Sorry not to have replied any sooner, but we were away for most of the weekend, plus I wanted to formulate carefully my response to this post. First of all, some people are impressed by titles, rather than what the individual does as a person. What I mean by this; is that a person who equates whatever their particular job or skill they possess in terms of how they can best be of service to others, is in my book the most worthy of society. A street sweeper who performs their job with earnest and does so because they know they are providing a valuable service to humanity by creating a sanitary and esthetically pleasing environment, is, in my humble opinion of great value to society. A doctor, scientist or businessperson who does not put the needs of their patients, society or clients first, again in my humble opinion, is not fulfilling the purpose of life, as I understand life’s purpose.

The following is my history with Emergency Services and decided to give you some idea of my background and am not in any way tooting my horn. I feel you should know where I am coming from and where my experiences have led me to, in deciding what is important in life. I became an EMT-A (now EMT-B) back in the mid 70’s. I was active for a little over one year, and then got married, family life took priority, so I dropped my certification for many years. At the onset of Gulf War I, in the early 90’s, I observed numerous reports of shortages in EMS, fire and law enforcement personnel since many of them were in the Reserves and were being called up for active service. I discussed the situation with my wife and decided to reactivate my EMT-A status. Since the company I joined, primarily was a fire department, I took firefighting classes as well, completing FFIII National Certification. At the time technical rescue was also added to the pot and have taken more classes in this area then I can list. I completed CRT (EMT-I) classes back in 94’ and then completed Paramedic classes in 96’s, so I have been an active ALS provider for almost 10 years. Career wise, I have an MS in Biomedical Sciences and have been employed at the National Cancer Institute- Frederick for over 28 years in the Biomedical field.

In response to those of you that have encountered individuals/family who may look down at EMS provides and at paramedics in particular, they should be made aware that short of a physician, paramedics are the highest level of pre-hospital care provider in an emergency setting, higher than RN’s, NP’s and PA’s. Many of the skills paramedics perform can only be performed by a trained physician and generally a trauma or ED physician at that. Gone are the days of EMS providers being ambulance attendants, they are all professional emergency care providers, career or volunteer, it does not matter. In many states paramedics (including Maryland – where I live) are licensed, just like MD’s, PA’s, NP’s and RN’s by the State Board of Medical Examiners. In many states, paramedic education requires a two year AAS or four year BS in emergency medical services. Just as nurses have had to fight to gain professional recognition, paramedics are in the early stages of this endeavor as well. It should be noted that in part due to the lack of support/respect nurses have received in an historical context, within the US, a significant nursing shortage exists. With the expanded scope of practice, additional educational requirements and increasing demand of the number of paramedics, shortages are also anticipated. Becoming a paramedic strictly to do so as a volunteer is becoming more and more difficult with all of the additional requirements. Paramedic salaries are where PA’s were years ago. In our area, paramedic starting salaries are around $35,000 plus. I was talking to a paramedic supervisor from a near by jurisdiction and with overtime he grossed over $100,000 last year, not to bad and a lot more than I make in my chosen field. Pete