This is great, this is why this forum is so amazing. Something so "basic" if you will causes so much debate. I know one person was less than thrilled about the OP being so open ended BUT I did that on purpose to see where things would go. Another person wanted to know where this came from and it simply just came from a discussion I had with a fellow paramedic. We each had opposing sides to the matter.
My stance on this issue is I personally wait until the 12 lead is finished with a clean baseline as long as the pt is NOT in any respiratory distress. My opinion, like some others, is that you want to get the earliest possible picture of the heart prior to any interventions/meds and oxygen is technically a med. Then if you do any subsequent 12 leads OS or En Route you can observe ANY changes that occured... BUT like I said I would NOT withold ANY Tx from a pt that is needed. If the Pt is not in any respiratory distress than in my humble opinion I believe you cant wait the extra 25 seconds to get a 12 lead... ANd yes, that is what you have your partners OS for. They could be setting everything up while the 12 lead is being completed that way it is ready to go. Also, no 15lpm via NRB was not specified, I was actually meaning any sort of oxygen at all. I also beleive this is where not being a cookbook medic and thinking "outside the box" comes into play.
Now, if any of you would like I could post a couple different Chest Pain scenarios with their OPQRST SAMPLE, pertinant neg's and etc and we could all post our opinions or we could continue this great open ended debate.
Respectfully,
Paramagic14.