Emergency Medical Services. Note the words “services” and “medical”. As EMS providers we are out in the field to provide medical care to anyone who may call 911 for “medical” help.

Now there are some variations to that, where rescue may be involved or being on assignment on a fire scene or big public event. But in the end we are still there to give emergency medical care in the field.

We are not there to pull over speeding cars or try and assert some perceived authority to families or say on a drunk driver from a motor vehicle accident. We are not there to wrestle patients to our will or chase them down the street.

Yet I many times have seen providers and have had partners who feel this need to try and be more than what they are there for at a scene. Our goal is to maintain our own safety and to try and keep the patient safe. There are also times when we get into what may be an unavoidable situation and wind up in a pile of bodies trying to restrain a violent patient.

These situations though should be the very rare exception and not the normal day to day activities we do in the field. If you do find yourself in this type of a situation on a regular basis, you should look at why this is and try to figure out how you keep getting into this situation and what you can do to avoid it.

EMS has it’s role in 911 just as law enforcement does. Sometimes they work hand in hand and other times we have to know our job and do our job. Trying to act as a pseudo cop because we may know what a police officer may do, only exposes us to injury, legal ramifications and looking like we want to be something other than emergency medical care providers.

So, if you want to be a police officer, go and take the tests needed to do that and do it well. If you want to be an EMT or paramedic, take the tests to get certified, keep your continuing education up and always keep learning the many facets of being a EMS professional.

I think by focusing on this you will find very little time to think about what police officers do and have a firm understanding of your role in the 911 family.