w4phm

Well here we go, they changed the rules on me again.

I was an EMT-A lay instructor and Shock Trauma Technician,
which is an advanced emt who can start IVs,defibrillate, intubate,
give a few drugs for anaphalaxis and hypoglycemia and was a
CPR instructor trainer for 10 years in the 80's and 90's.
I left EMS and raised my
daughter, after my divorce I had custody.

Now my daughter is older and I decided about a year and a half
ago to re-enter EMS, as a volunteer with a local Rescue Squad.

In the last 18 months I have essentially regained more than
what I had before, I am an AHA CPR/AED instructor, became
and EMT-B with the highest grade in my class both on the state
exam and the class average and finished my NREMT-I program
with the second highest grade in the class in January.

I am not a "know it all" but I was with a volunteer squad that ran
over 500 calls per month for 10 years and worked on a paid
911 service in the city of Richmond VA while in College, so I have
run my share of calls.

As I re-entered and received my ALS certifications, I was told
I needed to precept with some other providers and get at least
15 ALS calls in where I ran the call and get the recommendation
of those providers and then I could be released to practice as the
sole ALS provider as an ALS AIC.

Now that I have completed those requirements, with good
recommendations from all of my preceptors, not to mention
those I precepted under while I was doing clinicals for my
EMT-I, they decided to change the rules on me.

I received a call from the training officer, a fairly good friend of mine
today. He told me this: "With all of your experience in the past and
your performance recently (a compliment I thought), we have decided
to have you precept 25 Calls with Monitor, IV, Drugs pushed and an
additional report attached to your precept report with all differential
diagnoses. Addionally Patrick we want you to teach some newer
BLS providers some assessment or AED skills and perhaps write
a few papers on trauma or medical care."

Now I don't have a problem with those requirements, except that they
changed them on me right before I was supposed to be released to
practice as an ALS provider on my own. I certainly have the experience


well, and now I have to jump through more hoops. I am really not that
pissed but am somewhat dissappointed. If I have some deficets in my
skills I would want to know, but everyone is saying I am doing great,
my patient skills are good, I deveolop a good repore with patients, my
skills are strong and I both work well as a team leader and part of a
team.

Has anyone else experienced this stuff? Is there something political
going on? Are some of my skills iin question and if so what? I will
work on anything that is not exeptional and work hard until it becomes
above reproach, but still I have to jump through more hoops.

Any replies or suggestions would be helpfull. By the way, I completed
my ACLS and PALS and have been trying to find a BTLS/PHTLS,
PHMLS and PHPLS just for my own edification, although my squad
does not require these certifications, they suggest them and I did them.

Thanks for any replies,

Disappointed in VA
--
Patrick H. Mason M.S. OHST, EMT-I
Certified Safety Engineer
Central Virginia