Jason Merrill's Page

"I tend to agree with the good doctor on this one: minimum education standards are something that should be uniform across a wide area. If a locality requires a bachelor's degree to become an EMS practitioner, but the rest of the country only…"

"Labor unions are never going to be the vehicle for advancing professional EMS that the IAFF has been for the professional fire service. The IAFF is a "trade union." Trade unions like IAFF organize workers who are of the same profession,…"

"Skip, you've articulated the root problems (apathy and lack of organization on the part of professional EMS providers vis-a-vis volunteers) pretty well, and you're one of the few folks who can legitimately be termed an "EMS…"

"After thinking about it a bit, I'll definitely concede the first point: the bottom line is still that the EMT-B curriculum as currently constructed is not adequate to what it's designed for. While the effects of the lower entry level…"

"I've practiced in both the US and Canada, and had some contact with Anglo-American model EMS practitioners from other countries as well, and after seeing the wider world I think what you're describing is really mostly a US problem.…"

"In most of Canada, EMS has largely outgrown the phenomenon whereby the police and fire services look down their noses at us, and depending on the locale our compensation is usually competitive with the fire service. Therefore, I think it's…"