EMS Interventions For Field Providers : Page 4
B Y P AUL BAHNUK There is a saying in EMS, that we eat our young, meaning that as an industry we may not be the most accommodating or even receptive to new and/or younger providers coming into our station, our rigs, our calls, or our EMS world. Why is it that our masses, who should be embracing them as the future, are so against growing the ranks? We face the real possibility of diminishing our own future by stunting the growth potential of the next generation with this attitude. We have a culture that seems hard pressed in wanting acceptance of our profession throughout the eyes of the world, yet are unwilling to nurture its up and comers to create generational sustainability. By only being concerned with our selves, we lack the foresight to achieve any real advancement in the name of healthcare and only make short term gains. Do we feel compelled to devour our future providers because once we call it quits we no longer care of where this industry goes? We will never amount to something more because we will never influence the next pair of boots that will one day replace our own if this is the mindset. I never really understood what my father meant when he said you have to leave the next generation better off than the last . Until a child came into my life and the priorities changed rather quickly. You stop thinking so much about what you want for yourself and start thinking about what you want for the your child. Hopes and dreams take on a whole new meaning, yet so does struggle and hardships. Not knowing what the future holds you can only plan on preparing them to achieve in spite of hardships and adversities they will face. As providers to this industry do we need to become emotionally attached and concerned of how those learning from us fair because one day they will be filling our boots and teaching our children? There are still a few professions out there that embrace this fundamental thought already and have embraced the blood line of tradition; Military, Fire Fighting, Police. For ages looking Of course there are the exceptions to the rule, but largely we do not see Father/Son Mother/Daughter duos out on the streets let alone Grandfather/Child/Grandchild teams. The future of Generational In our profession back, these professions are filled not by individuals but rather by family trees. What of EMS though, why has it not become a tradition that is passed down generation to generation? Why has it not even embraced a cultural mindset to nurture its young rather than consume it? Maybe it’s because we are in the dawn of EMS still, truly in the adolescent stages and have not yet matured enough. Maybe we are too afraid of bringing in our own children to protect them from the harsh realities of the society and the frailty of the human body. Maybe we fear the appetite of the culture in which we find ourselves. Or maybe we just haven’t asked what we want for our selves, and even more so, what we want for our futures future. Take a moment and ask your self what it would have been like if you had followed, or are following, in the path of the generation before. The amount of pride that parent feels, or would have felt and the honor they extrude. Now think about your future, how it would bring great joy to you if your child felt
Publication List
Using a screen reader? Click Here
