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In a long-anticipated move, Envision Healthcare, parent corporation of American Medical Response, MedicWest Ambulance Service, River Medical and several other ambulance services as well as PHI air-ambulance, will require all lead-position clinical employees to have a minimum of an Associate’s degree within three years. This mandate, to be effective as of January 1st, 2017, will require over 9,000 paramedics to earn degrees within three years to remain employed- reportedly without compensation from work.
When asked by Callthecops reporter RJ Beam, Envision Healthcare’s human-resources manager simply said “insurance is getting expensive, and with the changes that we are trying to make in our operations and expansions in our business, we need educated employees. If paramedics aren’t willing to earn their degrees to continue working for us, they won’t have a place at American Medical Response. We’re going to be having paramedics treating people at home, telling people that they don’t need to go to the hospital, helping arrange medications. They need to have degrees if they want to be anything more than ambulance drivers. They need to be educated.”
Increasing insurance costs and liability, expanded scopes of practice and the reluctance of insurers to reimburse ambulance runs at ALS rates due to the credentials of the crew on-board were also cited as rationale for this decision, which will be one of the largest degree requirements in the American EMS industry. “We’re losing money- a lot of money- on runs that should be fully reimbursed because the insurance companies are asking for more proof of knowledge than a tech-school paramedic patch. They’re demanding the background knowledge that tells a patient that they need to go to the emergency room by ambulance. That can’t be measured by intuition or experience- it’s got to be objective.”
Earl Davis, union president for the International Brotherhood of Ambulance Workers, was heavily critical of the mandate. In an interview with Callthecops, he claimed the interview was “discriminating against good medics by people who couldn’t hack it on the streets”. “I’m all for more skills and being able to do more, but saying that we have to go back to school to keep our jobs is insulting” said Earl. “Everyone knows that textbook medics suck because you can be book smart or you can be street smart. any EMS educator can tell you that you’ll learn 80% of your skills and job while on the job and not in a classroom. That’s the way it has been for years. You can’t say that I need a degree to do this job, because I already do it, and I’m one of the best medics anywhere. We’re always going to take them to the emergency room anyway, so why do I have to learn more? And it’s not like they’re going to pay us more- they only ever pay more if the staffing is low. How are we going to run calls if only a few people have degrees?”
“Yeah, I’m speaking for my self, but I’m pretty sure if u respond to a emergency call with someone dying there not going to look up at u and ask do u have a associates degree no well then get me a medic with a associates degree here” said Earl’s partner. “If I wanted to be going to school to save lives, I’d be a nurse, but I don’t like asking for permission. Here, I can use my skills to save lives.”
Competitor Rural/Metro is set to announce a less-extreme plan that will mandate all EMTs complete an Ambulance Driver’s Nursing Assistance course to familiarize them with working with registered nurses in a prehospital environment. Although Callthecops was unable to reach Rural/Metro for official comment, we have learned from interior sources that the training emphasizes the skills strengths of EMTs in driving, lifting and placing interventions under the supervision of a nurse to deliver care.
