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Skip Kirkwood

Chief Concerns

Skip Kirkwood has been involved in EMS since 1973, as an EMT, paramedic, supervisor, educator, manager, consultant, state EMS director, and chief EMS officer. He is a past president of the National EMS Management Association, is a vigorous advocate for the advancement of the EMS profession, and a frequent speaker at regional and national EMS conferences.

LATEST ARTICLES
Six different career ladders with compensation and rank based on experience, higher education and specialized training improves retention
Three questions about the Expanding Health Care Options for Early Retirees Act suggest revisions may be needed before providers should rely on the Medicare option
A hands-on patient assessment must be performed to declare a victim dead, even at a potential crime scene
If the leaders of an EMS agency have failed to prepare personnel for an active shooter response, they need to get the training done, one way or another
EMS chiefs need to examine the clinical, safety, and economic rationale for medically-stable psych patient interfacility transfers
Without the right triage training and MCI supplies EMS field personnel are ill prepared to be the masters of disaster
In the real world it is impossible for a scene to be 100% safe; therefore we must constantly assess risk
Driver training is inadequate to the challenges of operating an ambulance and we need to devise a strategy to improve training and reassessment
The concept of a college-level EMS text, with collegiate-level research and writing, was something of a challenge in the world of EMS texts written at a much lower level
NEMSMA launches initiative to end violence against paramedics