EMS professionals are challenged to balance work, family, and other obligations while also staying or striving for mental and physical fitness. The Everyday EMS Athlete is a regular column to recognize and learn from other EMS professionals that are setting and meeting fitness goals. This edition was contributed by Paramedic/Firefighter and Team Firefighter member Conan Kelly.

Conan Kelly running for Team Firefighter

Q: What is your EMS job?
I work as a Paramedic Firefighter for the City of San Rafael. We work a 48 hour shift on a transporting ambulance to local hospital ED’s. Every couple of weeks I rotate onto a paramedic fire engine to fill the role of initial patient contact and stabilization. Aside from responding to EMS emergencies, I am also responsible for EMS supplies for the majority of the department.

Q: Is there an organization that supports your training and racing efforts?

Conan Kelly after finishing a race for Team Firefighter

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EMS professionals are challenged to balance work, family, and other obligations while also staying or striving for mental and physical fitness. The Everyday EMS Athlete is a regular column to recognize and learn from other EMS professionals that are setting and meeting fitness goals. This edition was contributed by EMT/Firefighter and runner Matt Bassett. 

Q: What is your EMS job? 

EMT, Firefighter, Runner

I’m a volunteer firefighter/EMT in Baltimore County, Maryland. I spend my days at the office (I work for a government agency in the Northern Virginia suburbs) and my nights and weekends on the fire engine or my first love, the ambulance. I also work as the planning section chief on the Maryland-1 Disaster Medical Assistance Team (DMAT), whose t-shirt you can see me wearing in this photo.

Q: What are your athletic pursuits and goals?

I’ve been running on and off since high school as a general way of staying fit, but I never really had much of a goal or motivation until the spring of 2010. On a whim, I decided that I wanted to run the Army Ten-Miler, a big road race here in the DC area that supports military families and morale, welfare and recreation (MWR) programs. I’d never run anywhere near that long, and so I began training for it, although a bit haphazardly.

I also picked up an app for my iPhone, linked to a website, called RunKeeper, that kept track of my running accomplishments (distance, pace, etc) in real-time and logged them. Now I had the data available to track how my training was going, and I slowly built up endurance and distance.

Q: Do you have a race, lifestyle changes, or other accomplishments you are particularly proud of?

I ran the Army Ten-Miler in 1:25:33 that October and was pretty excited to have done so. But I didn’t fall out of the habit of running after that; instead, I started to run even more, competing against myself and my own numbers. So when the 2011 Army Ten-Miler rolled around, I managed to do it in 1:14:56, a significant improvement in my book.

Q: Can you share a few tips to help other EMS professionals to set and accomplish fitness goals? 

For me, it’s all about data. I set weekly and monthly goals for mileage, and the numbers don’t lie. Either I accomplished my goals, or I didn’t. If I didn’t, I need to work harder; if I did, I need to set new goals. To be successful at that, you have to set goals that are reasonable, achievable but still enough of a challenge to be rewarding when you meet them. Whatever system you use to account for your progress, accountability- to yourself, to your family- is key.

Q: Do you have any final thoughts to add and how can readers connect with you?

Running, for me, isn’t just about staying in shape mentally. It keeps me balanced psychologically as well. If I’ve had a rough day at the office or in my personal life, there’s very little that a good long run can’t fix- or at least put into better perspective. And when I deal with my patients, especially those with diabetes or other chronic illnesses with which obesity is often co-morbid, I know that I’m serving them better by keeping myself in good physical condition to respond.

I’m also very fortunate to live in Washington, DC, where we have some of the best running routes in America. There’s nothing like cruising past the U.S. Capitol Building, running down the National Mall and crossing the Memorial Bridge to jog down the Potomac River. The city itself is motivation.

Moving forward, I think I’ve done good work with the Ten-Miler and now I’m planning to run the National Marathon next year.

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Blog.CentreLearn.com – My day job is being the Director of Education for CentreLearn Solutions. I add about two posts a week to the CentreLearn blog and manage our social media accounts.

Top Questions about CL Courses for Firefighters, Paramedics, and EMTs

Build your own Online Training Content

FDA Drug Safety Communication on Zofran – this article was contributed by paramedic Steve Cole. It is packed with information.

Medical Author Chat – on the EMSBlogs.com network I host the Medical Author Chat podcasts. Episodes are infrequent. When I can I also add posts related to my enjoyment of reading and writing.

Interview with Dr. Benjamin Luft about We’re Not Leaving about the initial and long-term response at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

My review of We’re Not Leaving.

Recent reads and news will bring you up to speed on my late summer and early fall reading list. I also announce taking the tablet plunge and pre-ordering an Amazon Kindle Fire.

EMS1.com

How are you doing in EMT Class? Use the ideas in this article to assess your progress. Self Assessment: Tracking Your Progress in EMT Class.

A new Everyday EMS Tip at EMS1.com on using Slideshare for EMS.

EMSEduCast

Rob Theriault and I helped Bill Toon by presenting at workshop for Kansas EMS educators. The workshop was repeated on three consecutive days. Rob recorded our 3rd session which was about teaching EMS and technology. You can view our recorded presentation.

