Ray Barishansky previews his EMS World Expo session, “Your best EMS self: practicing proactive professionalism.”
By Ray Barishansky
What does it mean to be an EMS professional? Do you consider yourself to be one? What do those we interact with on a daily basis – other emergency responders, hospital staff, and the general public – consider professional?
We generally deem people to be professionals based on their job, their accomplishments, or just in the way they present themselves. However, in the diverse world of EMS those parameters are not always clearly defined.
The practice of EMS demands exceedingly professional behavior from providers. Every day providers are called to assist the public in their time of need within full view of cameras, cellphones, and the use of social media platforms, such as Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook. That simply did not exist in the past.
In the EMS World Expo presentation, “Your best EMS self”, I will review the basic tenets of professionalism with a specific tilt toward their applicability to the field of EMS. Customer expectations, the importance of first impressions, past missteps by EMS providers, and the sharing of professional and less-than-professional behaviors as reported by other EMS providers will be reviewed to assure lessons will be learned.
An additional feature of the presentation will be a focus on operating in the modern EMS environment with ever-present social media applications at everyone’s fingertips. By offering practical advice based on real-world examples, EMS World Expo attendees will gain new perspective on the need for professionalism in EMS industry and how they can pursue it individually for their career advancement.
About the Author
Raphael M. Barishansky, MPH, MS, CPM is the Director of the Office of Emergency Medical Services (OEMS) at the Connecticut Department of Public Health. He has a Master of Public Health degree from New York Medical College and a Master of Science in Homeland Security Studies from Long Island University. He has also earned a Certified Public Manager (CPM) certification through Arizona State University. He is a regular contributor to EMS and homeland security publications, as well as a frequent speaker at regional, state and national EMS and Public Health conferences.