Should Paramedics Have to Earn a BS Degree?

Greg – most paramedics have a degree in bs without having ever been to college.

Joking aside, I think a degree in emergency management administration, however the college classifies it (BS, BAAS, Business), might be better, with the paramedic courses satisfying all but the last ten courses.  And I do believe that the widened perspective makes not a better paramedic, but a better(educated) person/employee….  Leader.

http://emspatientperspective.com/2012/01/28/my-ba-and-ems-part-1/

Eventually, yes.  Here’s my story about mine.

Hey Greg,
Definitely agree that paramedics (that is a general term, not just the top tier emergency health worker) should have a BSc. the vast majority of new paramedics here in Australia have to attain their BSc before even applying for a job – and it has brought the profession forward a lot. Professionalism, research, acceptance amongst other health professionals…you name it. We’re still somewhere in between infancy and teens, but we’ve got a decent paved road ahead of us now.

Greg, I probably missed it, but was the question ever asked as to whether Paramedics should have to earn first an Associates Degree? Although most Paramedic programs that I have researched across the country graduate their students with an AS, Oregon is the only state I know of that requires it for in-state trained Paramedics. The requirement for out-of-state Paramedics moving to Oregon to have an AS or higher was dropped two years ago in exchange for 3-years of experience and current NREMT-P certification. Although I would like to believe that an AS or BS degree makes you a better Paramedic, I don’t know that there is direct patient care improvement and proof of better outcomes, shorter hospital stays, etc, with a degree. There may be proof that an AS or BS degree helps with higher scores on NREMT-P exams, but exams and actual patient outcomes are not equal. Although Oregon is reported to be consistenly at the top or near the top of the list for states with student’s passing the NREMT-P exam on the first try (I have not seen these to verify the report), I don’t think our treatments or outcomes are any better here than anywhere else based on this specifically. It would be a great study… It is more likely public education, dispatch capabilities, EMS staffing and crew availability, response times, treatment and transport protocols, ED capabilities, EMS system sub-group speciality centers (trauma, cardiac, stroke, peds, etc.), along with good medical oversight, finacial support, etc.That all said, it is certainly nice being able to read a basic chart without a lot of typos, to discuss medications and having medics that actually understand how they work, responders that have an idea about age-specific psych changes, medics that can calculate a dose, etc. I stopped my RN training at the ASN level as I was mostly interested in working as a staff nurse in an ED. I was not interested in staying in school an additional 1-2 years to learn to be a department manager and I was not interested in working as a community health nurse. At the time, studies also showed that AS nurses were usually older when they started school (more mature, brought in life experience, etc.), stayed in nursing longer (they knew why they were there and enjoyed it), provided more hands-on care (they tend to stay in the patient contact positions), and the pay difference between a staff ASN and BSN was basically the same. So, with my observations and in regards to EMS, with the changers in ‘advanced practice’, ‘community paramedic’, etc, headed our way, I certainly support having a BS program easily available to AS Paramedics who want to grow in their field and provide more than initial on-scene EMS care and transport. Making it a requirement… ? I would not personally support that at this time. Let’s get the AS level required and document if or how it improves patient care, and then go after the next level.  Gary McLean, RN/EMTP, Oregon -

Part 2 of My BA & EMS discusses how our fragmented education plan pushes good people away. 

http://emspatientperspective.com/2012/02/04/my-ba-ems-part-2-lost-prospects/