PAs and Nurse Practicioners as medical control?

[Dustdevil]

The PA's I work with are employed by the hospital (Catholic) so their salaries are much less.

The Catholics are Jews?

Now there's some fine irony for ya!

[OzMedic]

Here's a crazy idea, upgrade paramedic education to the point where medical direction is not necessary! I don't understand the concept of training people in performing interventions and stopping short of educating them when and why they should perform them. Maybe it's just me :roll:

[Spock]

The Catholics are Jews?

Now there's some fine irony for ya!

I don't know if I would go as far as that but the nuns ran the place into the ground and secular management has not been able to turn the ship around so we are merging with the university center up the street. We are the Borg. Resistance is futile. Prepare to be assimilated.

Live long and prosper.

Spock

[Chrisclark]

Here's a crazy idea, upgrade paramedic education to the point where medical direction is not necessary! I don't understand the concept of training people in performing interventions and stopping short of educating them when and why they should perform them. Maybe it's just me :roll:

Give it twenty or thirty years for medicine to catch up. It will happen one day. Just look at medics in the 70's and what they were allowed to do.

[Ridryder 911]

Give it twenty or thirty years for medicine to catch up. It will happen one day. Just look at medics in the 70's and what they were allowed to do.

You might want to review history a little, I was doing just as much maybe more and had twice as many drugs to give and administered in the 70's. Hmm you ever given epi intracardiac established a central lines, gave epi and bicarb every 5 minutes in a code, as well as Calcium chloride, establish an Isuprel drip or Mannitol drip for a head bleed and or apresoline...? and these medics now a days give the routine 5 drugs and spazz about it.

ACLS was as well a 500 page text book with skill stations including true "mega" code testing that consisted of at least 30 minute duration.. not like the paint by number courses today. I just wished medics were tested in ACLS as well as they used to. Shame we are not as stringent..

R/r 911

[MissRedThrice]

Either way, People iin the south want to be seen by a real doctor. I have seen the results of a PA/NP trying to explain what their job is to an ignorant patient (This is the south remember?)

Ive also noticed that a number of male nurses and PA/NP types not correct a paitnet that calls them doctor. I guess the salary makes the frustrations worth it .

Somedic

What you probably have not given much thought to is how many times our patients say "Look the paramedics are here!" In my county we run an EMT/ Paramedic rig, but how many times are you going to correct people? The PA's that don't correct those who call them doctor know that they are not going to change people's minds and it's a waste of time to try. It's not because they're are arrogant, well paid, or anything else other than they understand it's a waste of time. Maybe we should be a bit more understanding also.

[Chrisclark]

^ I know what you are saying about the south. I did not know what an LPN was intill a few years ago. All people in the south hear is nurse.

[OzMedic]

I tend to agree with Ridryder. My post was directed at services that still utilise medical control. There are, and have been for 30 years or so, excellent in depth paramedic courses around the world negating the need for medical control. My service is a minimum 5 years on-road and a bachelor degree before entry in the 1 year, full time, post graduate diploma in intensive care paramedic practice, by the time you do all the in-hospital training it stretches out to a 1 1/2 years. All practice is autonomous for ICP's once qualified. Most of the uni's here are now offering paramedic education to the doctorate level. The argument should not be about who is most qualified to direct paramedics but why they need it in the first place.