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I really think this speaks for it's self. . .
Indiana Paramedic Opens EMS School
- Frank Denzler, The Rushville Republican, Ind.
Jun. 25--On any given night a number of local residents, those from nearby and some from not so near counties may be found in the 100 block of West First Street in downtown Rushville. There is no need for alarm, they are simply taking a break from studies at the Tri-County Medical Academy, one of the county's newest businesses.
Director of the school and Fayette County resident Bill Hufford is no stranger to the emergency medical field, having logged more than 28 years of in-field medical care and more than 20 years as an instructor.
Originally from North Carolina, Hufford became an EMT in 1981 and later a paramedic.
A four year stint in the U.S. Navy, from 1987 through 1991, found Hufford serving during both Desert Storm and Desert Shield where he was tapped to be in division school as a trainer and became a primary instructor teaching military EMT training.
"I have basically been in the medical field and working for ambulance services my entire adult life," Hufford said.
After serving his country, Hufford settled in Ohio for a couple of years prior to relocating to Indiana and becoming the Director of EMS in Logansport. That move was followed to his current residence in Connersville, where he served as a flight medic on an air ambulance and followed that by again returning to the field and working for an ambulance service.
"About three years ago, I simply got tired of working for everyone else and wanted to go into business for myself. That is when I opened my own school, the Tri-County Training Academy," Hufford said.
The operation began in the converted garage of his home, to later holding classes in fire department training rooms and has since expanded to its current home in Rushville.
The medical training school currently has an average enrollment of nearly 150 students gaining instruction at various levels of in-field medical care: EMT-B, EMT-Advance and EMT-paramedic.
"I don't think that a lot of people realize the capabilities of an EMT or that of a paramedic. During a life threatening emergency such as difficulty breathing or a heart attack the paramedic ambulance has the capability to administer the exact same medications as that of an emergency room, the only difference is that they are administered right at the scene and not 20 to 30 minutes later at the hospital. That definitely increases the chance for survival. We more or less bring the emergency room to the patient," he said.
Completing the course is just one step in the process of becoming an EMT or paramedic. Specified ride time with trained medical personnel on an ambulance, hospital emergency room clinical time and successfully passing the State of Indiana exam are also required.
"Once the classroom instruction and the other requirements are met individuals are eligible to sit for the state boards. Just like nursing you are not a nurse when you complete nursing school, you still have to pass the state boards," Hufford said.
The instructor said Tri-County Training Academy has a high pass rate for those taking the state exam.
"We are an Indiana Department of Homeland Security advanced training center and offer the only state-based program that teaches the tactic-medic program. Once that training is complete it allows the EMT or paramedic to go with an area SWAT Team and act as part of that team. It also entitles the individual to be on an entry team at a state prison," the instructor said.
When asked about his concerns regarding opening a business in the current economic climate Hufford said that quality trained medical personnel have been, are and will always be needed.
"No matter how bad the economy is there are always going to be those individuals that are sick or become injured. The fields of EMTs and paramedics are actually evolving and growing. You will now find them working in emergency rooms at hospitals and medical clinics. Their rolls are really expanding," Hufford said.
Indiana Paramedic Opens EMS School
- Frank Denzler, The Rushville Republican, Ind.
Jun. 25--On any given night a number of local residents, those from nearby and some from not so near counties may be found in the 100 block of West First Street in downtown Rushville. There is no need for alarm, they are simply taking a break from studies at the Tri-County Medical Academy, one of the county's newest businesses.
Director of the school and Fayette County resident Bill Hufford is no stranger to the emergency medical field, having logged more than 28 years of in-field medical care and more than 20 years as an instructor.
Originally from North Carolina, Hufford became an EMT in 1981 and later a paramedic.
A four year stint in the U.S. Navy, from 1987 through 1991, found Hufford serving during both Desert Storm and Desert Shield where he was tapped to be in division school as a trainer and became a primary instructor teaching military EMT training.
"I have basically been in the medical field and working for ambulance services my entire adult life," Hufford said.
After serving his country, Hufford settled in Ohio for a couple of years prior to relocating to Indiana and becoming the Director of EMS in Logansport. That move was followed to his current residence in Connersville, where he served as a flight medic on an air ambulance and followed that by again returning to the field and working for an ambulance service.
