In the past year I have been working on developing a program to bring awareness to firefighter mental health. As part of that I have been trying to do more teaching and public speaking. I completed my program and decided that I wanted to get my message out to a wider audience.
Why start small right, lets go for the big time. I submitted proposals to 3 conferences with each being bigger than the next. I started with IEMSA which is the Iowa EMS Association's annual conference in Des Moines. My presentation was accepted but unfortunately I had to withdraw from that conference due to scheduling conflicts. The next 2 conferences I submitted proposals for were the IAFF HR conference and FDIC. I am still waiting to here back from the IAFF but I did get news from FDIC the other day. Unfortunately I was not selected to present at the 2014 FDIC. While I didn't have high hopes of getting selected it was still disappointing to not get selected. I was encouraged to submit my proposal again next year and to also consider submitting an article on my topic to Fire Engineering magazine. I am not sure if the folks at FDIC send out a form letter with they turn you down or not but it at least makes you feel a little bit better. In the coming months I will be working on an article to submit to Fire Engineering so hopefully I can published there. I am still hopeful that I will get to present at the IAFF HR conference. Not only would it be a trip to Florida in February but it would also be a good place to start getting an important message out to my brothers and sisters.
So even though I was disappointed to get the news from FDIC, I am still encouraged to keep moving forward. It takes a little time and effort to get a foot hold in the teaching and public speaking circuit. This is just the first step in the journey, it will take some work, but I will get there.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Sunday, April 7, 2013
The Iowa EMS System-
Today the Des Moines Register released its special investigative report on the Iowa EMS System. I am very disappointed in the report to say the least. I am not going to sit here and say there are no issues with Iowa's EMS system, because there are but the report does very little if anything at all to point out the positives. The report really focuses on nothing but negatives and it is disheartening to read to be quite honest. If you know nothing about the EMS system or have never interacted with any of Iowa's EMS personnel you would think we are nothing but criminals trying to take advantage of our patients.
Are there problems with Iowa's EMS system? Absolutely, there are issues that need to be addressed. The Bureau of EMS is short staffed and underfunded. Like a majority of us in the Fire and EMS world, the Bureau is being forced to do more with less. The Bureau does not have the staffing to adequately provide oversight to the entire state and until the Legislature realizes this we are going to continue to have issues with the system. I agree that there needs to be more uniform and mandatory guidelines for EMS in this state. The state is working to bring more uniformity though. Up unit the last few years the number of different certifications available in the state of Iowa varied from the rest of the country. An Iowa EMT-Basic had a different scope of practice than an EMT-Basic in another state. The State of Iowa decided to adopt the national standard for certification levels and scope of practice in Iowa. We are in the process of transitioning from 8 or 12 different certification levels to 4. The scope of practice for those 4 levels will be the same in Iowa as they are throughout the country. This is a positive step forward for the state. It should make the certification and recertification process easier for both providers and the Bureau.
The biggest frustration I had with the report is the fact that the report basically seems to portray all EMS personnel as bad people. Should there be mandatory background checks for all individuals who apply for EMS credentials, I believe so. We are in the business of trust so I think it is important that we are properly vetting those that seeking credentials. Right now the process runs on the honor system requiring those seeking application to be honest and forthcoming if they have a criminal history. A majority of the folks applying for credentials are honest and self report to the Bureau but there are always the outliers that will always try and circumvent the system. Its frustrating but these folks are not limited to the EMS world. Unfortunately this report focuses on only these individuals. The reporter focuses only on a small percentage of the 12,000 + EMS providers in this state. The majority of providers are upstanding citizens and doing the job to help their fellow citizens. It is only a small percentage of us that are in this job for the wrong reasons. We do not all seek to take advantage of our patients or steal from our services. The reporter seems to use a broad brush to paint the entire EMS field in a negative light. Its disheartening and quite honestly its just not accurate.
