Scope of Practice for volunteer EMT?

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kettlecookedpotato

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Hello there! New to the EMS world. Got my Basic license for the state of Michigan (along with National Registry) and am in school for my Medic, but not currently employed in the field (yet). My question is this:

My church puts on a lot of activities (baseball, airsoft tournaments, semi-dangerous outdoor activities, etc.) and I've been asked to be a volunteer "on site medic" for some events to supply band-aids and be there in the event of a more serious injury. How would this work, because I cannot function and provide medical care on my own. Where does the legal side of this come into play? Can I "officially" be put in the "on site medic" role without medical direction? Obviously as an Basic I'm pretty limited on what I can do, and am not even considering drug administration. Band-aids, ice packs, and the occasional rolled ankle is about as serious as things will most likely get. If I only do what I've been trained and licensed to perform, would Michigans Good Samaritan Law cover me?

My idea is to talk to my Medic teacher, and my local EMS to see if I could get put on as a volunteer or something like that, or at least learn more of local protocols and how I can (or can't) operate under them.

Any thoughts? Thanks for the imput, and looking forward to these forums, glad I found em!
 
kettlecookedpotato said:
Hello there! New to the EMS world. Got my Basic license for the state of Michigan (along with National Registry) and am in school for my Medic, but not currently employed in the field (yet). My question is this:

My church puts on a lot of activities (baseball, airsoft tournaments, semi-dangerous outdoor activities, etc.) and I've been asked to be a volunteer "on site medic" for some events to supply band-aids and be there in the event of a more serious injury. How would this work, because I cannot function and provide medical care on my own. Where does the legal side of this come into play? Can I "officially" be put in the "on site medic" role without medical direction? Obviously as an Basic I'm pretty limited on what I can do, and am not even considering drug administration. Band-aids, ice packs, and the occasional rolled ankle is about as serious as things will most likely get. If I only do what I've been trained and licensed to perform, would Michigans Good Samaritan Law cover me?

My idea is to talk to my Medic teacher, and my local EMS to see if I could get put on as a volunteer or something like that, or at least learn more of local protocols and how I can (or can't) operate under them.

Any thoughts? Thanks for the imput, and looking forward to these forums, glad I found em!
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You can act as a first aider. You can't really do anything a layperson wouldn't do. If something were to happen call 911 keep ppl calm and gather info that would help the ambulance personal .

Without insurance or. Medical direction I am not sure of you can act as an emt in an official capacity. It depends on your state or county regulations.
 
Very little in the basic scope of practice actually requires medical direction. The benefits of your training are the skills and knowledge of how to treat injuries, but you should pretty much be able to operate as an EMT so long as you aren't using any advanced equipment. No airway stuff and you'll be good. Just make sure for any severe injuries you don't try to be the definitive care. Refer them to the ER if necessary.
 
any legit emergencies, your calling 911 anyway.
 
Stick to your training

Manage all life threats just as you would on the ambulance, this includes suction, adjuncts, etc. Think about it, you wouldnt contact medical control to put in an OPA in the middle of a code! Refer to your state BLS protocol and stick to that, they can be found online usually. Otherwise, you should be able to splint, board, and manage cuts and scrapes without fear of legal repercussion.

Like you said the CYA move would be to be put on as an autonomous volunteer at your local EMS agency, wear their uniform and have the medical directors number in your phone at events. Though I don't think this is necessary as long as you arent planning on administering any drugs.
OH common question, dont administer oral glucose unless you're on duty, just give a drink high in carbohydrates to avoid any problems.
 
Ask your local EMSA.
Good Sam could help you if you stay in your training, act prudently, act without expectation of reward, and not when higher-level care is available.

Being there with a bunch of equipment and offering your services as a provider sort of undermines the good-intentioned passer-by paradigm, though.
 
Since one only know how to perform the skills that they have learned, logically it isn't possible to go beyond your scope of practice. I'm not sure about Michigan laws but I'm pretty sure that if you stick to what you've been trained to do, you're protected. If anything happens that requires an ambulance happens, you're going to be calling for help anyway, so I wouldn't worry.

Also, you are in medic school but haven't worked as a basic at all yet? I didn't think that was allowed. Good luck, though. It doesn't sound easy.
 
medickat said:
Since one only know how to perform the skills that they have learned, logically it isn't possible to go beyond your scope of practice. I'm not sure about Michigan laws but I'm pretty sure that if you stick to what you've been trained to do, you're protected. If anything happens that requires an ambulance happens, you're going to be calling for help anyway, so I wouldn't worry.

Also, you are in medic school but haven't worked as a basic at all yet? I didn't think that was allowed. Good luck, though. It doesn't sound easy.
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This isn't exactly correct. In the US we aren't given a license to practice medicine within a restricted scope. Rather, we practice under a physician's license within the scope set by our state office of EMS (or in some cases your medical director). To that end, we are only permitted to perform skills that require medical direction while working under the license of our medical director. At a basic level, there are almost no skills we can do without equipment that do require medical direction, so it isn't really an issue.

However, as a NC EMT-I, it is within my scope of practice to intubate nasally or orally, establish intravenous access in a peripheral location or via EJ, and administer a decent set of medications. I am NOT permitted to do any of these things when I am not on duty working as an EMT-I under the license of a physician.

From a legal standpoint, you cannot be charged with malpractice or negligence so long as you treat according to the standard of care, however, you will still be on the hook for a possible charge of practicing medicine without a license, if you are trying to perform procedures that require medical direction. At the basic level, I would say this is limited to airway adjuncts and any medication past nsaids.
 
I am the first aid at church events all the time. I do not act as a medic, more as a well-educated lay person. I dole out bandaids, keep track of kids' epipens, and call 911 when needed.

The church should stock a first aid kit and have it on site with splints, bandages and whatnot. Forget the airway stuff and do compressions only CPR if needed. See if you can get them to purchase an AED to keep on site. Sounds like it's a well-traveled place.

This is not a big deal, just keep it to the first aid and get people to call when they need to.

Also, identify all of the other health care providers in the bunch. There are bound to be quite a few nurses.
 
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