"About three years ago, I simply got tired of working for everyone else and wanted to go into business for myself. That is when I opened my own school, the Tri-County Training Academy," Hufford said.
The operation began in the converted garage of his home, to later holding classes in fire department training rooms and has since expanded to its current home in Rushville.
The medical training school currently has an average enrollment of nearly 150 students gaining instruction at various levels of in-field medical care: EMT-B, EMT-Advance and EMT-paramedic.
"I don't think that a lot of people realize the capabilities of an EMT or that of a paramedic. During a life threatening emergency such as difficulty breathing or a heart attack the paramedic ambulance has the capability to administer the exact same medications as that of an emergency room, the only difference is that they are administered right at the scene and not 20 to 30 minutes later at the hospital. That definitely increases the chance for survival. We more or less bring the emergency room to the patient," he said.
Completing the course is just one step in the process of becoming an EMT or paramedic. Specified ride time with trained medical personnel on an ambulance, hospital emergency room clinical time and successfully passing the State of Indiana exam are also required.
"Once the classroom instruction and the other requirements are met individuals are eligible to sit for the state boards. Just like nursing you are not a nurse when you complete nursing school, you still have to pass the state boards," Hufford said.
The instructor said Tri-County Training Academy has a high pass rate for those taking the state exam.
"We are an Indiana Department of Homeland Security advanced training center and offer the only state-based program that teaches the tactic-medic program. Once that training is complete it allows the EMT or paramedic to go with an area SWAT Team and act as part of that team. It also entitles the individual to be on an entry team at a state prison," the instructor said.
When asked about his concerns regarding opening a business in the current economic climate Hufford said that quality trained medical personnel have been, are and will always be needed.
"No matter how bad the economy is there are always going to be those individuals that are sick or become injured. The fields of EMTs and paramedics are actually evolving and growing. You will now find them working in emergency rooms at hospitals and medical clinics. Their rolls are really expanding," Hufford said.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Aerial on -
Skip, from reading several of your posts I understand that you believe that medics should have a higher level of education that what is currently required. And I think that would be fine if the additional courses were relevant to EMS (more anatomy etc.) but having to take some of the required core classes for college would really be a bit excessive not to mention and extra expense. Also no one is going to further their education without incentives such as higher pay. Why would you go through all the extra trouble and spend the extra money to make the same crappy wage as someone who just got the license? Not trying to start an argument, I am just curious as to where you are coming from?
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Permalink Reply by Robert Sullivan on -
The problem is not that Hufford is starting an EMS training academy, it's that our system allows him to do it. Even is the program is exactly the same as a college based one, college graduates will get us more respect in the medical community. I compare this type of program to some of the less reputable nurse training programs. If you spend five minutes watching daytime TV, (which I occasionally do at work) you will see commercials for these mixed in with ones for sleazy lawyers. Their target audience is, well, at home during they day.
If EMS as a profession wants to move forward, we must accept nothing less than graduates from accredited training programs.
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Permalink Reply by Gul Dukat on -
Well first of all I am not sure why this article makes it sound like Bill is just now starting this program. He has had this for a few years now and before that he was teaching under the banner of the county agency that he was the director of.
Now if you want to argue that E.M.S. needs to be on a different educational track, that is fine but that is not the way it is currently done. Also not to compare the two but currently, at least in our state, Nurses can go to schools that are just nursing schools that were started and are ran for the single specific purpose of making nurses. They are usually provided by Hospitals, but there are also a couple of private religious based programs as well. They have to pass their nursing boards to practice so in essence to me anyway it is very similar to the way that this program works.
I realize that entertaining speakers do not always make the best educators but in this case Bill is both. Actually I will go so far as to say that as speakers and educators go Bill is right at the top of the list of people I have ever set through.
Call Bill up and ask him yourself.
