Changing the Face of EMS for the 22nd, 23rd Centuries

EMS has always been the forefront of Medicine, delivering care to the sick and injured in various roles since medicine was born. Where are we going now?

When you look at the trajectory of Nursing you can see where we are headed. When Nursing first started they were caring women who were treated as indentured servants, subservient to the male dominated physician. Then a change occurred, the servant became educated, got a language, diagnosis, did research, improved outcomes and generally broke free of the care assistant model they were in. EMS is headed in the same path.

We started out as transport, our curriculum was adopted and funded by the Department of Transportation, we have roots in DOT, PD, FD and the military but we are truly physician extenders that should be firmly rooted in the Health Department. EMS is now developing a language, doing research, schools are being accredited by national organizations, even continuing education has CAPCE, but we need to do more. Outreach will help accomplish what many have started, what picture does the general public have of EMS when we have been terrible for decades at self-promotion. Let’s be the ones who show the public what EMS is and are capable of, education like, “The Georgia Trauma Commission collaborated with the Georgia Society of the American College of Surgeons and the Georgia Committee on Trauma to create the "Stop the Bleed" campaign, which is designed to train school teachers, nurses and staff across the state on how to render immediate and potentially life-saving medical aid to injured students and co-workers while waiting for professional responders to arrive.” (2018, para. 4)  Doing this type of training allows us face time with the public so they can learn what we do and what we cannot.

One of the other important outreach programs to help us in this endeavor should be the Community Paramedic Program. We are seeing how this education is moving EMS into new and exciting roles in the community. “"First responders frequently respond to calls for social services. So, the emergency responders may know of people who need some sort of services or resources," Babbitt, a former fire chief, said. "This team could help connect those people with the services they need. It's about getting everybody to work together and communicate.” (2018, para. 4)

What we can do is start to get EMS in front of the general public, teach, open our historically closed doors to the folks that make it easier to do our jobs. Educate and learn how our roles are changing in modern day healthcare and embrace the change or be left in the dust by other healthcare professionals.

References

 (2018, Feb 1st, 2018). Ga. School Nurses Train to Stop the Bleed. The Brunswick News. Retrieved from https://www.emsworld.com/news/219782/ga-school-nurses-train-stop-bleed

(Ed.). (2018, January 30th, 2018). Conn. Fire Chiefs to Form Community Action Team . Norwich Bulletin. Retrieved from https://www.emsworld.com/news/219757/conn-fire-chiefs-form-community-action-team