In a perfect world we would be able to make all fire and EMS personnel paid staff but given the fact that the majority of this state is rural it has to rely on volunteers. The make up of this state requires us to rely on volunteers. The vast majority of EMS providers in this state are volunteers and doing this job because they want to help. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain a steady staff of volunteers. Today's society is changing, people are busier and priorities have changed. A lot of people become volunteer firefighters and EMTs because they want to help or think it will be fun but then they realize the time commitment this job requires. Calls come in at the least opportune times and the amount of training that needs to be done to maintain skills and certifications quickly chases a lot of those folks away. There were a couple of mentions in the report that some volunteers want the number of continuing education hours lessened or dropped for volunteers. I understand where they are coming from but I cannot support that stance. I think we should do everything we can to promote volunteerism and try and keep as many of our volunteer EMTs and firefighters as we can but reducing the continuing education requirements is not the answer. There are so many things that change from year to year in EMS that it is imperative that EMTs stay on top of things and keep their skills up. The public deserves the best trained EMS personnel possible. If folks want to continue in this profession they must realize that the learning will be an on going process.
While I appreciate the fact that the Register wants to bring to light the problems and issues with the EMS system in Iowa I wish they would not have used the broad brush to paint this picture. The majority of EMS services and EMS providers in this state are doing a great job. It would have been nice to see some time given to the folks that are on top of their games and doing things right. I understand this approach doesn't give you the shock factor and doesn't sell papers. Unfortunately the media these days seem more interested in selling papers and attracting eyes to screens than they do portraying the whole picture. While a lot of this information needed to be brought to light, its not the whole story. Are there problems? Yes. Are there bad people out there providing EMS care? Yes, but they are the minority. I just hope that the general public doesn't decide to lump those of that are doing things right in with the bad folks.
Are there problems with Iowa's EMS system? Absolutely, there are issues that need to be addressed. The Bureau of EMS is short staffed and underfunded. Like a majority of us in the Fire and EMS world, the Bureau is being forced to do more with less. The Bureau does not have the staffing to adequately provide oversight to the entire state and until the Legislature realizes this we are going to continue to have issues with the system. I agree that there needs to be more uniform and mandatory guidelines for EMS in this state. The state is working to bring more uniformity though. Up unit the last few years the number of different certifications available in the state of Iowa varied from the rest of the country. An Iowa EMT-Basic had a different scope of practice than an EMT-Basic in another state. The State of Iowa decided to adopt the national standard for certification levels and scope of practice in Iowa. We are in the process of transitioning from 8 or 12 different certification levels to 4. The scope of practice for those 4 levels will be the same in Iowa as they are throughout the country. This is a positive step forward for the state. It should make the certification and recertification process easier for both providers and the Bureau.
The biggest frustration I had with the report is the fact that the report basically seems to portray all EMS personnel as bad people. Should there be mandatory background checks for all individuals who apply for EMS credentials, I believe so. We are in the business of trust so I think it is important that we are properly vetting those that seeking credentials. Right now the process runs on the honor system requiring those seeking application to be honest and forthcoming if they have a criminal history. A majority of the folks applying for credentials are honest and self report to the Bureau but there are always the outliers that will always try and circumvent the system. Its frustrating but these folks are not limited to the EMS world. Unfortunately this report focuses on only these individuals. The reporter focuses only on a small percentage of the 12,000 + EMS providers in this state. The majority of providers are upstanding citizens and doing the job to help their fellow citizens. It is only a small percentage of us that are in this job for the wrong reasons. We do not all seek to take advantage of our patients or steal from our services. The reporter seems to use a broad brush to paint the entire EMS field in a negative light. Its disheartening and quite honestly its just not accurate.
In a perfect world we would be able to make all fire and EMS personnel paid staff but given the fact that the majority of this state is rural it has to rely on volunteers. The make up of this state requires us to rely on volunteers. The vast majority of EMS providers in this state are volunteers and doing this job because they want to help. Unfortunately it is becoming more and more difficult to maintain a steady staff of volunteers. Today's society is changing, people are busier and priorities have changed. A lot of people become volunteer firefighters and EMTs because they want to help or think it will be fun but then they realize the time commitment this job requires. Calls come in at the least opportune times and the amount of training that needs to be done to maintain skills and certifications quickly chases a lot of those folks away. There were a couple of mentions in the report that some volunteers want the number of continuing education hours lessened or dropped for volunteers. I understand where they are coming from but I cannot support that stance. I think we should do everything we can to promote volunteerism and try and keep as many of our volunteer EMTs and firefighters as we can but reducing the continuing education requirements is not the answer. There are so many things that change from year to year in EMS that it is imperative that EMTs stay on top of things and keep their skills up. The public deserves the best trained EMS personnel possible. If folks want to continue in this profession they must realize that the learning will be an on going process.