Here are a couple of his websites
http://tricountyemt.com/
http://www.medtact1.com/
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Permalink Reply by Jonathan Gilliam on -
Just to put it out there, I graduated from a Community College in NC with my AAS for my paramedic so I completely agree that the standards should be higher. I say that because I've seen the degree programs weed out a good percentage of people who would not succeed as paramedics because if you are dedicated enough to complete all of the courses, then you are probably going to make a decent medic. Someone brought up before that there are a lot of unneccessary courses in an AAS program, which I think is false. I feel they help give a person a good foundation to be a professional medic. I also think it is better for the students because a potential employer will take a college grad more seriously than a person with just a certificate.
My earlier statement goes to the fact that I see nothing wrong with a person running a successful business. Just because it is in his house does not make it sub-standard, because it obviously has the blessing of his state's EMS office. Under the current standards, this sort of thing is no different than an EMS service training thier own medics. (some of them crank them out in 9 months which is just mind-boggling to me) Different place, same standard, and as things go currently there's nothing wrong with this. So, to add to my first comment, I don't see anything wrong with his business. He's been successful and that's a great thing. What needs to change is the standards for training, and I agree whole-heartedly with Jerry, Skip and Robert on this. But as long as the standards are what they are, I see absolutely nothing wrong with this training school. So to wrap up my thoughts, let's not knock this guy for filling a need. Really, the problem is with the fact that all of the states won't come together and accept a higher national standard. I hope that the standards will increase, and soon. But until that day, from purely a business standpoint, I think his business is a success and shouldn't be used as our whipping boy.
And one other thing I wanted to throw out there. Here in Saudi Arabia, medics must have a minimum of an AAS to be licensed by the Ministry of Health as a Paramedic. As for Aramco, almost all of our medics have thier NREMT-P and either have or are seeking Bachelor's degrees. I do think that this goes far towards how we are respected by the company and by the Kingdom as a whole. King Abdullah himself has recognized the importance of highly trained paramedics and had directed a lot of money into training and education of EMS providers. Maybe if the standards were the same in the US, the respect would be the same. Who knows?
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on -
Aerial, I'm sorry but I think that you are just wrong. Your logic is circular.
Nobody is going to raise the pay of paramedics and hope that they later increase their education. If we as an industry did that, there would be fewer card-holders so the competion would drive compensation higher. Not personal, but a person who had taken a couple of semesters of economics at the college level would understand the concepts of supply, demand, price and quantity without having to ask.
Now....I'm going to think about the last 10 calls my service responded to (in the last hour).
One was a major trauma following an MVC with extrication. The medics learned about the trauma in medic school, but they did not learn a thing about working in that hazardous environment.
Two calls involved substance abuse. Paramedic "trade school" doesn't teach you much, if anything, about dealing with substance abuse.
Two calls dealt with mental health issues. Again, trade school teaches you nothing about that. We have trained a group of "crisis intervention paramedics" who have the equivalent of a 3-credit course in dealing with these patients.
There were five geriatric calls. Trade school paramedics are perfectly able to throw those patients in a truck, put them on oxygen, and get them to the hospital without doing further harm. But they know little if anything about the physical, mental, and social issues of geriatric patients. There's another three credit course.
One patient was a reported cardiac arrest, long enough so no resuscitation was attempted. Your standard trade school paramedic could get that far, but how about dealing with the distressed, hysterical, don't know where to start family. There's another course - grief management.
And one patient, an asthmatic, spoke only spanish, as did her parents. Did they teach you conversational spanish in a paramedic certification course? NOT!!!!!!!!!!! But you can learn to have a pretty good conversation with 4 semesters of college spanish.
No, a certificate is not enough. An associate degree is a bare minimum. And I could fill out a really interesting bachelor's degree with material that would make a really good street paramedic. And there would be less of them --- and the pay, and the level of professional respect would climb.
God bless King Abdullah, as described above. I have a friend who is a paramedic educator in the Kingdom, Brent Huntley, at King Khalid Military Medical Center. It sounds like they are building a pretty good program there.
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Permalink Reply by Jerry on -
Jonathan, my comments were not directed at Mr Hufford, he in all likelihood is as fine an upstanding person as you could meet. My intent is to focus on the entire concept of "home schooling EMTs.
As long as the broad based academic preparation is lacking, the profession will be dragging it's butt on the carpet. Academic training teaches things like critical thinking vs. see it and select from ONE of the following protocols; hopefully one will fit. But, and this is IMPORTANT, very few of our patients have ever read the book. They do not know or appreciate that they can only have one problem at a time. Nor do they know that one dose of [fill in the blank] probably will not fix the problem, (schucks, it ALWAYS worked in class).
