An EMT, An Oath, And Taking It Seriously
I became an EMT, I swore the Oath developed by Dr. Charles Gillespie. In swearing that EMT Oath, I pledged that I would “…honor the physical and judicial laws of God and man.” As a Christian, it is important to me that God’s laws and ways be put before those of man. I also swore that I would “…abstain from what is deleterious and mischievous” to my patients, and to only enter a person’s home “…for the benefit of only the sick and injured; never revealing what I see or hear… unless required by law.” As an EMT, it is common to deliver patient care within a person’s home—and often in the accompanying presence of Law Enforcement Officers. After EMS became subsumed under DHS, I received a memo from DHS telling me that every EMT was now duty-bound to scan the contents of a patient’s home; particularly the type of literature on their bookshelves, and to report to DHS any “subversive” books or literature. We were also asked to take NIMS training and sign a form stating that we would assist during the event of a “national emergency.” I participated in the training and signed the form, but told my supervisor that it had better be a real national emergency and not some premise for corralling the populace into “emergency camps” or anything like that.
On a couple occasions, I would be providing patient care within a person’s residence, and the Law Enforcement Officer who accompanied us would ask the patient’s family if there were any firearms or other weapons in the home. Since neither of these incidents had to do with domestic violence or the patient being a danger to themselves or others, I would look up from working on the patient and loudly inform the family that they did not have to answer the officer, and that he had no legal right to ask them about weapons in the home.
Although I am currently working as a teacher rather than as an EMT, I still maintain my EMT Certification, and I still take the Oath as seriously as ever.
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November 5th, 2009 at 8:57 am
Welcome to Oath Keepers, Doc.
Rest assured that you don’t stand alone in your committment to protect the rights and liberties of our countrymen.
We stand with you.
November 5th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Um I am calling bullshit on this one kiddo. DHS has no impact on ems whatsoever, especially with regards to scanning bookshelf’s for “subversive” material. The only memo I have ever gotten in working in EMS from DHS is to lock my ambulance so that it can’t be stolen, and used in a terrorist attack. Also NIMS stuff is a joke, and everyone who takes it knows it is only taken in order to get grants. The answers are often time provided for everyone, and no one actually really sits through the course.
November 5th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I also wonder if DHS is the cuprit? I have taken several ICS courses for emergency services duties. Not for EMS, but thus far, no oath requests have been asked. Many from LEO,Coast Guard, Corrections, Highway Department, and the list continues. The standard oath of the constitution and enemies foreign and domestic is given by the employer at the time of hire only. Welcome aboad! I would also hope that a DHS would not arrive at my part of the world!!!
November 5th, 2009 at 7:09 pm
Welcome aboard! Thank you for joining us here at Oath Keepers!
Semper Fi
November 6th, 2009 at 3:16 am
2.Um I am calling bullshit on this one kiddo……..
Comment by anonymous
Why shopuld I believe a comment by anybody who uses anonymous as a handle? I call Bullshit on you!
November 11th, 2009 at 11:02 am
With over 30 years in EMS working as a Paramedic and Administrator I can not remember ever being asked to look for subversive materials in a patients home. Although in my state, there are certain events that by law, must be reported and I believe this to be pretty standard. However, DHS encompasses many different things in many different states and as crazy as our government has gotten, I would not be surprised at this one bit.
So before you call ‘bullshit’ on something, I think you should probably get your facts straight. And like a previous commenter stated, anyone that does so under an anonymous name has no credibility and should keep their comments to themselves.
I commend this public servant for what he has done and does. Keep up the great work!