EMS 2.0
October 4, 2009 | | Ckemtp | 4 Comments

EMS 2.0 is a concept that’s time has come. The Emergency Medical Services is on the cusp of fantastic change.

What we call EMS 2.0 is the brainchild of Happy Medic, but it is the product of every EMT and Paramedic that has ever looked at what we do and thought of how we could do it better. Through the brainpower of the readers and writers in the EMS Blogosphere we’ve grown the idea into something powerful. Maybe even revolutionary. EMS 2.0 is the maturation of the Emergency Medical Services. It is the growth of the industry out of the adolescent trade phase and into a grown-up profession.

EMS 2.0 is spreading like wildfire. In a few short months, the idea is hitting the blogosphere like a freight train. It is not the paternalistic style of “change” in EMS that is usually crammed down our throats by outside influences, rather it is the ideas, thoughts, feelings, and yearnings of the EMS professionals themselves that is driving the movement. And yes, it is a movement. “Grassroots” would be a way to describe this… So would “Revolution”.

Join us. I’ve been writing on this a lot since I started my humble, little blog. I think that I’ve helped to kick start this movement… but I don’t own it, we all do.

Click here for all of my posts tagged “EMS 2.0”

Http://www.ems2.org

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  • 20h10

    I follow the 2.0 movement fairly closely and believe it has endless potential. This may be the time of great opportunity for the community to define its own destiny rather than having it defined for us by those outside the community. However, a couple of challenges await us.

    1. Definitions- who and what are we? Not a job statement or a task inventory, but who we are as people and what those characteristics bring to the table as EMS professionals. Is EMS a job or is it more than that? How and why? How is the world a better place because we are in it doing the work of an EMS professional?

    2. Now that it is defined- how does what we do apply to that definition? The moment we undertake a task or role that is in opposition to who we are, we either change into something we were not intended to be or we lose part of ourselves. The latter in my humble opinion is what has happened over the years. We have added parts on and taken parts off so that we resemble the Borg rather than the unique entity we should be.

    3. End the compartmentalizing- I am not a fan at all of Fire Based EMS. People who know me know that I consider a red ambulance an unholy thing. That being said, I really don't care if you call yourself a medic, a firefighter/EMT or a blue spruce as long as we are on the same sheet as to what we are trying to accomplish. EMS is not a matter of a uniform or title, but of a thought process and a conviction of the heart.

    Once the groundwork is set, now let's go after process and procedures. Let's go after a logical career progression, let's go after coordination of efforts but let's go after them while always keeping in mind that we will not compromise who and what we are and what we provide to our neighbors at any cost. EMS 2.0 is not a reboot- it is a system restoration. It is the time and opportunity to purge out the junk files that have cluttered up the system and kept us from doing what we do.

    Just my 2 cents worth-

  • 20h10

    I follow the 2.0 movement fairly closely and believe it has endless potential. This may be the time of great opportunity for the community to define its own destiny rather than having it defined for us by those outside the community. However, a couple of challenges await us.

    1. Definitions- who and what are we? Not a job statement or a task inventory, but who we are as people and what those characteristics bring to the table as EMS professionals. Is EMS a job or is it more than that? How and why? How is the world a better place because we are in it doing the work of an EMS professional?

    2. Now that it is defined- how does what we do apply to that definition? The moment we undertake a task or role that is in opposition to who we are, we either change into something we were not intended to be or we lose part of ourselves. The latter in my humble opinion is what has happened over the years. We have added parts on and taken parts off so that we resemble the Borg rather than the unique entity we should be.

    3. End the compartmentalizing- I am not a fan at all of Fire Based EMS. People who know me know that I consider a red ambulance an unholy thing. That being said, I really don't care if you call yourself a medic, a firefighter/EMT or a blue spruce as long as we are on the same sheet as to what we are trying to accomplish. EMS is not a matter of a uniform or title, but of a thought process and a conviction of the heart.

    Once the groundwork is set, now let's go after process and procedures. Let's go after a logical career progression, let's go after coordination of efforts but let's go after them while always keeping in mind that we will not compromise who and what we are and what we provide to our neighbors at any cost. EMS 2.0 is not a reboot- it is a system restoration. It is the time and opportunity to purge out the junk files that have cluttered up the system and kept us from doing what we do.

    Just my 2 cents worth-

  • Christopher Updike

    So upon my reaching the great Northwoods, I've realized that I fell into a trap further south and its the same trap that many medics fall into. It got to be such a chore and I became so complacent with taking my med bag, monitor, etc into a house that sounds like nothing more than a “code-brown.” Recently I went on a call dispatched as “patient needs help going to the bathroom” and to my surprise found a fragile geriatric patient severely dehydrated and ill! Here is a situation in which we in EMS often take for granted that without our tools, we are merely informed citizens. Even that middle of the night BS, I mean BLS call could turn into something far more interesting. So in this I've learned to take the med bag and monitor everytime…after all if I get tired of carrying it, I've got a partner!

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  • http://www.yourdietfitness.com/ Junk Food Diet

    pretty good example for ems 2.0, can you make more clear examples …