Falling Apart | Canada's Most Respected Profession.

[@FrontlinePros]

“We can’t continue with status quo,” Hamilton said. “Workplace stress is causing injuries and burnout and paramedics are exhausted from increasing workloads and the lack of staff, trying to ensure communities get the care they need.” - Nicole Runge, CUPE 5911 vice president.

[@Raventommm]

Politicians do nothing. They are to blame... all over the world. In europe its much the same... medical staff and other healthcare professions are overworked... we get called out of our free time to work.... its turning in a disaster on global scale....

[@cameronbailey4777]

In British Columbia, the Paramedics are not even considered an essential service. They get designated essential when they are in a legal strike position, then legislated back to work under the old contract and then the essential designation is lifted. I did 30 years as Paramedic in BC, I developed PTSD, was given 16 "counselling" sessions, then told I didn't have PTSD, I had an "anger management problem" and that I was to report to work at 06:00 the next morning. When it became evident I was unable to work as a Paramedic any more, I felt kicked to the curb and stonewalled for any help. I have been fighting with the employer, WCB, and the Long Term Disability insurance company for over two years now with no progress. I came extremely close to suicide to end the pain, but fortunately I am part Scots and Irish and thus stubborn as hell! When we finally burn out or develop PTSD or become injured, we are no longer useful and thus are kicked to the curb. We seem to not be considered as valuable assets to them, but disposable entities to be used and discarded. all values are determined by accountants, and management consists of bureaucrats whose main interest is data, statistics, and budgets. Bedside patient care is way down the list of priorities. All I have seen is lip service, management shuffles, and spin doctoring, along with an increase in management and bureaucratic ranks. It seems if anyone ever tries to make changes to benefit the Paramedic, they are gotten rid of almost immediately and any positive changes they made are erased. Our scheduling department is mixed up, our payroll department is unable to figure out the payroll system entirely with myriad mistakes made. If a payroll error is made in the employers favour, it is ignored completely and only addressed if the employee finds out about it. If there is a mistake where the employee is overpaid, it is addressed immediately. We are not even considered Emergency Workers in British Columbia but healthcare workers such as janitors and care aides, and none of these hard working professionals get the support and admiration they deserve. The entire health care "system" is broken, and the various governments have been warned of these crisis' coming for decades, but all warnings have been ignored and now it is collapsing. Nothing can be done at this time regardless of what the politicians and managers say, there are no trained staff to draw from They have all quit in disgust, and to protect themselves and their families. Management's major contribution was to put strict gag orders into place with heavy disciplinary measures should anyone dare to inform the public how disastrous the system was. The ONLY reason it has lasted as long as it has is due solely to the dedication and sacrifice of the Paramedics on the front line, and we are losing them at an alarming rate.

[@su30boy]

Couldn't agree more, Cam!

[@FrontlinePros]

I thought of mentioning the particular awful treatment in BC but choose not to side rant. Thank you for the time you put in, that is substantial service to your community. You are why I made this video. Hopefully you are happier now.

[@steveunderhill5935]

Come to Ontario, we’ll make you home (province) service) sick! Imagine not being a profession but more like in an army of perpetual overwatch where you are constantly Monday morning quarterbacked whilst simultaneously being asked to bend over backwards a little further (for free) by the people “managing” your service(all 5 levels above frontline), plus base hospital physicians/coordinators, ministry of health, provincial committees and sub committees , city boards and counsellors, unions, allied agencies and general public. Oh Ya… and dealing w everyone’s worst emergencies (which I still mostly enjoy) could be making significantly more (30k) if I would have skipped college and joined a different emergency service rn. Oh Ya plus better benefits and retire earlier lol Possibly most respectable not to be confused w most respected. Ps- I could not be a cop… I do t know why anyone would want to be treated like that. Show them the money, I want work/life balance and a feeling of protection from oversight, who might not like my face and then I would become unemployed. Maybe for this comment.

[@steveunderhill5935]

I know three times as many former paramedics as working paramedics. (100s) but only Maybe 10 retirees in last 20yrs. Still the best and the brightest people; wherever they go.

