nurses are the most highly trained individuals in the ems system.
nurses are the most highly trained individuals in the ems system.
who are the most highly trained individuals in the ems system?
nurses
the medical director plays a key role in the professional development of paramedics as well. in almost all cases, the medical director will have, at a minimum, input into the curriculum of paramedic training at a local level. in a great many cases, they will also teach some portions of the program, supervise clinical rotations of paramedics, and in some cases, precept their initial field practice, prior to formal certification or licensing. in almost all cases, the medical director will be charged with the creation of all protocols and standing orders, and with any research that goes into their creation. the medical director will also, assisted by others, be responsible for the creation and development of the standards of practice for their ems system. throughout the paramedic's career, the medical director will provide the mechanism for medical quality control, conducting chart audits and reviewing medically related service complaints, and may often have the ability to de-certify individual paramedics for cause. medical directors will also act as advocates for their paramedics, advising elected officials and building support within the medical community for expanded scopes of practice when appropriate. finally, medical directors will act as expert advisors to those in the ems system administration and government administration, with respect to policies and legislation required by the ems system, and in guiding its future direction. in this model, the paramedic is very much seen as an 'extender' of the emergency physician's reach. it is rare to see physicians in the field, unless they are precepting new paramedics or performing quality assurance activities, or are residents in emergency medicine training programs, gaining required field experience or conducting research. medical directors and ed physicians will occasionally go into the field for large incidents, such as multi victim accidents and disasters to assume on site medical command.
medical director
university hospital ems (uh-ems) operates the ems system for the city. the department operates a fleet of six bls units staffed with two emts 24/7, supplemented by four 12-hour "power" trucks (operated during peak demand time hours), five als units staffed with two paramedics (one of which is stationed at newark international airport and covers the airport and port newark-elizabeth, and frequently responds into the city of elizabeth), and a critical care unit staffed by a paramedic and an rn. with distinction they also staff the only hospital based heavy rescue truck in the country, known as university ems rescue 1. the ems system is the busiest system per unit in the nation. on average, a bls unit may be sent to 20–25 dispatches in a 12-hour shift. they also provide the medical staffing for northstar, with one of the two nj state police medevac helicopters, staffing one flight nurse and a flight medic around the clock. the ems system in newark handles upwards of 125,000 requests for service annually.
newark, new jersey