Ok, so maybe I am not that quick with this…I did check the EMS blogs to make sure I didn’t miss them posting this. However, Raising Ladders did post it. Oh well, he is apparently getting his info quicker than me. However, I will add a bonus video that Mike Ward commented with over at Raising Ladders…enjoy.
This weeks Monday Morning Shoutout goes to Everyday EMS Tips. Everyday EMS Tips is a well rounded web site/blog that provides a post a day (or more) for EMS professionals to increase their knowledge base. The site is run by Greg Friese.
The site offers podcasts, ebooks, and links to plenty of continuing education type information.
EverydayEMSTips.com started when I began contributing a regular tips column to EMS1.com. When I realized I had more ideas than column space I created a place to collect tips into ebooks and resources for:
* EMT and Paramedic students
* Practicing first responders, EMTs, and Paramedics
* EMS organization managers and training officers
Check out Everyday EMS Tips when you get a chance and be sure to sign up for the email newsletters!
This past weekend I had the opportunity to meet up with so many great bloggers, twitter friends, and other acquaintances. We were at the EMS Today conference.
I would like to give you the rundown. If I leave anyone out please let me know and I will add you in. There are some I may have met but not realized your other identities online.
I also got to meet Mark Brady (@PGFDPIO) the PIO for PG County, Md. Great guy…I think I bored him.
And how could I forget a highlight of mine. I got to meet Dennis Rubin, the Chief of DCFD. It was an honor to chat with him. I have been a fan of his for a long time. I have enjoyed watching him work in the various roles and departments as well. Great chat and thanks to Mike Ward for introducing us! Justin and Mark got to meet him as well. You might see Chronicles of EMS in DC sometime in the future.
I also added a video below from Dave Statter that showcases Justin Schorr, Mark Glencorse, John Mitchell, Mike Ward, and myself!
Many of the photos below were taken by me. Others have been collected from facebook and other sites. I apologize for not giving credit for each photo. Be sure to scroll down for video and photos!
I hope for many more meet ups like this in the future! Who is going to be at FDIC?
Many of the Bloggers/Twitterers at EMS Today
I got into Baltimore around 1am on Friday morning. My first meetup was with John Mitchell (@FireDaily) of FireDaily.com and my co-host on Firefighter Netcast. We roomed together for the weekend and got to chat a little bit before calling it a night for the events of Friday. John and I have talked on the phone, through email, and even done some video skype sessions. We are great friends and have finally been able to hang out in person.
When Friday morning rolled around we hit the exhibit hall floor at EMS Today. Our first stop was the Zoll booth. Unfortunately I decided to listen to John on where the booth was and we walked a mile in the exhibit hall before realizing it was right near the front. John was adamant it was in the back. Our first disagreement…awe.
Walking up to the Zoll booth, we saw Justin Schorr (The Happy Medic and @TheHappyMedic) and Mark Glencorse (999 Medic and @UKMedic999). I didn’t expect either of them to pick out the two of us (who probably come off as a David Spade/Chris Farley looking duo). Justin quickly came right for me introducing himself. I introduced myself and hugs ensued. Justin is another guy I have spoken with a bunch, blogged about, and consider a brother. We were finally able to meet…in person. I introduced John (John had already realized that I love talking…). We then met Mark Glencorse.
Justin Schorr getting FireGeezer Bill Schumm to sign his mug
Right after meeting Justin and Mark we met Ted Setla (@setla). The stage was set. I had now met the main components of Chronicles of EMS. I would later meet Chris Eldridge (@thedridge), a cameraman who works with Setla and did wonders for Chronicles of EMS.
After chatting with Mark, Justin, John, and Setla we headed to the JEMS booth where we ran into Dave Iannone (@cooldavej) and Chris Hebert (@chebert13). These guys are huge entrepenuers in the Fire/EMS Service and I have learned a lot from them. I have spoken to both of them through email and phone and was thrilled to meet them. I have been a long time fan of both of their work and look forward to following them in the future! They both are with Go Forward Media and bring you FireEMSBlogs.com, FirefighterNation.com, and many other sites. They are formerly of Firehouse.com.
Dave and Chris were a lot of fun to hang out with. Chris and I had fun busting each others chops…just like at the firehouse! They shared the tab of the meetup later that night with George Washington University.Thanks for lunch as well guys!
