Inside EMS

Chick-fil-A vs. the duty to act


Listen Later

This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.

In this episode of Inside EMS, hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson discuss an incident that sparked fierce debate within the EMS community. The incident in question occurred on October 27, 2023, when a Washington, D.C., firefighter/EMT was dismissed for stopping at a Chick-fil-A before responding to an ALS call. The hosts discuss the ethical implications of this decision, emphasizing the duty to act in emergency services.

Cebollero and Grayson, while acknowledging the challenging landscape of working in EMS, stressed that personal needs and comfort should never compromise the responsibility to respond to emergencies. They shared personal experiences of missing meals due to service calls. The hosts stress how the duty to act commitment to help others should always outweigh personal needs in emergency services.

The discussion also centered on the commendable actions of D.C. Fire and EMS in addressing the incident. Grayson was firm in his belief that the action taken by the D.C. firefighter/EMT was unequivocally unethical and damaging to the public trust. The hosts underscored the importance of upholding the greatest standards of ethics and responsibility, even when not in the public eye.

Memorable quotes

  • "Ethics are how you behave when no one is looking. There's not a whole lot of gray area in ethical situations." — Kelly Grayson
  • "The whole point of 911 and the honor of what we do is, you call, we come: no question." — Kelly Grayson
  • "I can’t count the number of times I have been waiting in line for food and I've been dispatched to a call. I've had to get out of line. I've had to lose my money. I didn't get a chance to eat that day." — Chris Cebollero
  • "We have a duty to act. We have to be able to respond as we need to respond, regardless of our own personal needs." — Chris Cebollero
  • Read next: Duty to act, assess, treat and transport. A legal refresher for EMS providers

    RATE AND REVIEW

    Enjoying the show? Please take a moment to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Contact the Inside EMS team at [email protected] to share ideas, suggestions and feedback, or if you’d like to join us as a guest.

    EMS1 is using generative AI to create some content that is edited and fact-checked by our editors.

    ...more
    View all episodesView all episodes
    Download on the App Store

    Inside EMSBy EMS1 Podcasts

    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4
    • 4.4

    4.4

    122 ratings


    More shows like Inside EMS

    View all
    EMCrit FOAM Feed by Scott D. Weingart, MD FCCM

    EMCrit FOAM Feed

    1,865 Listeners

    Emergency Medicine Cases by Dr. Anton Helman

    Emergency Medicine Cases

    536 Listeners

    The FlightBridgeED Podcast by Long Pause Media | FlightBridgeED

    The FlightBridgeED Podcast

    385 Listeners

    Core EM - Emergency Medicine Podcast by Core EM

    Core EM - Emergency Medicine Podcast

    247 Listeners

    The Resus Room by Simon Laing, Rob Fenwick & James Yates

    The Resus Room

    105 Listeners

    EM Clerkship by Zack Olson, MD and Michael Estephan, MD

    EM Clerkship

    803 Listeners

    Emergency Medical Minute by Emergency Medical Minute

    Emergency Medical Minute

    257 Listeners

    Heavy Lies the Helmet by Mike Boone, Dan Rauh, & Dr. Amanda Humphries

    Heavy Lies the Helmet

    259 Listeners

    EMS World Podcasts by EMS World

    EMS World Podcasts

    24 Listeners

    Critical Care Scenarios by Brandon Oto, PA-C, FCCM and Bryan Boling, DNP, ACNP, FCCM

    Critical Care Scenarios

    247 Listeners

    The World’s Okayest Medic Podcast by Mike Carunchio

    The World’s Okayest Medic Podcast

    166 Listeners

    EMS Today by JEMS

    EMS Today

    19 Listeners

    EMS 20/20 by Long Pause Media | FlightBridgeED

    EMS 20/20

    816 Listeners

    EMS One-Stop by emsonestop

    EMS One-Stop

    7 Listeners

    Critical Care Time by Critical Care Time Podcast

    Critical Care Time

    219 Listeners