Kansas EMS Transition

As dialogue, debate, and discussion continue around various EMS Transition questions, I was thinking about a post on Bob Sutton’s blog where he talks about the need for strong opinions, weakly held. The argument originated with persons from the Institute for the Future.

It starts by stating that we each need to have strong opinions. When we care passionately about something, we are willing to put our energy and time into learning about it, understanding it, and defending it. But the argument doesn’t stop there. The rest of the argument is that we need to hold our strong opinions loosely. If we’re too attached to our opinions, we lose the ability to hear and see other evidence and alternative ideas.

I close this post with a quote from Sutton, “Wisdom is the courage to act on your knowledge and the humility to doubt what you know.”

It’s Kathleen’s turn to write today:

I moved to Kansas about 7 years ago. And, for the last several months I have traveled across the state. Along with seeing amazing scenery (everyone should have to exit the I’s: I-70, I-35,  I-135), it was my first time to meet with many EMS providers. The providers I met care passionately about:

• Providing excellent health care to the people in their communities.
• Building professional EMS services that continuously improve the care provided.
• Relationships with their families, providers on their service, and communities.

These core values speak to me of people who are loving and compassionate. The day-to-day commitment of EMS providers across the state is amazing. It makes me proud to be a Kansan.

As I look at the opportunities for expanded and improved care offered by the new scope, I’m excited to think of the service possibilities — possibilites that offer life changing care to citizens. I’m excited to think about Kansas being at the head of the line for implementing the new national scope of practice. But most of all, I’m want to know that when I travel across the state in the coming years, I can count on receiving quality, up-to-date care should my family or I ever need it — care made possible by implementing the new scope  — care that can make a difference!

I hope that the 2010-2013 transition is another successful event in the proud traditions of the Great State of Kansas!

In less than 48 hours we will be posting the gap analysis for the transition project.  This, of course, leads me to consider gaps. Visual images of the Grand Canyon or Canyonlands appear in my mind. Such gaps make it appear that the place where we want to be is unreachable from where we are. In fact, the feedback data includes some who hold the belief that the other side is unreachable.

Reaching the other side cannot be accomplished magically. No super hero will fly us across the gap. Yet to descend into the gap would put us in over our heads, which is a very uncomfortable and potentially dangerous place to be. So, the task is to build a bridge across the gap, creating a path from where we are now to the other side.

As course developers we will continue down the bridge building path – through task analysis, task list building, and on through the course development process. We invite you to continue to give us feedback, sharing your ideas and concerns as we engage in the process. But perhaps even more, we encourage you to lay the foundation for the bridge in your own community: talking about what will be expected, getting training dates on your calendars, and building buy-in among stakeholders.