PIOSocialMediaTraining.com

Some ideas on how a public safety agency can use an auto responder email campaign.

Loving the Run Blog

I shared my tips for running while on business or leisure travel at the Loving the Run Blog.

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I love coming up with ideas and sharing ideas. Yesterday Doug Mummert retweeted a message from Keith Yaskin, a Fox 10 Phoenix News Reporter, looking for Thanksgiving Day Story ideas. I replied. Keith liked the idea and spent the day with the busiest Phoenix FD station – scroll down for the story. Thanks Doug and Keith. Happy Thanksgiving!

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… and before I could even ask there you were at my side helping me.

Feces Everywhere
Remember that time when the elderly lady had lain for hours in her own feces? I had already told you it was OK to leave, but you lingered for a moment. Then I knew why. Without hesitating you were at my side and with great compassion, a smile, and a twinkle in your eye you helped me roll her tenderly onto a blanket. Thank you, firefighter.

Cold Wet Rain
Remember that time the distraught person was sitting on the curb in the rain? Since they were not a danger to me, themselves, or others you did not need to be there but you were. Standing next to me. I noticed when you changed position to block the patient from the cold wind. Thank you, police officer.

Groceries on the Counter
Remember that time when the patient complained of chest pain while bringing in his groceries? Vitals and pain were assessed. The patient was in a position of comfort. You looked on the counter and noticed the unfinished groceries. Next thing I knew you were carrying the rest of the groceries into the house and putting them away. Thank you, first responder.

Blood Stained Carpet
Remember the time we responded to a lady that fell? Our patient had slipped and hit her head on the floor. You had controlled the head laceration bleeding before we arrived. While we were securing the patient for transport you were on your hands and knees scrubbing the carpet clean. Thank you, first responder.

You didn’t have to help, but you did. I am so grateful for all of the times other members of the emergency response team stepped up to help. Not because they had to. Not because I was going to ask them. Not because it was their job. They stepped up because they wanted to. The “it’s not my job” attitude is not the norm; it is the exception.

I could write a hundred more anecdotes similar to these. I am sure you could too. Share your story in the comments about a time someone didn’t have to help but they did.

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The E.R. Loading Dock: real EMS Stories from Around the World is a compilation of stories from paramedics around the world that met each other and collaborated on the book through an online forum for paramedics. Eric Liddy Sr. an EMT, firefighter, and rescue technician in southeast Michigan led the effort to collect, organize, and edit stories from fourteen different authors.Eric is a paramedic in the Detroit EMS Fire Division, a firefighter volunteer, rescue driver, and hazmat tech for another department.



During our conversation Eric explained how the proceeds from the self-published book are being divided between five different charitable organizations. The charities were chosen by the contributors to the book. The charities have already received their first payment from the book sales. The charities are:

1. National EMS Memorial Service
2. American Cancer Society
3. Multiple Sclerosis National Research Institute
4. Shriners Hospital for Children
5. Cystic Fibrosis Foundation

Eric also read one of his stories that is in the book about the event that inspired him to become an emergency responder. He concluded by sharing some of the lessons he has learned in this process. Connect with Eric through the Stories from the ER Loading Dock Facebook Fan Page.

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Introduction

Retired firefighter/EMS Steven L Schrader is the guest for this episode of the Medical Author Chat. Steven is the author of Silent Alarm: On the Edge With a Deaf EMT (Amazon Link). Steven wrote his book based on his experiences as a firefighter EMT in Atlanta, Georgia.

I contacted Steven after Jamie Davis, the host of the MedicCast, forwarded me an email from one of his listeners. The listener was seeking our advice on becoming an EMT. He wrote that he is partially deaf and was having trouble with EMS instructors not giving him opportunities to practice and demonstrate competency at auscultation of things like breath sounds and lung sounds. My efforts to offer advice to this student led me to Steven and Silent Alarm.

Instead of an audio interview Steven requested that the interview be posted as text. To read what Steven has to say about the book and his advice to students that are profoundly deaf or hearing impaired continue reading.

Contributed to Medical Author Chat by Steven L Schrader

I never really intended for Silent Alarm to be an autobiography when it was originally a part of my therapy on the advice of my psychiatrist helping me deal with post traumatic stress syndrome for all the crap I’ve seen into writing, as a way of venting my anger, frustration and from the horror of working on the streets of Atlanta for thirty years.

It was on a dare from my mother to send it to Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C., never really expecting them to publish it. I didn’t think anyone would believe it anyway. After it was published, I then decided I did want the book to offer alternatives choices for those who aspire to be a deaf firefighter or an EMT as to whether they think that they can fail or succeed based on my experiences.

As for the questions you submitted, I feel compelled not talk about the book but to take this opportunity to respond to the reader that contacted you who is struggling to gain entry into an EMT program.

