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Most EMS services have low pediatric call volumes and encounter a critical pediatric patient even less. Too often the healthcare provider misses key components of the pediatric assessment, which leads to overlooking significant injuries, and this problem is especially true when dealing with a suspected abuse case.
The EMS professional holds a key position in not only assessing the child, but also their environment. There are some key questions and observations that you should note: 1. What are the living conditions of the child? Do they appear to be in an unsafe or unsanitary environment? 2. How does the family relate to the child in the current situation?
Acquire a better understanding of child abuse; EMS is called to the residence of a 2-month-old child who’s lethargic and hasn’t eaten well for several days. On arrival, the grandmother of the patient states she’s concerned because the child isn’t acting right. During your assessment, you notice the child isn’t acting age appropriate.
Sick or injured pediatric patients are notorious for showing vague changes in their mental status and vital signs, only to suddenly deteriorate and become critical. "With kids, you need to start at death and work backwards," my paramedic school teacher taught.
The EMS profession may choose to adopt the principles of medical ethics--autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence and justice--but it is important for the profession to weigh whether a different set of principles may be more appropriate.
following code of professional ethics: a. A fundamental responsibility of the EMT is to conserve life, to alleviate suffering, to promote health, to do no harm, and to encourage the quality and equal availability of emergency medical care.
Respond to 911 calls for emergency medical assistance, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or bandaging a wound. Assess a patient's condition and determine a course of treatment. Provide first-aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured patients. Transport patients safely in an ambulance.
Paramedics risk infections from blood-borne pathogens from the Hepatitis B and C viruses, and the human immunodeficiency virus, which causes AIDS. Paramedics are also at risk from the splashing of blood or bodily fluids, especially if they don't wear protective eye goggles and face masks.
The law only codifies what we all learned in school: EMS providers have a duty to respond, a duty to act, a duty to perform a thorough assessment, a duty to appropriately treat the findings of that assessment, and to transport where necessary. It's not brain surgery, it's EMS.
Paramedics frequently have to balance patient confidentiality and patient safety. Patient information is subject to legal, ethical and professional obligations of confidentiality and should not be disclosed to a third party for reasons other than healthcare, without consent.
Most important function of an EMT: assessment of your patient. This means finding out what is wrong with your patient and appropriate emergency care. Care required for a patient can range from simple emotional support and using CPR/defibrillation.
EMTs must always lift and carry patients in a manner that insures their safety. They must also take steps to insure their own safety and avoidance of injury. Proper lifting and moving methods include using at least two people, making sure the patient is properly secured to the stretcher, cot or stair chair.
The basic difference between EMTs and paramedics lies in their level of education and the kind of procedures they are allowed to perform. While EMTs can administer CPR, glucose, and oxygen, paramedics can perform more complex procedures such as inserting IV lines, administering drugs, and applying pacemakers.
Perhaps the most dangerous peril ambulance drivers and paramedics face while on the job is crashes. Tragedy can strike in the rush to get the patient to a medical center. In fact, statistics show that automobile- and helicopter-related incidents are the leading cause of fatalities amongst those in the industry.
Paramedics may experience:Exposure to contagious or infectious diseases from patients or needles.Working with the various chemicals used in medical procedures such as halothane, nitrous oxide and ethyl chloride.Exposure to other chemicals, products, pharmaceuticals and medicine, including opioids.More items...
It consists of a nine-day cycle where each team works one 24-hour shift, followed by 24 hours off duty, then another 24-hour shift. They then receive another day off duty before working their final shift, followed by four consecutive days off duty.
If a patient has a contagious disease, EMTs and paramedics decontaminate the interior of the ambulance and may need to report the case to the proper authorities. The specific responsibilities of EMTs and paramedics depend on their level of certification and the state they work in.
Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics respond to emergency calls, performing medical services and transporting patients to medical facilities.
An Advanced EMT, also known as an EMT-Intermediate, has completed the requirements for the EMT level, as well as instruction in more advanced medical procedures, such as administering intravenous fluids and some medications. Paramedics provide more extensive prehospital care than do EMTs.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) provides national certification of EMTs and paramedics at four levels: EMR, EMT, Advanced EMT, and Paramedic. Some states, however, have their own certification programs and use similar titles.
EMTs and paramedics also transport patients from one medical facility to another. Some patients may need to be transferred to a hospital that specializes in treating their particular injury or illness or to a facility that provides long-term care, such as a nursing home.
When transporting a patient in an ambulance, one EMT or paramedic may drive the ambulance while another monitors the patient’s vital signs and gives additional care. Some paramedics work as part of a helicopter’s or an airplane’s flight crew to transport critically ill or injured patients to a hospital.
A 911 operator sends EMTs and paramedics to the scene of an emergency, where they often work with police and firefighters. Duties. EMTs and paramedics typically do the following: Respond to 911 calls for emergency medical assistance, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or bandaging a wound.
We often hear of care reports based on by medical teams or by medical authorities. Yet, we are not sure how this differs from the kind of report that is given to us by the same people. So this is the time to make it as clear as possible.
Where do you even begin when you write a patient care report? A lot of EMS or EMTs do know how to write one since they are trained to do so.
A patient care report is a document made mostly by the EMS or EMTs. This documented report is done after getting the call. This consists of the information necessary for the assessment and evaluation of a patient’s care.
What should be avoided in a patient care report is making up the information that is not true to the patient. This is why you have to be very careful and very meticulous when writing these kinds of reports. Every detail counts.
The person or the people who will be reading the report are mostly medical authorities. When you are going to be passing this kind of report, make sure that you have all the information correctly. One wrong information can cause a lot of issues and problems.
EMS professionals play an important role in identifying possible child abuse patients first. If an EMS provider has a concern, then it should be related to both the proper authorities and the hospital staff. A patient’s primary assessment isn’t complete without fully exposing them to document any injuries.
Pediatric patient assessment can be challenging for many reasons, including concerned parents, bystanders on scene, a chaotic scene, fear among all parties involved and the child’s anxiety toward the emergency responder. These challenges can be summed up with one word: distractions.
Pinna: The largely cartilaginous projecting portion of the external ear. Subdural Hematoma: A pooling of blood beneath the dura mater and arachnoid. Acquire a better understanding of child abuse; EMS is called to the residence of a 2-month-old child who’s lethargic and hasn’t eaten well for several days.
As a result of child maltreatment, approximately four children die each day in the U.S. 2.
A “sicker” child, or a call with a higher index of suspicion, is all the more reason to fully expose the patient. Central nervous system injuries are most commonly manifested with subdural hematomas, contusions or diffuse axonal injuries. Seizures, coma and even death may occur.
If you suspect non-accidental trauma and think the caretaker’s story is changing, don’t keep asking the same questions and clue the person in to their changing story. Also be careful not to validate the caregiver’s concern about how an injury occurred or suggest possible mechanisms for the patient’s injuries.
In fact, pediatric patients may be transported by EMS to the hospital and later discharged with other injuries or illnesses that are due to child abuse. Although the goal is to stop the epidemic of child maltreatment, the goal of EMS should be to properly treat, document and report suspected cases of child abuse.