Is this what I'm looking for???

[jmkglloyd]

First time viewer of this forum and I'm hoping some one knows what I'm looking for. I apologize in advance if I'm way off base here.

I work in an industrial factory and I am currently in the process of building an on-site Emergency Response Team (ERT). I have a few years of experience at other facilities as an ERT member but not to this extent. So in my endeavors, I have obtained my trainer certification from the American Heart Association in CPR, First Aid, and AED. My next task is to take it a step further for a more comprehensive understanding of the medical end of things. My thought is to get EMT training for purposes of medical response (beyond first aid), medical monitoring, safety, etc.

My concern is the registration as an EMT in AZ. Since I would not be working in the field, am I required to obtain a certification for what I plan on doing? Is there an alternative to the EMT training that would allow me to do what I stated above? Better yet, is there something that would incorporate the medical training with training in an industrial setting? Possibly through OSHA?

Any thoughts and suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[akflightmedic]

If you obtain EMT and then work to the scope of EMT, then you are "in the field". Regardless of being in an industrial setting, if you have the cert and work to that scope, then in effect you are working as an EMT and should comply with all those regulations, such as having a medical director, ongoing CME,etc. Make sense?

Everything you need to know for the industrial setting and the ERT is available through OSHA. To be honest, you do not need more than what you already have which is basic First Aid, CPR and AED. There are Oxygen in the Workplace courses through OSHA which you could add to your bag of tricks, but honestly, why complicate it much further?

You currently have the ability to treat most emergencies within your workplace. For those which you can not, simply activate 911 and then provide supportive care until such time that the patient's condition declines to the state where you then need one of you basic skills (CPR/AED). Adding EMT will not change this...

 

[jmkglloyd]

@ akflightmedic - Thank you for your reply. I understand your explanation of obtaining an EMT. I wouldn't necessarily be working within the scope as an EMT as my primary job role is an Equipment Engineer. We also don't have a medical director onsite. This role would solely be for emergency response and possibly yearly medical monitoring (i.e. vital signs). All-in-all, I would perform duties similar to what the triage nurse does in the hospital setting such as medical history, blood pressure, respiratory function, etc. I would then make the determination to return-to-work, send to an Urgent Care, or activate a 911 call.

The previous employer I worked for had an onsite nurse part time. Outside of her shift, we had individuals that had a little more medical knowledge than what the standard CPR, first aid, AED course provided which enabled them to act as medical liaisons for the company. This is what I'm after.

This may be something that my company is able to empower me with my current training. I'm just trying to cover all my bases before this happens and EMT training was the subject that stuck out to me.

Anyone else agree or disagree or have any other input?

 

[akflightmedic]

I understand completely as I have a safety background as well with a lot of the OSHA alphabet soup after my name.

The point I am trying to make is this...You have stated you would not be working within the scope once obtaining the EMT...do you see the issue here? If you have the cert but not the authority to work within that scope, then you can't/shouldn't do it. If you have the cert and the authority to do so but work under/outside the scope...again the legal liability.

The best place to be is a First Aider with CPR and AED. You can still take vital signs, you can still hand out band aids, you can show them where the tylenol is, and you still know how to call 911.

There is very little knowledge that the EMT Basic course provides that First Aid and CPR doesn't. Your situation sounds like it is better to not know what you do not know so that you may stay within the legal parameters and still perform effectively, especially since it is not your primary job nor do you desire it to be. Make sense?

If you do not have medical direction/medical director, then you can not state you are working as an EMT. Legally you still have to treat as a First Aider until such time your company changes policies. If you treat or make statements as an EMT which your company does not have a program in place to support and you are wrong...then you and the company may be liable.

I hate for all this to sound so problematic because of legal issues, but quite simply that is what it is. You know how OSHA inspectors are (if they ever actually make it to your site) but the safety guy can be just as bad.

And regardless of these legal questions, I pretty much summed it up that you will not gain much more useful knowledge than what you already have in order to determine treatment and or activation of 911.

Anyone else have input??