Re: [Fwd: Paramedics vote 99% in favour of strike]

[Guest guest]

I agree with you Gene. One point you failed to address is the necessity of more

funding for EMS from the Federal level. When 60%-65% of budget dollars are

already going to payroll and benefits, there must be an increase in funding

before there can be a significant increase in wages. A concern I have, is the

perception in the public that EMS personnel, like firefighters, earn money for

doing very little. (Must be changed) I have heard EMS folks make the statement

" EMS stands for earn money sleeping. " We must change this image in order to

generate greater revenues. The agenda for the future must include ways to

generate greater efficiency from our operations. I see great potentials for the

future as well as many " stumbling blocks " between us and where I believe we all

would like to be. Thank you for your perspectives and sound reasoning.

EASTEX EMS

WEGandy@... wrote:

> My recipe for Improvement of Quality in the EMS Profession:

>

> 1. Increase the educational standards. Bite the bullet. Require a minimum

> AAS degree for paramedic. Not immediately, but with a phase-in. Give people

> a reasonable amount of time, but gut up and make the requirement into law.

> Require a minimum number of college courses for Basic EMT: A & P and a writing

> course. Altogether less than 15 credit hours and ALL available over the

> Internet.

>

> 2. Provide waivers and variances for volunteers and rural personnel so that

> care in those areas are not affected.

>

> 3. Join a professional organization. Stop whining. Just DO IT! Pay your

> money, whether it be $35 a year or $50 a year, and GET INVOLVED.

>

> 4. Develop a first-name relationship with your representative and senator in

> the Texas Legislature. Call them, write them, email them, and go to see them

> and EDUCATE them to the issues of EMS and your needs.

>

> 5. Form a local association if your service is large enough. Notice I did

> NOT say UNION. In Texas, UNION is for the most part a naughty word. You

> CANNOT STRIKE NOR THREATEN TO STRIKE. The public will turn on you in a

> minute as they well should. But an association of your peers can do wonders

> for you. Management will listen to you if you approach them with

> intelligence and reason. After all, it costs them money every time they have

> to bring in a new hire. Better to keep the good ones they already have. But

> many times there is no dialog between the troops and the bosses. You CAN

> change that but it can't be done with a club. It has to be done with

> reasoned and articulated negotiation.

>

> 6. Become involved in public education. I recently responded to a physician

> from another state who had commented on one of my posts by talking about when

> " ambulance drivers " refuse transport. Needless to say, I educated her about

> the use of that term and she was appropriately responsive. But what about

> the general public? The great thing about having a strong organization is

> that it could buy advertising time and educate the public about what we do.

> We need that. We don't need any more ads for big services where they tout

> their greatness; we need ads telling people what we do INDIVIDUALLY as EMTs

> and Paramedics. We need to teach the people that we do immensely complex and

> wonderful things for barely more than minimum wage. Our battles will be won

> with the public first, then with management.

>

> How to keep cities from taking over and doing fire service EMS? Politics,

> politics, politics, education, education, education, and performance,

> performance, performance.

>

> When big services lose to local fire service it's invariably due to stupidity

> in management. There's a lot of that. But we as individual practioners have

> done a miserable, lousy job letting the public know what we're all about. We

> can change that, but not if we keep up our internecine battles.

>

> Gene Gandy, JD, LP

>

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