Recruitment and Retention: A Perennial Problem in EMS

Whenever I speak with my colleagues around the country, we inevitably end up discussing how best to attract staff and keep them with our EMS agencies for the long term. Employee recruitment and retention is an issue we constantly wrestle with and seemingly never solve. As with any problem, the most important step in solving it, is to understand it. Research on this subject has been conducted over the years as it is relates to the healthcare industry in general, with some even focused specifically on EMS practitioners. Examining the Data In a survey study conducted by the Montana Department of Health in 2009, over a thousand EMTs were contacted and asked about their plans to remain in the EMS profession. Thirty-three percent of those responding indicated they expected to leave the profession within the next five years. Of that third, almost half said their reason for leaving was retirement.1 So, approximately 16% of the thousand EMTs questioned, were anticipating retirement within five years. Arguably, it’s doubtful we would be able to affect the retirement group, nor do I think we would probably desire to dissuade individuals from that move. However, for the others who indicated they would be leaving EMS within five years, they cited as a few different reasons: a desire to change careers, family issues, organizational issues, working hours, job stress, and pay and benefits. These seem to be motives we could address in the paramedicine profession in an effort to retain staff...
Source: JEMS Administration and Leadership - Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Tags: Columns Exclusive Articles Administration and Leadership Source Type: news