Under the broad umbrella of EMS, services range from the lights-and-sirens world of 911/advanced life support to the slower-paced basic life support, scheduled ambulance transportation and wheelchair van service. In my current role of supporting the wheelchair van drivers, I have a front-seat view of the vital service provided by these caring professionals.
When I first started as EMS chaplain in 2017, I probably knew as much about EMS as the general public – which is to say, not very much. I thought it was all trauma, all drama, all day. In retrospect, I had a narrow understanding of what EMS provides to the communities we serve. After a year of integrating myself into the company, I saw that the scope of practice is much wider than I had originally thought.
Looking to further my education, I enrolled in the EMT course at a local college in 2008. I audited the class, with a goal of more fully immersing myself in the industry. I didn’t intend to take the national registry exam, but rather to expand my understanding of the context in which I was working as a chaplain.
A discussion with the instructor one day has stayed with me for 16 years now. He suggested that we not think of EMS as healthcare or public safety, but as customer service. “Keep the focus on the patient as a person, not as a medical diagnosis. This is a customer service job, and you’re a customer service professional. The service you’re providing is emergency medical care, and you’re serving a person with a name.”
During ambulance ride-alongs, I have observed a high level of dignity shown to the patients and their loved ones. From fast-paced emergency calls, to transports between healthcare facilities, the paramedics and EMTs are courteous and respectful.
Now as I ride along in the wheelchair vans, I see it more intently. In a previous iteration, EMS has been called “medical transportation.” That is the role of the van drivers – not to provide medical care, but to extend customer service in the form of safe and reliable transportation for people with unique needs. The people who do this work include young people on an EMT or paramedic career path, experienced wheelchair van drivers with years behind the wheel, and semi-retired individuals who work part time.
|More: One for the Road: Patient rapport
Without exception, as I accompany them, I see and hear the drivers showing care and respect to patients requiring specialized transportation, usually from hospitals to care centers, rehab facilities or home. Greeting the patient by name, introducing themselves, explaining the procedures for the van, ensuring their comfort, adjusting the vehicle temperature, engaging in light conversation – in these and myriad other ways, they keep the focus on the patient. Some patients require more attention and energy than others, but they make it look easy, and do it with a smile. In a world that likes excitement, van drivers might be seen as the unheralded members of the team.
It’s not a flashy job, and doesn’t get the heart pumping or the adrenaline flowing at the same rate as an ambulance call. Yet the specialized medical transportation drivers fill an important role in the continuum of care, providing a much-needed service. It’s customer service, and that service is ensuring that patients get a safe ride on their journey to health.
