Posts Categorized: Professionalism
Customer Service: A Bad Concept?
While we can quantitatively point out that having a customer service attitude benefits us in public support, there should be a much more altruistic reason for our embracing that belief.
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EMS: Is what you do the Best You Can Do?
"Is that the best you can do?" Those seven words are so simple, yet when asked of ourselves and others, can become so powerful. Is what you're doing in your EMS career the "best" you can do? Think of what we could accomplish if all simply "tried our best".
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A Little Safety Parable
Firefighting isn't Jackass: There is a serious difference between taking stupid risks and calculated risks.
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Stuck In The Past
When your organization is experiencing such dysfunction that it is obvious even to the newest recruit, then how clueless are you to insist that everything is coming up roses?
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Volunteer Fire/EMS: Taking the High Road and Letting go
Is "helping people" your goal? Are we committed to our communities? We have common ground... Here's my resolution to make us stronger... will you join me?
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Power Is Like A Flame
Power is like a flame. If you hold it too tight, it can smother. If you hold it too tight it will also burn.
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The Weekly Weasel – Your Jealous Eyes
Remember Shakespeare's Othello? Envy, people get killed, suicides occur, and the plot is exposed. Your basic Shakespearean tragedy, as it were. Sounds like work.
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Attachment to Before
Attachment is when you believe that things can or should remain one way forever. Things are in a constant state of change.
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Balance and Equilibrium
Unless I am compelled to do so for official business, or intend to engage in a learning session in which I can take away lessons from the event, I'd just as soon do the things I do and avoid hanging around to look at the carnage of someone else's bad day.
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Where Were You That Night?
It was inevitable that something bad would happen, given what we know now. All we can do now is honor the lives of those who go before us, pray for the families and help them deal with this tragedy, and hope we all learn from the events that evening.
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When all you have is a hammer… Every problem looks like, lasix?
Ever heard the expression "When all you have is a hammer, every problem tends to look like a nail". I do that on fire scenes, but is it good to do that with EMS?
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Master Paramedics? I’m asking you a question
I have a question for all of you readers out there. Trade Unions have always honored their best and most experienced members by bestowing the title of "Master". How would we in the Profession of EMS honor our own Masters?
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Sometimes We Need A Kick In The Head
Motivation to learn is directly proportional to the perceived benefit of the education. If there is no perceived benefit, we have to change that perception to achieve the team goals.
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The Weekly Weasel – Installation #1
Integrity is an important trait because it fills in the biggest blank in a personal relationship; it tells everyone that if presented with an ambiguous situation, you will do the right thing.
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EMS Week 2010 – Sent to the Newspaper
I wrote this piece in honor of EMS week 2010 and sent it to my local newspaper. You might want to do the same. This is appropriate for the public and you may use it as you see fit.
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Conflict
Conflict is inevitable. Conflict will come regardless of how much you try to avoid it. Because it is inevitable, as a leader, you need to know how to deal with it.
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A Slap in the Face for Medics? How about a Wake-up call
Following up to the "A Slap in the Face to Paramedics Everywhere?" Post, this is how I see it once I've calmed down a bit. It is a slap, but it should serve as a wake-up call for EMS.
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A Slap in the Face to Paramedics Everywhere?
Maybe I'm way off base here, but I'm just plain ol' irate. I saw this ambulance on display at FDIC last weekend and I think it's a full-on slap in the face to paramedic types like myself. It's real, I took the picture myself.
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Squirrel In The Middle of The Road
Our job entails more than just responding to emergencies. It entails responding to community needs and assisting our neighbors. That assistance comes in many forms, but the agencies who get it will be survivors, and those who don't, well, I think you can figure that out yourself. It's not a matter of "if", but "when".
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RESPECT
I'm going to make this short and sweet: you will never be afforded the respect you think you deserve if you can't clean up the mess you have made.
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Respect
It is very easy to be professional and respectful towards a critical patient, it is much harder to be like that with someone who you may see as a 'time waster' who is getting in the way of you looking after proper patients or having a sleep. That is the real challenge sometimes.
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Huddled Masses. Healthcare. Honor. EMS.
Undocumented Immigrants? Illegal Immigration? Where do we stand on this as EMS professionals? What do we do?
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Trust… It’s everything
This post is about when "Stuff gets real". It's about trusting your colleagues and yourself to perform when everything's on the line. It's about trusting your fellow EMTs and paramedics to perform when it's your loved-one on the line. Do you trust them? Do you trust yourself?
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