Paramedics in the ER

Specialties Emergency

Published

Hi,

Does anyone allow paramedics to work in their ER? If so, do you have a job description you would be willing to share?

Thanks!

When I worked the ER in Indiana, Paramedics were able to do everything a nurse could except for initial assessments, patient education, and discharge. The ER I work in now, in Texas, only allows paramedics to act as tech's. Being an RN and having 10 years experience as a street medic myself, I view this as a horrible waste of a very valuable resource. BTW, I have seen some pretty d*** useless medics and RNs. I have also seen some very amazing individuals in both fields. I think making generalizations about either profession is childish, useless, and worst of all, it makes me want to group that person in the first category. Our purpose is the same. So lets stop whinning, work together, save some patients, and laugh our butts off while we are doing it! The job is way too serious if we don't.

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Specializes in ER.
while i aagree with you re the function of the paramedic in ed .i don't appreciate you labeling all nurses as useless just based on your experience ,which is only 3 yrs .i have been a nurse over 20 yrs and have seen the good the bad and the excellent in all fields of heath care from interns ,sr mds ,nurses ,cna ,students and paramedics .its not nice to make that generalization.

Well good for you and your million years experience - some of the veteran nurses in my dept are so jaded and lazy-so dont pull the experience card on me, I know experience very well does not make the nurse - that is a personal and professional choice- some are content to let thier patients lay in the room and suffer or die without so much as a notification to the physician or a simple comfort measure with thier "20" years experience, there are also veteran nurses who know what seems like everything about emergency nursing and embody the virtue of the profession in everything they do - this goes for brand new ER nurses too, they also can be either. I have seen the good and bad as well and if you would take notice I said 99% of the useless nursing staff - not that 99% of nursing staff was useless. I share the same views about professionalism in all fields and was pointing out that we need not demote paramedics just because they enter our realm. We need not turn our noses up at whatever good help we can get just because we are nurses, especially when all who are in the profession are not spitting images of perfect.

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Specializes in ER.
When I worked the ER in Indiana, Paramedics were able to do everything a nurse could except for initial assessments, patient education, and discharge. The ER I work in now, in Texas, only allows paramedics to act as tech's. Being an RN and having 10 years experience as a street medic myself, I view this as a horrible waste of a very valuable resource. BTW, I have seen some pretty d*** useless medics and RNs. I have also seen some very amazing individuals in both fields. I think making generalizations about either profession is childish, useless, and worst of all, it makes me want to group that person in the first category. Our purpose is the same. So lets stop whinning, work together, save some patients, and laugh our butts off while we are doing it! The job is way too serious if we don't.

It was not meant to come across as saying that and as for you and your categories, Ill group you in a category - its called lets go on a witch hunt because someone pointed out that the entire nursing profession does not walk on water - yeah I have worked with useless paramedics as well - the point I meant to make was that I would never trade a good medic for a bad nurse just because of the title and thier educational background. We should not be feeling infringed because yes they can perform some of the same skills we nurses can in the ER and we should not be demoting them to techs solely for the reason that they dont have a nursing license - they should be doing what they are licensed to do defined by thier state scope or level of training. People are making it out to be like they are going to take over emergency medicine if we let thier skills get out of control - or they are somehow not as good as nurses at what they do because of licensure. However, it is the choice of the hospital where they work and it is up to the nursing field to support them (we know there is not an endless supply of nurses right now to help us) and not treat them like they are our subordinates - I get tired of seeing this and it contributes to the ugly old myth and generalization that nurses eat thier young.

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Specializes in CT ,ICU,CCU,Tele,ED,Hospice.

i work with paramedics and students all the time .i have great respect for them and appreciate the work they do .i never said i didn't but i don't like generalizations .you have a right to your opinion based on your experience i have right to mine .i believe we can learn from each other and it all benefits the patients.yes there is good and bad nurses dr and paramedics .just like there is in any other profession .i never said anyone walked on water .but there is no need for you to be "copping an attitude " with either of your replies .

