Tell me if this is the norm in your er!

There is absolutely no way a tech should be suturing anyone regardless of how much training they have. A doctor or a PA should be the only one suturing anything. That goes beyond the tech's scope of practice.

Hi everyone...we had an er visit last night, and I don't work ER full time anymore (moved on to another specialty) although I do work agency in the ER now and then. I am a trav nurse, currently in NM, and havent worked in an ER here yet.

So here goes! My son had to have a nice lac on a toe sutured....the Er we went to did things a bit differently than I am used to, and I am wondering if it is the norm? Have worked many states in the Er and many different types of ERs...

1. only irrigate wound with saline, no betadine, no chlorhex, no doc cleaning it with anything before suturing. I was told that this is normal practice now, as they feel that all the cleaning agents are just too caustic to the tissues.

2. an RN came in to inject the lido (before they decided to do a digital block), and she also said that that was the norm there.

3. as I was further talking shop with the ER tech, she told me that normally the techs suture nearly everyone up...that it was just since none of them had experience with the type/loc of the lac on my son's foot that we got the doc. She said that they get some special training, then are allowed to suture.

I am all for streamlining throughput in the ER, but I was taken by surprise. Are these items the norm in your ERs? Curious! I just kept saying, I have never heard of such a thing before...

?

thanks!

Maybe the laws vary by state.

Medics suture in combat. Some places, RN's sew episiotomies, don't they?

Unlicensed personnel give meds, I guess they can suture, too, with proper training. Not saying I would like it.