Systemic: An Introduction to Our Emergency Response System.

By Ann Sandez

First responders are our communitiesfirst line defense against injury and illness. They make up an incredibly intricate system created to address the urgent, and emergent needs of the community every day. They are committed to helping all of those in need, but who is taking care of them?

Systemic is a new type of educational text designed for first responders.Systemicalso contains valuable information to enlighten first responderfamiliesonon this intricate system and how they are effected by it. Fifteen years of insight and experience comes to life in this book which covers everything from self care, to policy making, operations, and leadership in our emergency response system. Delve into the issues that are systemic and look for solutions that can only be found by working together.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Oct 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9781387769162

Book preview

Systemic: An Introduction to Our Emergency Response System.

SYSTEMIC

An Introduction to Our Emergency Response System

Copyright Page

Copyright June 2018 Ann Sandez. All rights reserved.

Published by Ann Sandez

Definitions referenced from

Dictionary by Merriam-Webster: America's most-trusted online dictionary. (n.d.). Retrieved April 24, 2018, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary

Graphics completed by Lendermations. All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-1-387-76916-2

Dedication

If you are sitting in anything with lights and sirens on it, driving to or from a haven that cares for the ill or injured, or find yourself in an institution dedicated to building up the next generation who will do the above, this is for you.

Letter from the Author

The idea for this book came to me while driving to work one day and listening to my daily meditation. As I was driving to the city where I started my career as an explorer for a local ambulance company, continued to work as a paramedic while teaching at a local community college, and now worked at a systems level to oversee E.M.S. programs for first responders, I found myself wondering why it seemed so difficult for others to have a career they truly desired and if a pathway was created for them would they actually pursue it?

Far too often paramedics and EMTs do little to continue their academic education other than the mandatory CE requirements once they have completed their primary training. Continuing education classes habitually have similar content and very little new or innovative information for the participants. It has become a ritual, almost like a dogma that is followed because it is protocol and not to expand the working knowledge of the professionals who need it.

Students of EMT and paramedics programs learn material but less commonly know when, where, or how it will be applied. When students learn so much in such a short period of time, they struggle with what information to keep readily available for recall, and what they can place in a mental drawer (so to speak) for a later date.  Educators in paramedic programs are looking for better ways to communicate with the incoming generation of students. Because technology changes so fast the way they learned themselves is now considered archaic and ineffective in today’s learning environment.

Once EMTs and paramedics complete their primary training they still have very little, if any awareness of the system that they are working in and how they can effectively create change for their everyday work experience and professional improvement. Nurse Educators, EMS Coordinator’s and Continuing Education Training Specialists within the county continuously work in silos, replicate work, or have great difficulty finishing projects due to the lack of financial or logistical support. There are a multitude of different answers to the complex possibilities of how to improve the EMS system of the county I grew up in and fell in love with. Some of those answers may even seem contradictory at the base level.  

Even with all of the fore mentioned opportunities for improvement within the system this particular county is one of the most progressive and capable systems in the nation. How could this be? It is the resilient spirit of the professional individuals and teams who continue to improve and fight for a better system every day.

With every call, every transport, and every patient contact, the first responders and emergency allied health professionals of San Bernardino County show their dedication to their craft. Compassion manifests itself in the improvement of others who truly are the least of these in a community that has seen better days. To those who sacrifice and serve daily in any capacity to improve our system and everyone within it, this book is for you. I salute you.

Depending on the topic at hand the solution will not always be as simple to accomplish as I present here.  Various factors play into the complex education, response, and quality improvement surrounding emergency medicine. Financial, social, and political hurdles will always be in the way of progress. I urge you as you read this, to challenge yourself to find a way around these hurdles. Sometimes the solution, done properly, may take longer than expected. Other times it will require the collective action of multiple agencies at various levels within an organization in order to attain a goal or create change.

Changing your mindset to accept the time and complexity of addressing issues on a large scale is essential to being able to persevere through the daunting task of creating a significant and lasting change in our