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We just started having paramedics in the ER about 2 years ago, so it is still a relatively new venture for us. We staff 1 medic on 7a-7p and 1 on 7p-7a and they are assigned to triage. We assign 1 RN and 1 medic to triage. If we are short nurses, then our medics can pick up shifts in the main ED. I personally think they are highly underutilized. They transport monitored patient up to the floors, start IVs, can give ACLS drugs in a code situation, and do EKGs. If weare busy, they can fill out the triage portion of the squad arrival patient's assessments. Other than that, they pretty much just help out the techs.

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Specializes in Emergency Department.

Ooohh...I can tell this is a touchy subject. The ENA actually has a position statement on this very topic..I don't have a link, but I'm sure if you went to their website you could find it easily. It is an intersting paper, and they outline the unique and distinct position that UAPs play in the ED. As an RN who worked in the ED as a medic, I can tell you that they play a valuable part in the ED team. I worked in a small town hospital with a hospital based ambulance service where we were also "ER techs." We did everything and we were all a close knit team. I now work in a Level I trauma center and the medics there have a more limited scope. They can do the inital triage, but every pt still has to have a inital assessment done by an RN. They can start IVs, draw blood, do vitals, recover pts from moderate sedation. The only drugs they can give are cardiac drugs and only in a code situation.

I think we can all work together as a team, but I feel that some nurses feel threatened by UAPs and their increasing role in healthcare. Personally, I don't feel that way because RNs are always going to be needed to play their part in the healthcare team.

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I am having a problem with our nurses allowing my EMT's to anything in the hospital. We are a hospital based 911. They tell me that it is against federal law to allow EMS to work in the hospital.. other than do vitals. Could you help cause I am in need so some ammunition so I can get my guys to stay in the ER. [email protected]. Olney/Young County EMS

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
I am having a problem with our nurses allowing my EMT's to anything in the hospital. We are a hospital based 911. They tell me that it is against federal law to allow EMS to work in the hospital.. other than do vitals. Could you help cause I am in need so some ammunition so I can get my guys to stay in the ER. [email protected]. Olney/Young County EMS

Whats wrong with just being a tech in the ER. VS, ekgs,splints, bandaging. Leave RN things to the RNs.

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Specializes in ED, Pedi Vasc access, Paramedic serving 6 towns.
Whats wrong with just being a tech in the ER. VS, ekgs,splints, bandaging. Leave RN things to the RNs.

Would you be happy working as a tech if you went to school so that you could do much more, like IVs, INTERPRET EKGS (versus just dong them), everything ACLS, intubation, med administration, basically assessing patients and treating them according to YOUR own assessment, IO, surgical crich etc.... Probably not. Go to work tommorow and work as a tech instead of at the level of an RN, see how you feel.

Swtooth EMT-P, RN

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Specializes in ER, ICU, L&D, OR.
Would you be happy working as a tech if you went to school so that you could do much more, like IVs, INTERPRET EKGS (versus just dong them), everything ACLS, intubation, med administration, basically assessing patients and treating them according to YOUR own assessment, IO, surgical crich etc.... Probably not. Go to work tommorow and work as a tech instead of at the level of an RN, see how you feel.

Swtooth EMT-P, RN

Now why would I do that, Ive been an RN for Decades. I enjoy having medics as techs to assist in the ER. But I am a RN not a medic. Been there, done that, long time past it.

I see your an RN congratulations.

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Whats wrong with just being a tech in the ER. VS, ekgs,splints, bandaging. Leave RN things to the RNs.

Do not missunderstand me. I want my guys to work in the ER. Teclinical experience that is available in tat setting is invaluable. I was told that it was illegal for them to do it with out an umbrella of a protocol. RN's have a tough enough job with out us getting in the way. We just want to be able to help.

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Specializes in ITU/Emergency.
Whats wrong with just being a tech in the ER. VS, ekgs,splints, bandaging. Leave RN things to the RNs.

This is exactly why you might be having problems getting your EMT's exercsing their skills in the ER. I fail to understand why some RN's need to be so protective and defensive of their roles. I have worked with EMT's in the ER setting and they are a wonderful addition to the team and are far to knowlegable to be just bandaging and taking vitals( no offence to ET's!). No-body is trying to steal the 'RN things', they are just trying to gain experience so that when they are out in the field they can work to the full extent of their abilities. There is room for all of us to work alongside one another, surely? I guess I just don't see having EMT's in the department as threatening.

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