Skip says, "No, a certificate is not enough. An associate degree is a bare minimum. And I could fill out a really interesting bachelor's degree with material that would make a really good street paramedic. And there would be less of them --- and the pay, and the level of professional respect would climb." I say, "YEA! Skip, keep prodding us to move forward!" (In case you can't tell, I am standing and applauding briskly. HOOOAHHHHHHH
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Permalink Reply by Dawn Burrows on -
Jerry I completely agree. I try to impart the importance of understanding the why's behind what we are doing upon the students that I get on the medic. They complain a great deal about the college and how they have to "learn so much" when they just want to get it over with. Luckily the more intensive and college based courses tend to eventually weed those out who don't really want to be there but are doing it for reasons other than patient care.
Jerry said:After reading the posts, I believe Skip has summed it all up quite nicely. As for the cost of becoming an EMT, it should be expensive in both time and cost, in part to keep out wankers, and those who "just wanna help, a-yup" Again I stress, PROFESSIONALISM. As far as "back yard medical school, if you know a FMG (Foreign Medical Graduate) in Grenada, ask him/or her about becoming licensed in the US.
Another dimension is that academic preparation elevates the profession; put all of us on more equal standing with other MEDICAL professions. I know how to do [pick you skill], but I don't understand why. THIS is the critical difference between "education" and "training." Do you want your brain surgeon educated or trained? Please don't tell me that EMS is different. It isn't; we want to get in get trained and get out on the street to become Lifesavers (sorry Thom Dick, borrowed your term).
I have guest lectured at many TRAINING programs, and in nearly all of them someone asks, "will this be on the test?" My answer is always, "Yes. It may be on the test you take when our are providing potentially life saving care to a patient, not the next regurgitation test you take in class!"
Ben: Pass rates are not an indication of quality of training. I know several current EMTs and Paramedics that were successful despite their program. That particular "school" finally went away in the face of increasing requirements
Jonathan, thanks for your comments; however I strongly disagree with your viewpoint.
Ben: you answered my "What's wrong with this?" in your comments - EMS will continue to be the red head b*****d, until we are willing to concede that this is a Profession, not a j-o-b (with deference to my FD*NY friends who do not run calls, they run jobs.)
To all: thank you for taking time to post your comments. This is the type of discussion that will eventually change the face of EMS. . .hopefully.
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Permalink Reply by Aerial on
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So skip, Let me try and warp my mind around what you are saying. First off you are assuming I am not college educated. I may not be for my Paramedic license, but you just assume I have not been for other pursuits? I will tell you I owned and operated a successful business for several years, so I do know a thing or two about supply and demand. And I find your comment insulting. As for the rest, I don't know what kind of Paramedic school the people you know attend, but mine was actually through a college with the option to get a degree with additional math and English and elective courses. We were specifically taught about hazardous environments (awareness level) enough to recognize a situation and allow the people who specifically went to school for that matter to handle up on that, yet enough to keep ourselves out of danger. We were taught about substance abuse, the effect of many different drugs, meds and alcohol, what clues to look for to find out what they might be using and how to handle the situation until we arrive at the hospital. We were also taught about several mental health issues we will commonly come into contact with and how to handle them. And although we were not taught about every possible illness (probably a good thing since that is what the Psychiatrists make big bucks for) we were taught enough to do our job effectively. We were taught in A and P about the physical differences between children, adults and elderly patients. We were further taught about child development and what to expect at what stage and we actually were taught about the mental and social changes for the elderly patient. We also were taught specifically in length about how to deal with grieving people, the stages of grief, what to expect and how to handle the situation and how to properly inform friends and family that there loved one has died with respect and control. Now the only one you got me on was Spanish, nope they don't teach us that, although we did go through some sign language which was a bonus. So my point is I am not sure what area you are in but maybe the Paramedic course is really watered down? Personally I do not agree with zero to hero programs and cramming medics through the door just to have meat in the seat. Maybe I should feel blessed that my program was rather well rounded and did teach us all the fundamentals and beyond?
