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EMS Tips

Why Wait for #EMSWeek to Do These 20 Things

EMS Week is a week away, but you don’t need to wait until the official EMS Week to do any of these things:

  1. Increase your knowledge: sign-up for the free EMS Web Summit.
  2. Appreciate EMS in a different setting by reading a book by a paramedic/author.
  3. Join the conversation about EMS by leaving a comment on an EMS Blog. (another EMS bloggers network and a collection for fire and EMS blogs)
  4. Create a Facebook page for your EMS agency. (if you don’t know where to start check out the training from PIOSocialMediaTraining.com)
  5. Write a letter to your local newspaper editor about the value EMS provides to your community.
  6. Increase your EMS career longevity with changing your exercise and diet habits.
  7. Take a free continuing education course on providing better CPR.
  8. Log-off your computer, turn of your mobile devices, go outside, and breath some fresh air as you get a bolus of vitamin D.
  9. Join an EMS related professional organization, like NAEMT, NAEMSE, or NEMSMA.
  10. Sign up for your first, last, or next college course to work towards completing your degree.
  11. Watch some EMS videos on YouTube.
  12. Post a picture of your favorite EMS assessment or treatment tools to Facebook. Explain to your friends and family how they are used.
  13. Start planning and saving to attend EMS World Expo 2012 in New Orleans.
  14. Take your family for a bike ride. Stop and get some ice cream along the way.
  15. Thank a co-worker for their dedication to a specific patient.
  16. Find something around your station that could be cleaner or better maintained. Then clean and maintain it.
  17. Bring a plant to the station.
  18. Refresh the stack of magazines in the day room with the latest issues of EMS World and JEMS.
  19. Create some Google News Alerts for your favorite EMS related topics.
  20. Sell some of your stuff on Craigs List or through Amazon’s buy back program. Donate the proceeds to the National EMS Memorial Bike Ride.
I could go on, but you probably get the point. EMS Week doesn’t have to be the only week of the year that you celebrate your accomplishments, explain your value, or recognize the efforts of others.
EMS Week Planning Guide and Resources
Your turn. Add something that doesn’t need to wait until EMS Week to my list in the comments.

By Greg Friese

Greg Friese, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, is an author, educator, paramedic, and marathon runner.

Greg was the co-host of the award winning EMSEduCast podcast, the only podcast by and for EMS educators. Greg has written for EMS1.com, JEMS.com, Wilderness Medical Associates, JEMS Magazine, EMSWorld.com and EMS World Magazine, and the NAEMSE Educator Newsletter.