While I appreciate the fact that the Register wants to bring to light the problems and issues with the EMS system in Iowa I wish they would not have used the broad brush to paint this picture. The majority of EMS services and EMS providers in this state are doing a great job. It would have been nice to see some time given to the folks that are on top of their games and doing things right. I understand this approach doesn't give you the shock factor and doesn't sell papers. Unfortunately the media these days seem more interested in selling papers and attracting eyes to screens than they do portraying the whole picture. While a lot of this information needed to be brought to light, its not the whole story. Are there problems? Yes. Are there bad people out there providing EMS care? Yes, but they are the minority. I just hope that the general public doesn't decide to lump those of that are doing things right in with the bad folks.
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Burn
Sorry its been so long since my last post. Things have been a bit hectic lately. I am trying to get back on a more regular schedule for posting.
Recently I got the opportunity to see the film Burn for the second time. Let me first say that I enjoyed the film and I think that the filmmakers did a wonderful job putting this film together. I don't want to be critical of my brothers in Detroit or downplay the struggles they are going through but there are a few things about the film that concern me. Detroit is a fire department that is rich in tradition and has a very established culture. They are in a situation I don't wish on any other department. They are short on staffing, short on equipment and the city has a significant arson problem. They are in a terrible situation that probably won't get better anytime soon. I don't wish their situation on anyone and I think they have quite an uphill battle against them. The film does a good job bringing awareness to their plight and I think we should support them however we can.
With all that in mind, the film does raises some concerns for me. Detroit is a unique department, in a unique situation. They have done things a certain way for a very long time. The film wasn't necessarily focused on tactics but there were several times where the Detroit firefighters mention that they fight fires aggressively and from the inside. They say something along the lines of with Detroit fires you see water spraying from the inside out when everyone else has water spraying from the outside in. I am not going to sit here and tell the Detroit FD how to fight fires. Personally, I am a believer in using the risk/benefit approach to fighting fires and I don't believe every fire requires an aggressive interior attack. I think you need make sure there are lives or property to be saved prior to making an interior attack. I got the feeling from watching the film that with Detroit, it is aggressive interior attack all time. If that is how they want to do it, that is their business but I don't have to agree with it. What concerns me more is that there are a lot of impressionable firefighters out their seeing this film and I am afraid they will see this as the only way to fight fire. There is a time and place for an aggressive interior attack but firefighters need to be trained how to recognize those situations. We can no longer to afford to take a singular approach to every fire. Today's firefighters need to be taught how to recognize a situation and deploy the correct tactic. I don't think the intent of the film was to promote a singular approach to fighting fire but it does to an extent glamorize that approach and that might not be the right message to send to today's firefighters.
The second thing that concerns me about the film is that I got the impression that a majority of the Detroit firefighters see themselves as the victims and that they don't share any fault for where the department is at. A new fire commissioner was hired to work to change the department. He was working to bring a new attitude and new approach to this department. He was met with resistance at pretty much every level which can be expected when trying to make a cultural change in a department that has been doing things a certain way for so long. The Detroit firefighters are victims to an extent but they also share in the blame. There were several instances in the film where trucks were damaged and no one seemed willing to take the blame for it. In fact, it almost seemed to be a joke when something got damaged. You have a department that is strapped for cash and when you do things like park a truck on train tracks or drive under an overpass that doesn't have enough clearance obviously people are going to be upset. The department can barely afford to fix trucks that are breaking down just from age and wear and tear, now you add in unnecessary damage how do you expect things to get better. They just don't seem to want to take responsibility for their equipment and the damage they cause to it. Even in a department that is financially sound, firefighters need to take responsibility for their equipment and make sure they are taking care of it. This is not your equipment, it belongs to the city and the citizens you protect but you need to treat it like is your own. Obviously money doesn't grow on trees and you shouldn't be surprised if someone is upset if a truck is damaged. To me, the attitudes in the film promote the wrong message and these guys need to start taking responsibility for their equipment. They need to work to be the solution to the problem, not another problem on top of it.
