blood glucose question

[akflightmedic]

xselerate,

Wow, is there really any need to slam someone like that!!! Good to know that your prefect. Comments like this only turn new people away from asking good questions on the forum. Lighten up!

You said it yourself...it keeps people from asking GOOD questions....this was a very poor question and the poster deserved some heavy handed guidance for future reference. Xselerate is 100 percent correct.

[N.S. ACP]

So akflightmedic, you agree with someone calling another dunb, lazy, idiot, etc?? As a forum mod one would think that you would discourage this type of demeaning to another person in such a way. Yes it was a dumb question, have you ever asked a dumb que? Is this person brand new and just not know any better? What I am saying is that we can show a LITTLE RESPECT to people. and the part about keeping people from asking good questions is that they will be afraid to ask any because they might be faced with the same ignorance shown here.

[Dustdevil]

Yikes. I think at the top of ALL FORUMS it should say did you google first?!?!?!?

Actuallly, it IS at the top of this forum. Apparently you didn't read it either.

Most often, it seems that questions like this are asked by EMT's who are not employed in EMS. And EMT schools aren't teaching their students that EMT (or Paramedic) certification itself does not license you do do ANYTHING! Nothing at all. Only delegated authority from a physician authorizes you to perform ANY intervention. If you aren't employed by a system that has a medical director who gives you written authorization to do something, you can't do it. Period.

[akflightmedic]

He never directly called any one person in particular those things. He said he can not believe "someone" would be so lazy at to not check thier own protocols. I stand by me decision. There was no direct attack. The only direct attack was you against me.

[LONGSSTUGA]

Thank you all for your input on this question. And in response to the one persons statment that if i couldent find out the answer to this question on my own that i shouldent be an EMT your probaly right but my wife and i are flat broke living with her mother and are four and a half months preganant i have to do something so that our baby doesnt think that i am a complete waist of D.N.A.

[akflightmedic]

The comment said MAYBE one should not be an EMT, did not say YOU. Anyways, while I can appreciate your personal situation, as I have been there before as well as many others here on this forum, it has absolutely nothing to do with the subject at hand. Having money in the bank does not determine whether or not you know the protocols under which you work.

Please understand our confusion and frustration with the question you have asked. How is it possible for one to not know their scope of practice? How did you make it through school and become certified without knowing whether or not you can do a simple procedure? In addition to not knowing the answer, you came onto a public forum and asked the question to total strangers. Do any of these people here work in your county, city or system? Protocols vary by service and location. So what would you do if half the people said yes and half the people said no? You still would not have a clear definitive answer. What if we all said yes, but we were wrong? Who would be liable? Not us, only you. This is why it is so important that you ask around locally, hopefully at the service that you are working or volunteering for and find the correct answer.

This place is great for many discussions and learning opportunities..it is not a place to find out what your scope of practice is in one particular organization.

We welcome you and look forward to hearing froom you again.

Good luck with the baby and do not worry..they do not think that kind of stuff until their teenage years, so you got a while.

[medik8]

Well said, AK.

Longs....we certainly DO NOT want you to feel unwelcome. So, like AK said, I can appreciate your situation, and I'm sorry. Things will get better...and I admire you for trying, putting it into gear, and not sitting on your rear. BUT...please look up your protocols and learn them. It's to your own benefit of becoming a good EMT so you can KEEP that job you so desperately need, FOR your family. In addition, for your own pride...to know that you've become the best you can be so that you can serve your patients and community well.

Good luck! :wink:

8

[canuckEMT]

It is up to the individual provider to know his/her scope of practice for the area/service they are working for. It is taught here in our courses that we have to have an understanding of all the corredsponding legislation that governs your scope of practice.

I am not sure if you are working for a service right now, but if you are, one of the first priorities you have as a new employee is to familiarize yourself with that services protocols. Also have a knowledge of your national and state protocols.

As google is a good way to find out, if you do not have a computer, try going to your local EMS station or office and ask them as well. Most services (around here anyway) don't mind answering questions regarding scope of practice questions and what is included in local protocols.

[xselerate]

Try to understand longs... I didn't try to attack you personally. In my experience their is sometimes an attitude that EMS is not made up of professionals... that we run lights/sirens to get dinner and the like. Things that make us look anything but explicitly professional upset me to no end. We all have to fight for better contracts, better wages, respect, etc etc. When I see an EMS professional who appears unwilling to take the time to read through their protocols or contact their local regional medical council it makes me wonder why I strive constantly to do my job as professionally as humanly possible.

I hope you take the time to read through your protocols and commit them to memory. If you can't find your answer there then contact your department of health or local medical council. But it is important if you plan on remaining in this profession to carry out everything you do with great pride and professionalism. And if you plan on raising a family on the job well.... first of all good luck.... second of all study your stuff and become the most educated EMT possible, then go become a Medic because your not raising a kid on a basic's salary.

Just remember... you don't see police officers that don't know when to arrest people... you don't see fire fighters that don't know how to fight fire... we're professionals and, unfortunately, we sometimes have to prove it to the communities we serve.

[hammerpcp]

OMG! tough crowd.

It is my understanding that you are not working EMS yet, since your occupation is listed as unemployed. So calm down Xselerate. And LONGSSTUGA, I am sorry but I will not be attending your pity party. We 've all had to go through crap to get where we are. You do what you've got to do in life to get by. Chin up. Why would you pick EMT if your only motivation is that you need a job? It's not like working at burger king (or white castle or whatever), although the training is similar, this is a much more challenging job in many respects.

I recommend joinng the army. Not because I ever have, but just look at how they have molded AK into the upstanding individual that he is today.

Come to think of it burger king probably pays a similar wage as EMTB, dont they?

If EMS is what you want to do, do it. But don't do it because you think it is easy. It's not good for family life either. The hours suck. And if you have crappy DNA then your offspring will too, so why would they question themselves?