We Wanna Play, Tooby Steve Berry
(The following has been "borrowed" from the July 2006 issue of JEMS magazine, page 96. I felt it was necessary to repost as it is a very serious issue facing EMS (whether we realize it or not).)
Click here to view the article in PDF format
Between lecture trips, I sometimes (OK, rarely) get the opportunity to work part-time for two different EMS provider services. One is fire-based, and the other is a private service. Guess which one of the two different uniform shirts I wear elicits such bystander questions as, “What's it like to be a hero?”“How do you stay so brave in the face of danger?” and “What's it like to walk on water?”
Now, I bet you're saying, “Gee, that's a tough one, Steve. Let me ponder on that a while.” (One milli-second later.) “Would that be the fire-based service uniform?”Ding! Ding! Ding!(fire bell tones.) That is correct.
To be fair, I do occasionally have inquisitive people come up to me while I'm wearing the ambulance uniform. They, too, want to engage me and my partner with such relevant questions as, “Say, fella, can you tell me where the cheapest gas is in town?” or “Can you give me a jump?” or more importantly, “Can you give me directions to a local 7-Eleven? I'm running low on Cheez Whiz.”
In my FD response area, true structure fires rarely occur. Most fire-related calls involve a dumpster or car fire, grass fires, false triggering of fire alarms or checking a strange odor in the area (usually the local health club). However, close to 80% of all 9-1-1 calls are EMS-related. So why do we in EMS get so little respect or recognition?
I know this is a sensitive subject for a lot of people, and one usually has to tread softly in dealing with the interactions (egos) of fire and private ambulance personnel. Not me, though. I'm a cartoonist. My artistic license demands that I be a smart-ass. I'm supposed to take risks. Cartoonists are usually described as “warped” or “deeply disturbed,” anyway. (At least that's what the voices in my head keep telling me.) Granted, it's a weak defense, but give me a break. It's all I got.
Let me first say I don't blame the fire department for society's neglect of EMS. I get along just fine with most of the fire dudes and dudettes, and, let's be honest here, they are masters in the art of public relations.
We have only ourselves to blame. We whine while sitting on the sidelines, feeling perpetually powerless to change the mindset of public opinion. We grudgingly stand in the shadows as the bastard step-child of emergency medicine. We are a side-note in the mention of contributions during times of natural or man-made disasters. We have no sense of collective self-worth and tend to view our present image as permanent.
I've often heard it said as a means of defending the status quo that the success of our profession should be measured by the quality of our medicine and patient compassion, and little else.
Indeed, we're secure enough in our purpose that if you kick us while we're down, we'll get up and let you kick us again. But doesn't that make us the Charlie Browns of emergency medicine? Just once, wouldn't it be nice to kick the football without having it yanked away first? Some would say that Charlie Brown should kick Lucy for pulling the football away, but I say it's time Charlie Brown consider kicking himself. Optimism is one thing, but success won't happen by chance. Respect from others will not come until we demand respect for ourselves.
How can the EMS profession expect to stand up and be recognized if so many view it as just a stepping stone to firefighting? It may be hard for some to believe, but not everyone wants to become a firefighter. Many do so because they've been discouraged by having the football continuously pulled away at the last second. They've resigned themselves to the idea that EMS will never be a means of making a decent living or gaining respectable status. And can we blame those who think that way if we as a collective are not acting collectively? I used to view the family of EMS as consisting only of my partner and myself. We cannot think that way if we want our voices to be heard.
We in EMS want to be liked and appreciated. We really are good people. We have kind hearts and are so dedicated to our ideals that we are willing to be used and abused for mere pennies on the dollar. But this disrespect needs to end.
Many of you may be saying, “Hey, Steve, this wasn't a very funny article.” For those who follow my work, you know I believe our true strength lies in the our ability to laugh at ourselves. Missing the football is funny the first few times, but continuing to do so only makes you a chump. You're a good man, Charlie Brown, but it's time to kick the football. Kick the #@%! football!
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Copyright © 2006 by Elsevier Inc.
doi: 10.1016/S0197-2510(06)70457-0
posted at 20:51