Things just kinda fell all together after meeting Chris and Dave. The rest is not in chronological order necessarily.
Mike Ward, Rhett Fleitz, Dave Statter, and John Mitchell
We met Chris Montera (@geekymedic) of the EMS Garage and Jamie Davis (@podmedic) of MedicCast. These too guys put on great podcasting shows and put on live shows during the conference. It was great to see them in action and learn about what John and I hope to be doing in the future at Fire Conferences!
Jamie also runs the ProMed Network (an EMS podcasting hub).
Some of the rest of this may or may not include real names. I may refer to them as their twitter tags and/or blogs. I will do this in case of outing an anonymous blogger or because that is the only way I know them.
I met @nateemt_b while talking to some other guys. He was excited to be there and I had fun talking to him.
Soon after,April Saling @Epi_Junky showed up. She runs the Pink Warm and Dry blog. Very cool person and I enjoyed talking to her later at the meetup. Small World…she lives very close to my grandparents!
@Epi_Junky picked up Chris Kaiser (@CKEMTP) of Life Under The Lights. Chris and I hit it off well. He has been a guest on Firefighter Netcast and again it was like I knew him for years! Great guy, very articulate and speaks with words I do not know!
FireGeezer Bill Schumm, FossilMedic Mike Ward, Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz, and Fire Daily John Mitchell
I met Tom Bouthillet (@tbouthillet) of EMS12lead.com. Very cool guy. I know nothing about 12 lead anything, but he apparently does…and enjoys it enough to write about it. He posted about EMS Today here. Tom is a Fire Lieutenant / Paramedic for Hilton Head Island Fire & Rescue and works for Chief Mick Mayers of Firehouse Zen (Mick was not present).
I met up with Mike Ward, the Fossil Medic (@FossilMedic). He runs FireGeezer with Bill Schumm (@FireGeezer). I would finally meet Bill on Saturday. He made the trek up to Baltimore to meet me…ok not really. He came to meet Justin and Mark…and the rest of us. Justin and Mark were thrilled to meet Bill and had him and Mike sign their FireGeezer mugs. Bill and I go back to the beginning of FireGeezer. I caught up with him when I was still going strong with RoanokeFire.com (my first blog). We have talked on the phone and email ever since. Great guy!
Mike Ward was a lot of fun too! He enjoyed the banter between myself and Dave Statter (@STATter911) of STATter911.com. I got to meet Dave at the meetup on Friday night. Needless to say, I feel like I know Dave really well! Anyone you can say “Nice to meet you, you son of a bitch” and them NOT get mad is alright in my book! Dave and I hit it off really well (at least that is what I thought..he may hate me now). Actually, Dave and I share a similar sense of humor.
Dave and I have talked on the phone and through email for years as well. I remember when he started STATter911.com and have enjoyed reading his site daily. His site is probably one of the most read in blogs in the Fire Service. Some love Dave, some love to hate Dave, but they all come back to see what he is writing about next. I cannot wait to hang out with Dave again in the future!
You might know Dave Statter as the blogger with the longest post titles in the world!
I got to meet @NJDiveMedic. He hung out with Me, Justin, Chris, John, and @Squirrl325 for drinks after the meetup.We had a blast and enjoyed some brews. @Squirrel325 was a blast to hang out with and was able to hunt down a great Irish pub when our first idea folded. Kaiser ended the night with an offer for all of us to do shots….I can’t hang like that anymore!
I got to meet Carissa O’Brien (@Carissao). She is really cool people and seemed to stay busy during the events. I also got to chat with Sebastian Wong (@SebWong). He is the EMS Chief (pretty sure that is his title) for the San Fransisco Fire Department. He just started a blog here. Great guy, easy to talk to, and fun to be around.
The interesting thing about David and Greg is that they have never met. Much like Justin and Mark before they finally met for Chronicles of EMS and John and I before this weekend. It just goes to show how friendships are born, partnerships are created, and businesses are started via networking through social media. Great guys and great ideas…forging ahead!
I also got to meet up with Ronnie Grubb, his wife and a friend. Ronnie lives near me and blogs. Ronnie runs The Gatekeeper. He gave his view of the events at EMS Today here. Ronnie was a blast to talk to. His excitement for EMS, firefighting, and other things we talked about was awesome. I look forward to more from Ronnie in the future…
I am sure there are plenty others out there whom I met and others there I did not get a chance to meet.
