We are coming to the end of the cycle of annual meetings and trade shows. And most of these shows and organizations have a number of annual awards and honors they bestow. Yet the history and significance of many of these awards is often never reflected in detail.

EMS and fire service awards are an integral part of the profession, a profession often known for its low pay, long hours, and little or no feedback from supervisors or the public. It is an interesting phenomenon how so few people return to thank their rescuers for their service. Much like those coming back from war, most people choose to bury the stresses involved with trauma. It is safe to assume that we go through most of our careers with little praise or thanks for what we do as EMS providers.

An organization's honors should be a significant event, carefully orchestrated to ensure the details, credentials and appropriateness of the award are given to the right individual. How an award is presented and designed conveys the values of the organization. To the younger generation of firefighters, EMTs and paramedics, many of these awards do not really maximize their potential or influence their thoughts. Usually, the audience is well disciplined to sit, listen and offer a round of applause; occasionally a standing ovation will be started by those who personally know of the winners' accomplishments.

The tradition of ceremonial awards dates back years in fire and emergency services. The need for praise and to promote individuals' self worth goes back to the basic of management theory. It appears in Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the basics of coaching, and in almost every company or chief officer's textbook. The use of awards and praise are at the basis of modern EMS quality-improvement theory. The idea is that the more praise and recognition that goes to those performing above and beyond in the organization, the more those not performing above average will emulate this behavior to attract the praise and validation of their worth in the organization.

Oregon has an incredibly well-defined series of medal and awards for EMS that are given every year as part of an annual banquet. Several organizations have created James O. Page Awards. The annual National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians meeting presents several awards and just about every state association has an award of some kind.

A colleague was faced with an interesting challenge recently when one of his staff embellished an application for a national award. The employee had fought against virtually everything this particular organization stands for, yet felt compelled to pursue this award to validate his performance in a job.

To my colleague's credit, he made immediate moves to investigate and was surprised to find a person in need of validation. What should have resulted in discipline produced an opportunity to turn a marginal employee around. The award in this case now has the opportunity to have someone walk the walk. By accepting this award, this person now must subscribe to the organization's beliefs and activities or face being stoned by the spectators for being a hypocrite.

As chief officers, we often do not take time to assess those who either are doing a great job or think they are doing a great job. Rarely is there any real feedback. In most EMS organizations, the ratio of managers to field providers rarely affords managers time to see all their employees. Many fire and EMS organizations have done away with performance appraisals or haven't used the process to its potential. A performance-appraisal system that is well developed can force a supervisor to sit down and have a frank discussion about accomplishments and performance. Connecting goals to performance appraisals can maximize the true potential of a relationship between a manager and his or her staff, which can give staff members an idea of how they are doing and how to improve.

It is imperative that awards have objective criteria or model behavior outlining the nature of the award. It is important to treat awards and recognition like an employment background check. It also is important to check more than one reference and in some cases check with regulatory agencies or employers, as problem employees often seek awards in an effort to offset disciplinary action within the organization. Many municipal employee-of-the-month award programs require that the employee not have any disciplinary action in their file within the past year prior to the potential award.

A few years ago, I nominated a person for the James O. Page Award offered by the International Association of Fire Chiefs. Over eight pages of accomplishments highlighted a career that truly reflected the meaning of that award. That year a technical issue in the rules eliminated that person due to an affiliation with the IAFC EMS Section. I gained even more respect for that award and how it is processed because it was not willing to present even the perception of favoritism.

A few years later that award was to be given to a person that upset a number of EMS leaders and chiefs in the organization. Not knowing that person or all the issues, I observed the events as a bystander as they unfolded. The real reason that award went to that person was because Page wanted it to, which intrigued me even more. After sitting through the presentation and seeing the historical events, it would be easy to say this person could be a contender based on work that was decades old.

A short time after that award, that person began to plan an exit from the organization. Looking back, was it Page's wisdom to bestow an award on a person knowing it would facilitate an exit? When an organization or a trade group finds it fitting to make an award that personally validates that the individual has made a difference it could be a signal to move on and tackle what is next. Since most entered the fire and EMS profession to make a difference, once someone acknowledges that has happened by placing the organizations highest honor on them, can an exit then allow an organization to move to the next level?

Our country suffers from a need for validation or acknowledgement that good people are doing hard work. The root of poverty, war and failed organizations all relate back to those who feel disenfranchised. The common saying, “good enough for government work” is often invoked when government workers have no award or recognition process due to rigid civil service systems and a lack of creativity or performance appraisal systems that are outdated or generic. At a local level it is often the perception that the union will not allow awards and recognition. Most collective bargaining arrangements don't cover the topic of awards and recognition.

The rash of fake degrees and creative résumés plaguing the roles of paramedic and fire chief applications indicates that there needs to be more focus on validating experience and performance. The root of this problem lies in unethical behavior. Many times this relates back to the old saying “you are never an expert or appreciated in own department or agency.”

There is some strange dynamic about acknowledging the successes and accomplishments of people within their organizations by the chief officers. This reflects a real need for a chief officer, EMS preceptor or EMS manager to develop excellent coaching skills. Coaching and praising are tough skills to learn. Delivering praise and coaching someone on performance really is an art. Fire and EMS personnel are part of high-performance teams and require techniques learned and established from some of the nations great coaches. In the past, football stars Lou Holtz, Terry Bradshaw and Tom Landry have been tapped by instructors and IAFC to send the message of coaching's importance in fire and emergency services.

We need to educate our people about our heroes and those who built EMS as a profession and about what many of these awards mean. This could be as simple as identifying the fire chiefs of the past within the organization and who brought EMS into the organization. A central fire station or training center should have the first paramedic class and the history of EMS in a time line.

This concept of praise, appreciating the past and respecting our elders often is lost in today's fast-paced society. I have had to watch the movie Cars well over a dozen times as it has become my son's favorite movie. It is an enlightening story of respecting the past and those who have come before. For paramedics and EMTs to really appreciate this profession and the opportunity to serve, there needs to be a connection to what fire-based EMS really stands for. A quote from a backward-driving tow truck in that movie says it all, “You got to know where you been, to know where your going.”

Bruce Evans is the EMS chief for the North Las Vegas (Nev.) Fire Department. He also is the fire science program coordinator at the Community College of Southern Nevada and an adjunct faculty member for the National Fire Academy's EMS and injury prevention courses. He has an associate's degree in fire management and a master's degree in public administration.