[@cameronbailey4777]

After fighting with and being tossed under the bus by all who were to help me for over two years, I finally retired. I walked away from a profession I had loved doing for over 30 years. WCB, LTD, the employer, and my union were of no help, and indeed more hinderance than anything. I lost my health, my marriage, and my sanity and finally having only two options, walk away or suicide, I chose to walk away. I do miss working with patients and colleague, but could not handle the bureaucratic bullshit coming from an ever increasing rank of managers, supervisors, leaders, policy wonks, etc, all who seemed to have absolutely no idea what they were managing so just demanded more data, more information, more statistics, etc. If we managed to fit in actually helping the patient, that was OK, but not the priority. We are bleeding all medical fields of excellent personnel who are walking away in order to save their own sanity. We desperately need a bureaucratic enema so we can get rid of about 80% of the management side of things, and get back to what we all had signed up for.

[@rockymerasty8458]

I am so thankful to all paramedics for the job they do...they save lives, they work so hard, and i hope we never lose they're help when we need them they are there as fast as they can get there.

[@awalkert]

I was studying paramedicine before the pandemic hit. In a perfect world, it would been my last year in the program but the stress and burn out experienced even then meant my performance wained and my grades dropped. I was having panic attacks, not sleeping properly which led to exhaustion, more stress, and further declines in performance. It was getting so bad that I was missing diagnoses, signs and symptoms, even making poor treatment decisions (thankfully my preceptors were there). Doing 6, 12 hour shifts switching to nights half way through and then getting a few off and then back on for 4 more nights (rinse and repeat) begins to take its toll. Then the pandemic hit and everyone was forced inside and I finally got some rest. I had decided to take "L" and return the following year and redo the semester. But, as the pandemic went on I had time to think and realized it's not worth it. By the end I was so miserable. It was hard not return and it hit me hard. It took me 2/3 years of the pandemic to get over the lasting effects of the stress and anxiety (and new found depression) to return to a functioning human. It like what was said in the video, the hard personalities and the stress create toxicity and make it difficult to find support. I saw and experienced that with my preceptors. There's certain aspects to the profession that are uncontrollable and will always be there, but there definitely changes that can and should be made. I still think about it everyday. Wish I was in the back with crews going to calls. Maybe there will be a time that I return to it, but the stress, burn out and exhaustion (and other mental health effects) make it hard to go back.

[@madaxe606]

I did 23yrs as a front-line Paramedic. I've seen/done just about everything possible to see/do in the profession. No false humility - I was very good at my job. I've long since lost track of the number of people who were dead when I got there, and alive when I handed them off to the ER staff. But I'm leaving the profession I once loved. I've been completely burnt-out by more than 2 decades of mismanagement, neglect, disrespect and disinterest from the local and provincial governments, the health care sector as a whole, and the people hired to manage EMS services. Talk is cheap - the actions (really the lack thereof) taken by the people running EMS in Canada speak volumes. So long as there are bums in ambulance seats, and those in leadership positions aren't being held personally accountable for failure, absolutely nothing will change, and the situation will continue to deteriorate.

[@weir-t7y]

Minimal pay, no work-life balance, no benefits, long schooling time meanwhile cost of living is so awful that even if they worked 40 hours while in school they will still have issues affording housing. Current force is burnt out, hard to get new staff because of almost-untenable conditions for those attempting post-secondary education and the job is hardly attractive in the first place. Why work that hard and go through shit, just to go into even more shit? And we have a whole society that doesn't give a fuck. "Burnt out? Stiff upper lip or fuck off bud!"

[@FrontlinePros]

Pretty much nailed it, everyone you can skip the video and read this guys comment... sums it up.

[@weir-t7y]

@@FrontlinePros haha, please do watch the video though, guys!

[@steveunderhill5935]

Remember when it took up to 2 years for new hires to experience their first burn out? The good old days.

[@dodoman6372]

I’m in paramedic school right now and it’s so easy to see the problems right off the bat stuff like paramedics not being considered Front line at the start of the pandemic and the new COVID protocols squeezing the life out of every medic I’ve talked to, but unfortunately I don’t want to do it because it’s a perfect profession but because i love it more than anything in the world, it’s my calling and I don’t see myself doing anything else in my life.