Chris Eldridge
Geeky Medic Chris Montera
Mark Glencorse, Justin Schorr, Michael Kurz MD, and Chris Montera
Justin Schorr
Justin Schorr getting FireGeezer Bill Schumm to sign his mug
Mark Glencorse
Justin Schorr and Mark Glencorse
Mike Ward, Rhett Fleitz, Dave Statter, and John Mitchell
Jamie Davis...The PodMedic (on the right)
Ted Setla
Rhett Fleitz and Justin Schorr
Justin Schorr and John Mitchell
John Mitchell, Mark Glencorse, and Rhett Fleitz
Many of the Bloggers/Twitterers at EMS Today
David Konig and Mark Glencorse
Rhett Fleitz, April Saling, and Jared Scott
FireGeezer Bill Schumm, FossilMedic Mike Ward, Fire Critic Rhett Fleitz, and Fire Daily John Mitchell
I remember when I began this blog, one of my first new acquaintances was The Happy Medic. At the time, he was living under the pseudonym Steph Frolin. We exchanged some ideas and we were both running anonymous blogs (his more so than mine). It didn’t take me long to figure out who HE was though and he totally busted my over-the-top investigative skills by saying yeah that is me and it is no big deal…although he was still anonymous. I considered it OUR little secret at the time.
Justin, as we all call him now that he has “come out of the closet” with his anonymity, was very excited about this project with Mark Glencorse (999 Medic).
I apologize, but I am sure I am paraphrasing stuff I have already written.
Fast forward to this last weekend, enter in many other key players like Ted Setla and Chris Eldridge, mix up hundreds of giddy followers of #CoEMS on twitter, throw in over 3,000 fans on facebook, showcase the writing of dozens of great bloggers, and don’t forget about the social media inept following whose numbers are unobtainable and you have the Chronicles of EMS.
I was there to watch the premiere online and was able to chat with other viewers. The buzz was great!
What is even more amazing is watching, reading, and imagining this grassroots effort take hold.
These guys are not missing a beat. They are pounding the pavement to spread the word about their project, our project, your project.
For EMS professionals not to be in tune with what these guys are doing is like ignoring the next big thing. This is not a fad though. This is a realization of change, a necissary step in making our service better, and a bandwagon that has room for all of us.
For EMS industry leaders, the time has come to embrace the cutting edge of a movement and involve yourself with the professionals who make this industry work.
I must say that episode 1 was excellent. I watched it today with the guys at the station and I heard many comments. One comment that really stuck out was when Justin was helping a patient step into the back of the ambulance…a medic/firefighter watching with me said he applauded Justin for having the guy walk on his own knowing that he was being filmed. Whether it is or isn’t protocol, it spoke volumes on Justin’s behalf (as viewed by us) that Justin was willing to do business as usual and NOT cater to the depths of worrying about what others might say by his performance at work.
After all, that is what it is all about….how we/they/you DO EMS. There were many other examples as seen in the show. The introspect that Mark and Justin were able to give about how San Fransisco/United States does stuff versus how it would be done in the UK was a breath of fresh air.
Keep up the great work guys, we are watching, we are learning, we are INTERESTED!
It is my honor (or honour) to announce Medic 999 as the Fire/EMS Blog of the Year for 2009. Medic 999 is run by Mark Glencorse who is a Paramedic for the North East Ambulance Service in England.
Mark has run Medic 999 since December 2008 and discusses the times and tribulations of being a medic in England as well as hot button topics of paramedicine and prehospital care.
Mark has recently enjoyed the spoils of being featured in the Chronicles of EMS. Chronicles of EMS was born from the efforts by Mark and Justin of The Happy Medic (San Francisco) to dissect the differences and similarities in EMS services at their respective departments.
I have a lot to say about the contest…what I learned, what I didn’t learn, what I will do differently, and how this contest will be over the top next year!
Unfortunately for Mark, the only prize this year is BRAGGING RIGHTS. However, I predict there will be more in the future!
Thank you for competing, thanks to those who nominated and voted for Medic 999, and thanks to everyone for publicizing the event!
