Education and how to sell it for EMS

In addition to my career as an attorney, I'm a volunteer EMT here in Texas. I participate on several EMS lists. On the lists, several of the "key thinkers" in EMS are constantly pushing for EMTs and paramedics to enhance their education and improve their critical thinking. Yet the majority of EMS providers who post on the Texas EMS list who say they "don't need to learn that, because they need to learn medicine" are the same ones who blindly accept scientific studies without questioning the underlying rationale of the study and whose grammar and spelling border on functional illiteracy.

I'm absolutely confident that courses like English Composition and Latin make me a better medic. Why? Not because Latin or English teach you a thing about medicine. The last time I checked, they don't hide pharmacology lessons in The Canterbury Tales. However, reading the great works of literature exposed me to mastery of the English language and how great minds view the world. Gaining a mastery of the English language helps me to express my thoughts both verbally and orally. That means two things. First, my reports are legible and literate. Second, I can express my thoughts professionally to my healthcare colleagues. (Those two skills, in my opinion, help enhance the professional reputation of EMS.)

As for the critical thinking, a great medic once told me that anyone can do the skills. It takes intelligence developed by critical thinking to know when to do (and not to do) the interventions. Understanding the rationale behind the skills and weighing the advantages and disadvantages of the interventions is true patient advocacy.

Unfortunately, those who don't have the education don't (usually) understand the value of a liberal arts curriculum. Until the EMS community begins to accept the values of a core education in liberal arts, EMS is doomed to be considered a technical degree right up (or down) there with air conditioning repair and welding.

Of course, there should continue to be a "certificate-only" route for those EMS students who already have another bachelor's level degree or who pass an exam of general knowledge.