With all that being said, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to other firefighters. I would just ask that you keep an open mind and watch the film for what it is. We need to take it as a a chance to learn from a bad situation. We need to work to ensure we don't allow our departments to go down the same path. We can't become so entrenched in tradition that we can't see any other options out there. The world is changing, the fire service is changing, we have to be ready for it.
Recently I got the opportunity to see the film Burn for the second time. Let me first say that I enjoyed the film and I think that the filmmakers did a wonderful job putting this film together. I don't want to be critical of my brothers in Detroit or downplay the struggles they are going through but there are a few things about the film that concern me. Detroit is a fire department that is rich in tradition and has a very established culture. They are in a situation I don't wish on any other department. They are short on staffing, short on equipment and the city has a significant arson problem. They are in a terrible situation that probably won't get better anytime soon. I don't wish their situation on anyone and I think they have quite an uphill battle against them. The film does a good job bringing awareness to their plight and I think we should support them however we can.
With all that in mind, the film does raises some concerns for me. Detroit is a unique department, in a unique situation. They have done things a certain way for a very long time. The film wasn't necessarily focused on tactics but there were several times where the Detroit firefighters mention that they fight fires aggressively and from the inside. They say something along the lines of with Detroit fires you see water spraying from the inside out when everyone else has water spraying from the outside in. I am not going to sit here and tell the Detroit FD how to fight fires. Personally, I am a believer in using the risk/benefit approach to fighting fires and I don't believe every fire requires an aggressive interior attack. I think you need make sure there are lives or property to be saved prior to making an interior attack. I got the feeling from watching the film that with Detroit, it is aggressive interior attack all time. If that is how they want to do it, that is their business but I don't have to agree with it. What concerns me more is that there are a lot of impressionable firefighters out their seeing this film and I am afraid they will see this as the only way to fight fire. There is a time and place for an aggressive interior attack but firefighters need to be trained how to recognize those situations. We can no longer to afford to take a singular approach to every fire. Today's firefighters need to be taught how to recognize a situation and deploy the correct tactic. I don't think the intent of the film was to promote a singular approach to fighting fire but it does to an extent glamorize that approach and that might not be the right message to send to today's firefighters.
The second thing that concerns me about the film is that I got the impression that a majority of the Detroit firefighters see themselves as the victims and that they don't share any fault for where the department is at. A new fire commissioner was hired to work to change the department. He was working to bring a new attitude and new approach to this department. He was met with resistance at pretty much every level which can be expected when trying to make a cultural change in a department that has been doing things a certain way for so long. The Detroit firefighters are victims to an extent but they also share in the blame. There were several instances in the film where trucks were damaged and no one seemed willing to take the blame for it. In fact, it almost seemed to be a joke when something got damaged. You have a department that is strapped for cash and when you do things like park a truck on train tracks or drive under an overpass that doesn't have enough clearance obviously people are going to be upset. The department can barely afford to fix trucks that are breaking down just from age and wear and tear, now you add in unnecessary damage how do you expect things to get better. They just don't seem to want to take responsibility for their equipment and the damage they cause to it. Even in a department that is financially sound, firefighters need to take responsibility for their equipment and make sure they are taking care of it. This is not your equipment, it belongs to the city and the citizens you protect but you need to treat it like is your own. Obviously money doesn't grow on trees and you shouldn't be surprised if someone is upset if a truck is damaged. To me, the attitudes in the film promote the wrong message and these guys need to start taking responsibility for their equipment. They need to work to be the solution to the problem, not another problem on top of it.
With all that being said, I enjoyed the film and would recommend it to other firefighters. I would just ask that you keep an open mind and watch the film for what it is. We need to take it as a a chance to learn from a bad situation. We need to work to ensure we don't allow our departments to go down the same path. We can't become so entrenched in tradition that we can't see any other options out there. The world is changing, the fire service is changing, we have to be ready for it.
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