing the power of those trends keep providers invested in that education. We discuss his position on the National Association OF EMS Physicians, recent positions NAEMSP has taken on subject like pelvic binders and spinal immobilization, the rise of the social media educator, and how that impacts EMS education.

New Orleans EMS has been making headlines. But not for the reasons they SHOULD be making headlines. Bill Salmeron, the chief and director for New Orleans EMS joins me to tell me what New Orleans EMS is doing RIGHT, and acknowledging that whatever struggles New Orleans EMS has isn't a unique or localized problem. EMS is struggling. Not meeting response times is indicative of how outdated using response times as a benchmark of performance is to begin with. Recruitment and retention is a nationwide problem. Compensation is a nationwide problem. The social safety net that EMS becomes is not specific to New Orleans. But what IS specific to New Orleans is their early adoption of a blood/component program. They published the receipts and demonstrated how an EMS services rises above whatever challenges it faces and does right for the community it serves. Bill was also able to confirm that on the very day we recorded he secured increased compensation for his people!