Search

California as I Saw It is a web site which collects both primary and secondary sources on California in the nineteenth century. It is an invaluable source for studying California history in this period. The information is well presented with good intepretive aids.

Objective: To determine the compensation, benefit package, and level of satisfaction with the benefits of nationally registered emergency medical technicians (NREMTs) in 2001., Methods: The Longitudinal EMT Attribute Demographic Study (LEADS) Project included an 18-question snapshot survey on compensation with the 2001 core survey. This survey was sent to 4,835 randomly selected NREMTs. A total of 1,718 NREMT-Basics and NREMT-Paramedics, from 1,317 different postal zip codes, responded to the survey., Results: Most NREMTs in the survey (86% of the compensated NREMT-Basics and 85% of the compensated NREMT-Paramedics) were employed primarily as patient care providers. For their emergency medical services (EMS) work in the previous 12 months, compensated NREMT-Basics had mean earnings of 18,324 US dollars (standard error, 978 US dollars) and compensated NREMT-Paramedics had mean earnings of 34,654 US dollars (standard error, 646 US dollars). At least 26% of compensated NREMT-Basics and 9% of compensated NREMT-Paramedics had no health insurance. The majority of compensated NREMTs (62% of the Basics and 57% of the Paramedics) reported their retirement plans were not adequate to meet their financial needs. EMTs are not satisfied with the appreciation and recognition they receive from EMS employers. About one-third (35% of the compensated NREMT-Basics and 30% of the compensated NREMT-Paramedics) were not satisfied with all of the benefits they receive from their EMS employer. Nearly all (94% of both compensated NREMT-Basics and NREMT-Paramedics) believed that EMTs should be paid more for the job that they do., Conclusions: The adequacy of EMT compensation and benefit packages is an area of concern. It is not unreasonable to believe that these factors are associated with EMT retention and attrition. Additional longitudinal EMT information on compensation and benefits are anticipated to determine the extent to which compensation and benefits are factors in EMT retention.

Objectives: To describe the adequacy and characteristics of emergency medical services education as assessed by a population-based sample of emergency medical technician (EMT)-basics and EMT-paramedics from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians., Methods: Stratified random samples of EMT-basics and EMT-paramedics from the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians were mailed a 46-item demographic survey and a 16-question education survey in 1999., Results: Overall, EMT-basics and EMT-paramedics reported that course cost and distance to the course were not barriers. The majority of EMT-basic and EMT-paramedic respondents rated their course instructors and course materials as excellent or very good. EMT-basic and EMT-paramedic respondents felt that they were very well prepared from their training in the areas of trauma assessment (63% and 72%), medical assessment (59% and 65%), cardiac arrest management (64% and 76%), and airway management (69% and 77%), respectively. However, EMT-basic and EMT-paramedic respondents were less likely to feel very well prepared regarding childbirth (29% and 44%) and pediatric patient management (36% and 38%). Overall, EMT-paramedics were more likely to report being very well prepared for clinical activities and tasks from their training compared with EMT-basics., Conclusions: These findings suggest that EMT-basics and EMT-paramedics were satisfied and felt well prepared by their certification courses. Opportunities to improve certification training exist, particularly related to childbirth and pediatric patient management.