What could happen when someone calls 911, and there is no response, or the ambulances arrive too late? The healthcare system in the United States has been subject to many critical issues, one of which involved the shortage of personnel. Much of the current focus in research and policy-making is on such aspects as nursing and access to drugs, which means that other areas of shortages go unnoticed.
The paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) are facing the same situation where acute declines in their numbers are affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the entire system. The problem has not been approached the same way that nursing or other healthcare personnel shortages are, especially in healthcare research. Therefore, it means that the only way that the problem has been made public is through the news media. A growing number of publications and online news channels have raised their concerns regarding the issue. After a closer examination, it emerges that the concerns are justifiable and that the state should attempt to develop appropriate remedies.
As a cofounder of Acute Medical Services, where I currently serve as the President and Executive Chairman, I would like to express that the issues outlined in this paper are professional and personal observations made throughout the 27 years of emergency medical services (EMS). Most importantly, the paper will outline the need for developing the capabilities of and creating an enabling environment for private practitioners to ease the shortage. Such recommendations are not from an entrepreneurial perspective but from a practitioner’s point of view where the overall wellbeing of the Americans is prioritized. Both public and private sectors are currently unable to meet the demand.
Therefore, this paper is an expression of the need for the Senate to address the problem and facilitate both sectors to operate effectively in serving Americans. A few recommendations will be discussed after the nature and extent of the EMS shortage have been discussed in detail.
The EMS profession is hardly recognized as part of the broader healthcare system in the United States. However, it does not mean that the challenges regarding the personnel shortage are dissimilar in the two contexts. As mentioned earlier, the shortage of EMS and EMT personnel is a concern being addressed in the media without much scholarly interest. However, an experienced expert in the EMS field can also make informed and expert observations, which is a key aspect of the voices raised in the media. Several reports and examinations explain several causes of the shortage, which include inadequate personnel, shifting to better-paying jobs, over-dependence on volunteer work, reduction in the number of graduates, and unprecedented violence associated with the profession. To better understand these causes, it is important to explore them further, as explained by several experts.
The most obvious cause of personnel shortage would be that there are fewer workers as compared to the demand for their services. The EMS in the United States can be perceived as employing inadequate numbers of workers in this field. There may be justifiable reasons for this observation, but the key point is that a profession with few qualified workers in the labor market would experience shortage problems. According to Buckley (2020), the number of first responders has dropped by 9% in the last decade across the United States, as highlighted in a survey conducted by the New York State Health Department. Such statistics indicate that fewer people are entering this workplace to replace those that are leaving.
The major problem and cause of the EMS shortage is the lack of finances, both in the private and public sectors. Such sentiment has been voiced in an article in the FR Conversations, where it is expressed that the EMTs need a viable wage to operate (Nationwide EMT shortage plagues emergency providers, n.d.). Even when volunteer work is used, training activities take both time and money, and the volunteers are required in most cases to pay for the training with their money.
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For the professionals, the EMS does not provide a promising career path because of the low wages. Many people with training will tend to find a paying job as an EMT, after which they need for better careers causes them to leave the profession entirely. According to Edwards (2019), North Dakota emergency responders are required to attend between 50 and 60 hours of training, costing approximately $600 and have to be paid by unpaid volunteers. Therefore, it becomes apparent that even voluntary work faces hind
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