Paramedic triage

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My hospital is considering placing paramedics at registration for initial triage, I'm not so sure I'm comfortable with that. Has anyone had any experience with this process, the potential liabilty, negligence etc ?

Specializes in ER and Home Health.

Paramedics are awesome.

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If you are working where paramedics need a nurse as "back-up" you have a serious problem with your paramedic programs. Paramedics in our area can triage better than most of our nurses. They are trained to triage and treat.

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Basically, I think that if a Medic has enough training to scrape your butt off the asphalt and keep you alive on the way to the hospital then they can triage anything that walks through or is dumped at the ER door. I also agree somewhat with the post that said an EMT-B would be like having a CNA triaging. Yes, some basics are really good and know their stuff, same goes for some CNAs with ER experience. But come crunch time I'd rather have someone with more training on my team. Granted maybe there should be a short course the Medics should take to learn the ropes for triage in the hospital setting, but other than that I would be fine with it.

It is amazing that a paramedic can go out and get the absolute worst patients and provide medical care often by protocol alone versus online medical control but you all are questioning whether they can triage the patients that arrive by car. That is absolutely laughable!

It is a little cocky of you all to think the paramedics are bringing patients to the hospital to see a nurse which is what it looks like most of you must think.

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"Aside from that, I appreciate how medics work and function in the field but there exist fundamental differences between the professions. Medics are taught to follow and function according to protocols. Nurses are able to think outside the protocol."

Are you kidding me? Medics are taught to function under protocols because they do not have a doctor with them to give orders. Nurses are not taught to follow protocol because they have a doctor there to give orders. Nurses may think outside protocol but they better ask a doctor before they act on it.

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An EMT-Basic only has 110 hrs of classroom...

Depends on where you are. Went I went through EMT school we had 212 hours of didactic.

There's going to be a curriculum shift in the next couple of years also for EMT-Basic, back to how it was pre-1990s when they had a greater background in pathophysiology.

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Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.

I often said when I was a Basic EMT, "It is amazing that I can triage patients in the field, in a car, upside down, in the dark, in the rain...but I can't when they walk in the ER??"

One of the nurses told me, it isn't that you aren't capable, it is that they law doesn't allow for it. It is as simple as that.

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Specializes in ER.

I LOVE :heartbeatreading these----it seems to me that paramedics are allowed to triage pretty much everywhere:yeah:! We USED to have medics triage and within the last year, we were told by management:bugeyes: that they are NOT ALLOWED because of JHACO:rolleyes:. I would love to see that in writing! I personally would allow 99% of the medics I work with to triage or do ANYTHING---they are AWESOME:yeah:!!!! I trust the medics more than I trust some of the RN's I work with.:uhoh3:

Has anyone heard of this restriction by JHACO???? Hope to hear from you!!!

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as a medic, yes I am fully able to triage in an ER as well as any RN.

I have taklen PALS and ACLS with RNs. I seem to be better in certain areas and worse in others. The RNs were much better at long term care. It wasn't close. I don't do that stuff. I was better at emeregency type stuff. Some RNs were on par with me but most weren't in the same ball park. It would seem from this expereince that I would be fine for triage in the ER.

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Specializes in ER.
as a medic, yes I am fully able to triage in an ER as well as any RN.

I have taklen PALS and ACLS with RNs. I seem to be better in certain areas and worse in others. The RNs were much better at long term care. It wasn't close. I don't do that stuff. I was better at emeregency type stuff. Some RNs were on par with me but most weren't in the same ball park. It would seem from this expereince that I would be fine for triage in the ER.

once you pass the NCLEX and have RN behind your name, then maybe.

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Specializes in ER, Med/Surg.

It is simply a fact that you don't have RN after your name. It doesn't have ANYTHING to do with how good you are at the job.

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It is simply a fact that you don't have RN after your name. It doesn't have ANYTHING to do with how good you are at the job.

So than this is a political thing has has nothing to do with whether paramedics being capable of doing triage. Your saying medics can do triage but you want an RN instead because you don't want RNs losing possible jobs. As long as we are clear on that.

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Specializes in EMS, ED, Trauma, CEN, CPEN, TCRN.
So than this is a political thing has has nothing to do with whether paramedics being capable of doing triage. Your saying medics can do triage but you want an RN instead because you don't want RNs losing possible jobs. As long as we are clear on that.

Did you read the whole thread, from the beginning? There are a lot of good thoughts on this issue, from both sides, and many from those of us who are both medics and ED RNs.

To reiterate, I don't believe a medic can step into and ED and do an RN's job any more than I'd expect an RN to be able to go out and do a medic's job. Not without the proper training, and the ED isn't like the back of the rig. No politics on my part -- just reality as I've experienced it, from being both a medic and ED RN. Hope I'm clear on that. :)

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