Becoming a Firefighter

It is vital for anyone who wants to be a deaf firefighter or EMT must understand that their own success or failure to become one actually depends largely with their demographic, where you live, and if it is a volunteer or a career station. Metropolitan or in the boon docks. Georgia or New York. In fact, a deaf person would have a better chance in the North than in the South. Deaf education is far more superior in the northern states than in the South. A good education is vital to the success or failure in becoming a deaf firefighter or EMT. That was my main point when I wrote the book.

Now, I don’t know if the reader who contacted you is profoundly deaf or hearing impaired with some residual speech. I do believe that between the two that the chance of failure or success is in itself definite. A profoundly deaf firefighter is not feasible when a hearing impaired firefighter is more likely to succeed with the right equipment. A deaf EMT is not possible and never will be. A hearing impaired EMT is possible, again, with the right equipment.

Still a deaf man might have a chance if he knew his history and how other deaf men became volunteers without restrictions.

In 1921, an independent deaf teacher, Albert Pierce claimed the secret to happiness for a deaf-mute then, if not today to be a deaf firefighter, was, ‘to forget that he or she was deaf and try to meet on equal terms whosoever comes in contact with him,’ especially with other firefighters. That statement he made alone was the reason I succeeded. It is the ultimate key to success and again education and more education. Never stop going to school.

How to Start

The best way to start is to be a deaf advocate and become a ‘certified’ observer with the local fire department. Most of them do have program that allow citizens to ride with the fire department. That would be an excellent way to know if a deaf man has what it takes to become a deaf firefighter and be willing to accept his restriction and limitation by picking up a technical fire manual and read it. If unable to understand the technical terms, a deaf man is not ready to become a deaf firefighter, much less an EMT.

Quite honestly, when I wrote Silent Alarm, I had never heard of another deaf firefighter and didn’t think there would ever be one. I am quite surprised after having visited the internet and read how many of these deaf firefighters claimed to know how to become one but yet they are restricted on many job functions of a firefighter. Many of them insist that the fire station must learn sign language.

But they are all going about it the wrong way. Many of them are using the ADA law as a weapon.

Becoming a Deaf Firefighter

The original manuscript was more than 500 pages. The publisher’s budget forced the manuscript to be drastically edited to some odd 150 pages. So I didn’t really feel it was a success since there were so much more to talk about. Unfortunately, how to become a deaf firefighter or an EMT was edited out.

Sequel Book: How to be a Deaf Firefighter

I am currently writing my next book, ‘How to be a Deaf Firefighter’, including the remarkable history of deaf volunteer firefighters. It will, I hope, help answer questions by providing a guideline, or as a manual, so to speak, for those who desire to be a deaf firefighter or an EMT.

If I may have the opportunity, I would like to clarify my status as this country’s first deaf firefighter and EMT, for those who dispute my claim. Although, I am not the first since there were deaf volunteer firefighters since 1835, I was a career firefighter, deaf educated, as well as an emergency medical technician, for thirty years without restrictions that other deaf firefighters and EMT s are experiencing today.

I would also like to clarify that I am legally deaf, although I am hearing impaired with an obvious speech impediment. I totally rely on lip-reading and used to wear hearing aids. It’s been interesting to know that in some psychiatric literatures in medical journals, dealing with deafness, the authors claimed that it was actually my rapid oral communication skills that had helped me to overcome and adapt in Fire, EMS and the military. I’ll give that credit to the Eastern North Carolina School for the Deaf and my parents. Education and honor thy mother and father.

Homicide or Suicide?

Even if a deaf man failed, it took courage to try and be willing to risk his life. But by chance, he succeeds; he is committing suicide or risking the lives of other firefighters and citizens alike. Mine included.

His biggest fear should be being the first and only firefighter on a structural fire. Only then a deaf firefighter will understand his limitation and realize he is just as valuable assisting the other firefighters to do what he cannot do in the first place.

Being the first deaf firefighter on the scene and unable to communicate with the child’s mother, to her location in the house, is tantamount to manslaughter. There are no amounts of modern technology that can ever replace the sense of hearing a small child crying out for help in a house fire.

Favorite Stories: How did I survive?

The obese woman and having to make the decision that only God makes as to whether she would live or die or of having met Jesus when I wanted to jump off a parking deck and the horror of how people live was nothing to the shock of having survived and lived about it to retire. And I am deaf! Many of my partners have died in the line of duty, some on crack, cocaine, AIDS, suicide or from infections picked up off the streets. That is usually the first question that most people I meet ask … how did I survive? Quite honestly, I don’t know. I can’t say I have a favorite story. They are all bad. I have to live with it.

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My interests in emergency response are broad. These are blogs targeted to firefighters that I check daily for new content:

STATter 911 is Fire and EMS news from veteran reporter Dave Statter.

FireGeezer is a combination of news, training content, and commentary led by retired fire captain Bill Schumm. With multiple daily posts this is a great blog to check daily.

The Fire Critic, like Everyday EMS Tips, is a fairly new blog. The Fire Critic promises an “unadulterated view of the fire service.” I also use and appreciate the Fire Critic’s tips for blogging success.

Also remember to visit Firefighting.Alltop.com for all the top firefighting news websites and blogs.

What are your favorite firefighting blogs?

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