I know some places have EMTs that can start IVs. Why is this not done everywhere?
Well, it's not as bad... but in either case, they'd also need the ability to check blood glucose, which is it's own additional education.
You're not an EMT if you cannot check a BGL.
We need to start shaming States that disallow this practice for any level of provider.
I would still like to see a bridge to AEMT, mostly so that IO access could be added for arrests and that the lowest level provider would actually have some degree of useful education.
I don't understand why the EMT-IV class doesn't include IO access as well. They're easier to do than IVs. Make it so its only in the presence of cardiac arrest or if the medic orders it on a pt in extremis.
While it's an easy thing to do, not all states allow the EMT-B to do it. I, personally, would be a whole lot happier allowing the Basics to check the BGL than I'd be with them starting a line.You're not an EMT if you cannot check a BGL.
We need to start shaming States that disallow this practice for any level of provider.
You just highlighted something... CLS and EMT are two different knowledge and skill-sets. They're designed with different purposes in mind... It's also not too difficult to understand why they removed IV's from the basic CLS skill-set.And here I was thinking EMT-IV was an EMT 4 (as in the Roman numeral) figuring it was what some state called a Basic or Intermediate. Silly me
In Army Combat Life Saver we used to always do IVs. That's generally a week or two course, designed for Soldiers without any medical training. In most of the CLS courses I we t through we'd spend a day getting instructed on how to start an IV, and then practice on each other. However in the CLS course I just went through we didn't do IVs at all. The rationale of the instructors (who were all experienced Paramedics) was that Soldiers would want to start IVs on a casualty before the ABCs were secured (well, MARCH is the acronym CLS uses, Massive Hemorrhage, Airway, Respirations, Circulatory, Head Injury/Hypothermia). Yet we still spent a full day on chest needle decompression (is it Needle Thoracostomy? I could never spell it). So after 120 hours of training LA County won't trust me with a Glucometer yet after 4 days the Army'll trust me to stick a 3.75" 18 gauge needle in your chest. Go figure
I can easily see an overexcited Basic here in the States starting an IV before fully securing the ABCs. I'd personally feel a bit more comfortable leaving that up to an Intermediate or Medic, or in a rural area where you only have two guys/gals on the ambulance treating you, a Basic doing it under supervision. However, the folks here from Colorado keep saying an IV trained EMT works well in their system, so I guess if it works, don't try and fix it.