[@FrontlinePros]

Yes. The inside jokes and sour information start hitting you right at the onset for paramedicine. Luckily I think It's something we can change and improve.

[@patty578]

I’d find a better career.

[@dodoman6372]

@@patty578 you’re welcome to do that 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@arnelarsen4073]

Worst part about Plandemic, is it wasn’t based on science but fear. They tried it during SARS 1 in early 2000’s, which blew over as nothing. Did people get sick, yes, but the fear and hype like you saw with Covid was the same. In 2017, working as a construction medic on Pipeline, I came across alternative medicine. It was making more sense than our current Disease Management System. Yup I put on a tinfoil hat and research, (not just people telling me) but using my brain to look at both sides of the story made me the wiser. I didn’t but into CV19 when EUA didn’t make sense when doctors were successfully using Ivermectin and other drugs successfully to save lives, then ever media outlet across the globe vomited the exact same BS, that injections would save humanity. I served as a medic for 25 years until 2013. Today I see God complex in young medics as each college tries to outdo each other. Patient care is a lost art now that I’m on the outside. I miss my 12 hour shifts, 2 weekends off per month with 1 week off per month along with my 6 weeks vacation (18 weeks off in total plus banked OT), working 14 days a month (7 day/7nights). Ex wives caused more stress than my job did. I actually found my job therapeutic for me. As we see mental health unravel, with political ideals making mental health all the norm, sad part is, people are becoming more weird! I would do over a 1000 patient carries in a year, did CPR maybe twice a year. Most of a medics calls were low priorities. In 2012 I had the privilege to ride out in Oslo Norway. Medics protocols were very similar as to ours with Sunnybrook Base Hospital, but their medical system was WAY better than Ontario’s. North America wants to believe, we have the best medical system; we don’t and that became very evident when Dr. Anthony Fauci and his gang influenced medicine in a criminal way. Doctors who were successful in treating Covid patients were targeted and had their medical licenses pulled, because they wouldn’t follow a narrative. I’m 60 now, love the alternative health steps I’ve been following. I also miss my days as a medic actually helping people. I was a PCP/IV medic. I never wanted to do ACP. In 25 years, I never had a patient die on me in the ambulance, they arrived alive. If they did afterwards, they were going to anyways. Paramedicine is a special breed of people. As an instructor, I saw many students coming into program for all the wrong reasons. They went on into short lived careers. Many had a GOD complex, sadly it interferes with your empathy and ability to treat people. One piece of advice to new medics, listen to your bystanders! I’m that bystander now, who knows your job. You treat me like an ass, you will lose the most valuable pieces to the puzzle in helping your patients. Before becoming a medic, I was very much involved in First Aid and CPR (teaching it for over 40 years) and even then, medics treated bystanders like shit who had valuable input as to what happened. I said I would never do that when I became a medic, and I was true to my word. Paramedicine is as much as being a detective in trying to figure things out, not just following protocols. You have to think outside the box, which many don’t do. In Ontario, medics start off with a very weak foundation. They take a fly by night first aid CPR course which teaches Jack shit, and you meet the minimal requirements to enter college to become a Super Hero. How many medics could NOT do basic first aid was mind blowing and embarrassing. Ski Patrol 40 hour first aid should be minimum standard. Medics who were Ski Patrollers made amazing medics. I was not a ski patroller but even as a first aid instructor, I valued their clever tricks in immobilizing patients. In closing, municipalities find Paramedics are a burden. I was paid very well, great benefits. My EMS management was pretty good but the problems lye above them. They fired great medics, supervisors and managers who truly cared for their citizens…so I saw most PTSD was caused by management and not so much from patients.

[@gaellemee1423]

Hey! It had been a long time since I watched one of your videos and I’m happy to see that they are still as entertaining and informative as before. I especially liked the one on drones. Nice work!

[@FrontlinePros]

Hey, thanks for saying so. I appreciate it.

[@nimkal]

This video should have way more views. Great video and very informative! Well done! Subscribed.

[@FrontlinePros]

Thank you, I appreciate that.

