Inside EMS Podcast: Brian Hathaway on Spirit EMS free EMT training

Inside EMS

Brian Hathaway shares the Spirit EMS approach to attracting and retaining new recruits

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In this EMS Week episode of Inside EMS, Cohosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson welcome Brian K. Hathaway, president/CEO of Spirit EMS, in Greenville, Ohio, who offers a free EMT training program. Hathaway shares his perspective on how EMS education has changed, and the creative ways Spirit is attracting, engaging and retaining recruits – from 2-year agreements, to giving away a car during training.

Together, they discuss:

"As we educate in the classroom and make sure that people are comfortable and confident in their skills, and we’re making sure that we’re doing that good head-to-toe assessment on the patients – that that's the ultimate important thing."

"Memorizing 43 things on a skills sheet to make sure that we’ve touched everything is not necessarily applicable to every patient that we’re taking care of."

"My concern is we’ve got to get people involved and we’ve got to continue to change with the times or it's going to be a competition when I’m in the nursing home 25-30 years from now as to who's going to get out of bed and respond to the call if we don't do something now."

What skills should we test?A simple framework for an EMT skills competency portfolio

Whatever will we do without the skill sheets?NREMT is discontinuing the ALS psychomotor exam. That's a good thing, if you let it be

Brian K. Hathaway is president/CEO of Spirit EMS, in Greenville, Ohio. Brian has been actively involved in Fire/EMS since 1996. Aside from his duties as an owner of Spirit, Brian is a 27-year veteran of the Union City Fire Department and continues to work part-time as a 911 dispatcher at the Darke County Sheriff's Office where he has worked since 1999. Brian is a certified Advanced EMT, EMS continuing education instructor, volunteer firefighter, Certified Ambulance Coder, Certified Ambulance Compliance Officer and Certified Emergency Medical Dispatcher. Brian serves as education chairman and is a board member of the Ohio Ambulance and Medical Transportation Association, a member of the Four County Career Center advisory board, a member of the Darke County Chamber of Commerce, and attends the EUM Church in Greenville. Brian enjoys spending time with his wife Audrey as well as their daughter Naomi.

Keeping you on the pulse of what's happening inside the EMS community.

Inside EMS is a weekly podcast delivering industry news and hot topics to EMS personnel. Every Friday, hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson, discuss EMS life through good-natured banter and expert perspectives. Cebollero, now an executive leadership coach, is a former EMS chief, while Louisiana-based Grayson is a critical care paramedic and respected EMS educator. Their vehicle for delivering the news and know how is that of two medics sitting on the truck between calls. Their mission is to make all listeners, EMS insiders.

Listen as Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson debate the effectiveness of point-of-care ultrasound, dig into the EMS impact of current events, or sound off on controversial issues, like patient transport via fire truck.

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