I would also like to thank the judges who narrowed down the 23 nominated blogs down to 10 by judging on certain criteria…
2009 Fire/EMS Blog of the Year Judges
Marty Martin
Search Engine Optimization Consultant
Marty Martin is an Internet marketer and search engine consultant with over 12 years experience in the web industry. He has consulted for companies and government organizations across the USA and Europe and has been a guest speaker at business organizations, colleges and universities. http://mear.is/me http://twitter.com/mosquitohawk
Kirke Phillips
Kirke Phillips, known as ‘Mookie’, is a Firefighter/Paramedic/Web Designer in Texas. Mookie has been a firefighter since 1991 and is currently employed by the City of Leander. In 1997, he founded a personal website that has grown into what is today known as Texas-Fire.com, which provides news and community to Texas emergency services professionals. In 2001, along with his brother (also a firefighter) he founded CenTexFIRE Web Designs which hosts and designs websites. As of December 2009, Texas-Fire received over 3 hits a day, which includes Mookie, his brother, and their mother. On FaceBook
Andrew Catron
Andrew Catron is a career firefighter for the city of Kingsport in Kingsport, Tennessee. He entered into the fire service in 2005, and has been fulltime with KFD for two years. He is a member of the Town of Chilhowie Fire Department as well and maintains their website – www.chilhowiefire.org. Once he realized he enjoyed managing a web site he decided to start one of his own. Recently he began a web site for Tennessee Fire News. The web site is growing and he realizes nothing is built overnight. Check out TNFireNews.com – www.TNFireNews.com.
Medic 22
MEDIC 22 is a Radio DJ turned Paramedic Student in the Pacific Northwest. After over twenty years of working in the broadcast industry, M22 decided to quit his full time job, return to school full time, switch careers and write about it. His website, strangely enough called www.medic22.com details the trials and tribulations of a middle aged guy going through paramedic school. His website is full of polysyllabic words and sometimes people actually even read it. Oh, and he doesn’t like biscuits. Be warned.
Here is a hot topic for you – Should EMS be a profession? Some have even dubbed it EMS 2.o (originally coined by The Happy Medic according to the comments) as if the future is in the works and testing needs to be completed.
If you look around the EMS blogosphere you will see a lot of writing about it recently.
CKEMTP actually has an entire category of posts about his “EMS 2.0″
They are using a very broad brush to paint the picture of just some of the issues with Pre-Hospital care. Some of these guys/gals work in EMS and others in Fire based EMS. Either way, it matters! It matters because it is what we do.
I admit it; I like the EMS part of my job. I don’t like it as much as the Fire side of things but I came to terms a long time ago that EMS is a large part of my job.
I am not a Medic, still something I struggle with not doing but I don’t have any reason to now. I won’t get paid any extra for it because I am ranked. It would be a personal achievement, but it isn’t worth it to my family. I don’t see them enough already. Maybe down the road…someday.
I work in the Fire based EMS side of things (City w/ population 100k). I have worked in an EMS only system (RAA) which was actually part of a review by the NHS (.pdf doc here) and a hotbed for medics doing ride alongs to see how Richmond Ambulance Authority does it.
Back to EMS 2.0.
This is my thoughts on just one part of it after reading some of the posts…
At what point in advancing more in-depth treatments, on scene surgical protocols, more advanced medicine treatments, and all around increase in skills will the Paramedics be required to go to longer schooling? This longer term in schooling might mean that many decide to go the route of a PA, Nurse Practitioner, or MD.
At what point will this increase in overall medical knowledge require higher paying salaries?
At what point will these increased salaries be realized as waste for taking nose bleeds (BS calls) to the hospitals?
One thing that a Battalion Chief I know (and all around philosophical being) always likes to bring up for discussions sake is the need for EMS prevention. Similar to the model of fire prevention, EMS prevention would educate people on when to call, what to call for, and what is an emergency.
This EMS prevention MIGHT decrease BS calls. It won’t stop them. The realization of a free ride to the hospital for people who can’t afford to pay the actual costs usually outweighs any education on whether or not it is a real emergency.
One other thing is prioritized dispatch and then some. The Richmond Ambulance Authority’s dispatchers are all Paramedics (who are/were field paramedics and know the job). This cuts down on the amount of ambulances running lights and sirens to calls. It doesn’t cut down on BS calls though, because the RAA bills for transports and also takes care of the majority of non-emergent transports in the Richmond area. The BS calls might be culled to transport agencies if you don’t do non-emergent transports.
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