[@edwardpeters4700]

Thank you. After nearly 15 years working everywhere from rural/remote to metro areas in BC, I somehow have another 20 years to go. I've had the privilege of working at every Paramedic level across this province (PCP, ACP, CCP). I wouldn't change it, but I would be lying if I didn't admit it has had significant personal cost.

[@FrontlinePros]

For yourself and any future paramedic, I think we can do better. For whatever reason our profession just didn't receive the level of care and attention that say the police, fire or nursing profession did. It's long past time to change that. Unionize anyone?!?

[@edwardpeters4700]

@@FrontlinePros We are unionized in BC. Unfortunately weˋve been knee-capped by provincial public sector wage increase mandates (every bargaining cycle the provincial government issues a maximum allowed set of wage increases for public sector workers). As a BC CCP for example, just catching up to the closest Canadian comparitor (an experienced CCP with ORNGE) would require a 10% labour market adjustment followed by negotiating a wage increase schedule over the course of the contract term. Thatˋs just to catch up to other Paramedics, never mind other emergency services.

[@annaholton422]

Hey I was wondering if it is easy to find a job as a new paramedic with no prior experience. I’m asking this because the projected job growth is low however they paramedics are in demand. Thanks

[@steveunderhill5935]

@@annaholton422 pretty much back to biannual hiring at my service… apparently some kind of health scare opened the doors to scrutinize slipping staff vs call volumes over last decade? We were told to work harder/smarter.

[@username604error5]

Still not even deemed an actual “Essential Service” by BC gov

[@nimkal]

How is ignorance of this level even possible? All it takes is for family members of BC's government to require emergency services and then they will understand. Increase the pay and improve the working conditions.

[@rickruppenthal5279]

The system is 200 years old and has never changed with the growth and changes to the world it served. Any changes that have occurred were to patch and not get to the real source. Crisis management at best. There have been improvements, but they are drowned in volumes. I spent 30 years in that system and see that the experience paramedics have are symptoms of the system breaking down and can't be fixed at that level. You have to get to the source, which takes a really hard look at "how am I contributing to this" from all levels, starting at the top. Policies and funding models are good places to start. My humble opinion.

[@Lonewolfpack]

Paramedic Ontario here yeah we’re literally holding on by a thread, but will keep working

[@noragagnon7394]

Simply the truth

[@rireauxabois]

Hey, you said we a couple of time. Are you also a paramedic?

[@flyovercounty1427]

The movie clips don’t contribute to the story for me as I don’t watch movies. My noggin got stuck on “what’s this cartoon/clip now?” while I missed the information in the narration. Thanks for the video.

[@FrontlinePros]

Ah thanks for the feedback. Maybe I'll start to cut that down .

[@steveunderhill5935]

Help is on the way for paramedics? Lol you forgot to include laugh track post joke. But 911 we got your back!

[@anitakim1420]

How can it be excused they fired paramedics during a “pandemic”? Especially after they were used for a good 2 years, the old pump and dump

[@stevehamilton3181]

Nicely done segment although I could do without the insertion of stupid movie clips etc. Clearly in Canada, and in many other places around the world, we are in a health care crisis. Something I think could have been predicted if demographic projections were to be believed. We are at a point where the last of the baby boomers are retiring leaving massive shortfalls for replacements. This has been a slow moving train wreck for many years. Throw in most governing parties loathing of increasing taxes to pay for the things we demand why are we surprised that we are in this predicament? We are currently hearing endless stories of how bad the situation is yet nobody seems to be able to propose any real solutions. And just saying “more money” is not the answer when it comes to a lack of people to do the work.

[@FrontlinePros]

Some valid points forsure. Referencing money, more people in the industry would alleilviate much of the burn out and of course money would bring people more needed people in. We are not making say what fire or police are being paid, yet for instance fire predominantly handles medical calls now. IMO A rework of the system needs to be in order. Standardization needs to happen across provinces for ease and interoperability, I would vote for unionization and better representation at this point. Combined services make more and more sense to me. Full benefits, meaning access to all mental health services and with that, mandatory check ups. Haha as for the "silly" clips. Some don't like them but I receive far more comments from the ppl who do. Besides, it helps reach the attention spans of a wider audience and isn't as dry and boring of a topic, certainly to ppl outside of the industry 😅