Planning for the Future

Is EMS doing everything it should to ensure a healthy, vibrant workforce?

By Jenifer Goodwin, associate editor

Just about everyone in EMS understands the importance of recruiting and retaining paramedics and EMTs. Employees move on or retire, volunteers come and go, and there’s a never-ending need to have a supply of workers to fill those spots.

But some are beginning to think about workforce issues in broader terms, beyond just meeting immediate needs and instead about what characteristics—from education and training to attitude and aptitude—EMS professionals need to meet and adapt to the changing needs of communities and the larger health care system.

“It’s the pipeline issue that’s most important,” says Michael Greene, a senior associate at the consulting firm Fitch & Associates. “Workforce planning looks at how we are preparing for the future. Are we attracting the right candidates into the profession and training them correctly? Are we recruiting for the profession as a whole?...”

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