Aerial
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on
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I guess you should. You were advocating for the school that was the subject of this thread, and you talked about "if the additional courses were relevant to EMS (more anatomy etc.) but having to take some of the required core classes for college."
I submit that those courses ARE relevant. If your "box" is limited to paramedicine, you may do fine as a technician, but you will never be considered a professional. It's not about you, it's about what your arguments represent for our profession. They represent "technician" all they way.
"Awareness" level courses are never enough - unless you believe that the EMS role is to stand by while the patient suffers, and let somebody else (trained to a higher level) do your work while the extrication goes on around you. That's not EMS as I believe it should be. We should be able to provide care whenever and wherever it is needed - and if that means providing an airway while a patient is trapped in a technical rescue situation, then we need the equipment, the training, and the skill to provide that care - not to stand around until someone above "awareness" gets done doing their thing.
Local paramedic programs meet all the prescribed state and national standards. Not good enough - those standards are just plain too watered-down. The few hours spent on things like mental health, substance abuse, geriatrics, etc (which constitute a LARGE portion of what we do) are way glossed over. Other disciplines (like the nurses we keep talking about) take 3 credit courses, or more, in that kind of subject matter.
I just have higher aspirations for EMS than what I see evolving today.
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Permalink Reply by Michele Logue on -
Take a minute and think what you are saying here. Not all EMT classes are taught through a University atthis point..yet. Many departments still do ihouse First Responder and EMTBasic courses in hous with a State or Nat'l course instructor. Does it really make a differance where the location is? Not really it's the education that is presented to the students both didactic and hands on. Practice makes perfect even though not all calls are ran in the same nature except for protocal adherence. I have taught for 28 years this year and have had approximately 2 classes a year with good pass rate,butnow they are expecting instructors to have a EMS degree to teach, I have no degree does that mean that I can't put out an outstnding basic for the field, I don't think so. Most of this is political control and thats all. Up till now in Illinois probably 70% of EMT's came rom outsie a college setting. The instructor gives knowledge, the student learns if interested.
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Permalink Reply by Skip Kirkwood on
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You've completely missed my point.
I'm sure you can teach the EMT curriculum just fine. You can't give an academic degree, and (unless you've got a lot of extra credentials) you can't teach college english, math, sociology, biology, chemistry, history, or all the other courses that a person needs to become a member of an educated profession. You can teach technical skills - but technical skills do not make a professional. And "pass rates" don't impress me at all - the tests are written at about the 7th grade level and you could drill anybody enough to pass the test. That in no way suggests that they will have a clue what to do with a sick person the first time they see one.
All of this is why people in the pre-hospital arena get near-poverty pay and little or no respect from the educated professionals that we encounter every day. Nothing political - reality.
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Permalink Reply by Aerial on
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Skip, it seems like your ideal Paramedic has a Bachelor's Degree(at a minimum), is multi-lingual, is trained at all levels of hazmat response, is a trained firefighter, trained in search and rescue and any other specialized training that might be necessary so we wouldn't have to "stand around until someone above "awareness" gets done doing their thing." And the ambulance would be impressive, too. Large enough to carry all of the normal ems gear along with hazmat response and decon gear, extrication gear, fire suppression equipment and any other specialized gear to meet any type of response. I know this is somewhat of an exaggeration(I hope), but it does seem like the direction that some people would like to see EMS go. I am all for gaining any knowledge I can to make me a better Paramedic, but the generic "core" courses at a college don't really do that. As far as professionalism, virtually every "degree" Paramedic I have ever had contact with are some of the least "professional" people I know. They tend to be arrogant, they know everything and tend to look down on us "certificate" Paramedics as unprofessional and uneducated. And they also get treated no better than Paramedics without a degree, despite pointing out the fact that they have a degree every chance they get. Is it possible that being treated with respect by educated professionals might have more to do with how you treat others and carry yourself, and less to do with a piece of paper? Do they teach how to earn respect when you get a degree? Now I do believe that EMS education could use some work, its not anywhere near perfect. But I believe that anything done to improve it should be done with improved patient care as the primary reason and stroking the ego of medics that want more respect from nurses and doctors a distant second.
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