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Making Paramedicine a Profession

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Time to build our paramedic profession infrastructure

It appears that our physician colleagues accomplished more than paramedics since 1968, establishing Emergency Medicine as a specialty in 1979 and Emergency Medical Services as a subspecialty in 2010. (How EMS physicians became recognized and rewarded)

The development of the National EMS Educational Standards in 2009 is a more significant development. (EMS Future is HERE)

Emergency Medicine built upon an existing graduate medical education structure

The significant physician accomplishments were built upon a well-established graduate medical education infrastructure.

A September 2006 article in the New England Journal of Medicine describes the foundation of medical education:

Almost a century ago, Abraham Flexner, a research scholar at the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, undertook an assessment of medical education in North America, visiting all 155 medical schools then in operation in the United States and Canada. His 1910 report, addressed primarily to the public, helped change the face of American medical education.

American Medical Education 100 Years after the Flexner Report

Two physician members of the National Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee referenced the Flexner report when discussing update options to the 2009 National EMS Educational Standards in an all-day roundable on March 28, 2012 (agenda).

All professions with significant academic preparation go through this type of review process.

I used the results from evaluation of the Masters in Business Administration program to discuss the state of EMS Education in 2009.

The Ford Foundation and Carnegie Corporation criticized business graduate education in 1959 as filled with:

  • Weak Students
  • Inappropriately trained faculty members
  • Unintellectual curriculum
  • Poor research

What Direction for EMS Education?

From "sticky side down" first aid mechanic to health care professional

The 2009 Educational Standards vaults paramedicine out of the vocational training arena. It will have the same impact as the Flexner report had on physician education and the Ford/Carnegie reports had on Masters in Business Administration programs.

But we have signficant gaps to fill to satisfy the medical professional model.

Need appropriately trained faculty members

I will never forget talking to a community college assistant dean about the Educational Standards. An experienced paramedic with years as a state-credentialed paramedic instructor, she shared that she recently got her associate degree. The associate degree was from the same paramedic program she was running. Not sure she could complete a bachelor degree.

Most community college leaders are required to have master's degree, often they have a Ph.D. or Ed.D. terminal degree.

I have no doubt she is a dedicated, passionate and effective paramedic instructor … but she needs better academic credentials.

The biggest push back to CoAEMSP accreditation of paramedic programs was the requirement that the program director have a bachelor degree. (2008 fact sheet)

In the academic world, those with terminal doctorial degrees "create knowledge" and impact professional/graduate educational programs.

Will you step up?

Mike "FossilMedic" Ward

Posted by on May 22, 2012 • Filed under: Administration & Leadership, EMS Topics, Patient Management, Training & Development • Tagged: , , , , , , ,

A silly commercial or slap at paramedics?

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Burger King is promoting their breakfast products with “over the top” silly ads.

There was a brief scene with an ambulance crew on their first breakfast campaign commercial, covered by JEMS HERE

This one is all-paramedic

Or am I providing “enhanced advertising through social media.”

What do you think?

Edited to add:

Marketing analysis from Marketing 4.0: Emerging Media and Marketing Ideas blog (HERE)

The girl watering her lawn while drinking an iced coffee causes the parade of primarily men to crash into trees, planting arrangements, and other items. Which adds yet another hysterical twist. The commercial caused all of us, over 8 people in a room, to stop what we were doing to see what was happening in this commercial. Which, is hard to do in today’s world of media overload and commercials galore. I thought it was great because it conveyed the menu items in a very memorable fashion, while using a similar comedy theme to their other promotions.

< <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

The stuntman who jumped out of the second floor window in the original ad broke his leg – the jump remains in the commercial.

Mike “FossilMedic” Ward

Posted by on October 10, 2010 • Filed under: EMS Topics, Patient Management, Videos • Tagged: , , , ,

Denver Paramedic Sentenced to 12 Years for Assaulting Patient

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ALAN MILLER, 31, WAS SENTENCED TO 12 years in prison following his conviction for assaulting and severely injuring a patient in his Denver Health EMS ambulance last January.

Alan Miller

The patient was suffering from seizures and was being transported under restraint to the hospital, but when they arrived at the ER the patient had a fractured skull, nose and eye socket, inuries that he didn’t have when they left the patient’s home.  Miller at first said that he was only defending himself after the patient had broken free from his restraints.  He later claimed that the injuries had been inflicted by a police officer that had responded to assist him.

KUSA-TV Ch. 9 REPORTS (HERE):

According to court documents first obtained by 9Wants to Know, Miller responded to a call at the home of Tim Smith in southwest Denver on Jan. 3. Smith had suffered a seizure.

When the ambulance arrived at Denver Health Medical Center, Smith’s skull was fractured and his nose and eye socket were broken. Smith’s wife said he didn’t have those injuries when he left their house.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence from another paramedic who was on the call that night. Shaunna King told investigators Miller overreacted to Smith’s struggling against his restraints. She said she witnessed Miller repeatedly punch the patient in the head and stomach.

A police internal affairs investigation concluded that the officer had not contributed to the incident or injuries.

Miller was convicted last month of 2nd-degree assault causing serious bodily injury and filing a false report.  Yesterday, Friday a judge sentenced him to 12 years imprisonment noting that not only did Miller injure someone he was supposed to be caring for, he also had tried to avoid responsibility by blaming the assault on an innocent law enforcement officer.

Posted by on November 14, 2009 • Filed under: ambulances, EMS Topics, Law & Justice • Tagged: , , , , , ,