I've made no bones about the fact that I think EMS is in trouble here in Massachusetts.
Until now, I've directed my opprobrium squarely at the people running the show here in the Commonwealth.
But sometimes we do it to ourselves.
An EMS "training" facility (and I use that term loooooooosely) is advertising a 20-day EMT-Basic course.
Let that sink in for a bit.
20 days.
Not even a month.
Not even 75 percent of a month.
How many other states in this country can you be, say, waiting tables at a Chili's today and in less than three weeks be listening to lung sounds?
Worse still, if the Powers That Be in Boston have their way, that same EMT graduate of almost 21 days of hard training will also insert an advanced, invasive airway device like the King LT.
It's a Shake and Bake disaster waiting to happen.
20 days....advanced airway devices.....some days it's enough to make me want to do something else for a living, and remove the numbers "9" and "1" from the phones of people I love.
Peak Overdose
2 weeks ago
5 comments:
20 days? That's a lifetime, man. What's next, a college degree too?
I'm not even impressed with the school unless they can get it down into the teens:
http://www.unitekeducation.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=123&Itemid=134
Is that 20 days of eight hour days or 20 days of four hour days, or what?
The problem isn't the 20 days, it's the fact that the basic EMT curriculum is so short.
EMS education in general needs to be much better or any attempts to "professionalize" EMS will be a joke.
Just as bad; there are 21 organizations recognized by Massachusetts OEMS teaching paramedic programs, six of which are actual accredited colleges or universities. Of the six five provide full Associates of Science degrees in Paramedicine with the sixth offering a Paramedic Certificate (as part of the education an Anatomy and Physiology course is required).
I wonder how many more programs (both ALS and BLS) like the the one from your post are really out there. For anyone interested, the link below will bring you to the Mass OEMS page which gives the names and addresses for every recognized Accredited EMS Training Institution. It brings to light that there are far too many programs out there putting out far too many poorly qualified providers. A good first start is paring down this list and having more quality control over those that are left.
http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=eohhs2terminal&L=5&L0=Home&L1=Provider&L2=Certification%2c+Licensure%2c+and+Registration&L3=Programs&L4=EMT+Training+Institution+Accreditation&sid=Eeohhs2&b=terminalcontent&f=dph_emergency_services_p_emt_training_institutions&csid=Eeohhs2
Unfortunately, a few days before you posted this I met an old college friend at a party. He was telling me how he was now an instructor for this EMT Boot Camp program. Obviously I was happy for him in finding a good job, but the more he explained it, the worse I felt. I took mine with Tim Kelly in Bolton. 6 months, and when i got out I was as green as could be. I know the military puts people through a similar fast and furious program, but in combat it's plug the hole and get the hell out of dodge. Medical is a different animal. What basic is going to learn in 20 days not to give a neb to cardiac wheezes or nasal narcan to a tachycardic patient? Leave it to be that I don't say much to that friend anymore
Nebs and Narcan -- wait until some of these folks at Med Services have their way and these EMTs are allowed to place King LTs....lunacy, absolute lunacy...
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