College Health EMS during Post-Bac?

[Febrifuge]

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Calling anyone who has experience in undergrad with a student volunteer first aid or EMS service... I'm headed out to a Post-Bac program this summer, at a school that is fairly small (~600 students), about 15 mins from the local hospital (rural area, but BCEM docs), and does not have a student-run EMS service now. There's a family practice doc on call and an RN on campus.

I would love to keep my EMT-B cert active, especially since it'll expire as I'm winding up the Post-Bac. As I read over the rules for my temporary new home state, it actually could be fairly easy to get me recognized in the new state, and renewed when the cert runs out. That is, it might be easy if I were to be affiliated with a service -- but there's a provision saying if an applicant can demonstrate enough of a benefit, the state commission could waive the requirement.

This is probably not the first time this has happened... so what suggestions are there for talking either the campus doc or the local ER into being a sort of loose medical control? My role would be limited to stabilizing and comforting a patient on campus for the short time it would take for local EMS to arrive. But the campus is away from town a little, and weather conditions might delay transport or treatment. There could be a shot, if I do this right. Ideas?

 

[deleted6669]

how about just going home for a weekend and taking the recert test?

 

[Febrifuge]

The problem with that is my home state also requires me to be affiliated with something, in order to sit for the recert test. If I can talk the hospital into letting me be the most intermittent part-time tech ever, it could work. Otherwise, not so much.

 

[deleted6669]

how about reciprocity to the new state? do they also require active affiliation? I have worked in ems in a few states and none required ongoing work to recert emt-b, just cpr and pass written every 2 years.

 

[Febrifuge]

Yah, I hear what you're saying. I don't know if these are newer developments across all Registry states, or if my home state and Vermont are just of like mind on this. But it looks like just having a good cert in one place isn't enough. Actually, in my home state I wouldn't be able to renew unless I had some sort of affiliation.

For school it's section 10.2(c) here:

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hp/ems/emsrules.shtml#Anchor--Secti-7337

I'm in a Registry state now, and Vermont is too, so as long as I'm affiliated with some type of service, I can automatically be given Vermont EMT-B cert that would expire the same time as my home state (and NREMT) one. Section 10.46 also applies.

Then, at re-cert time in 2006, in order to renew that cert I would need to meet that same requirement.

Section 12 is about waiving portions of the rules, so although it's sort of vague, I'm thinking 12.2 might be a basis for something. I would basically say, "yo, here's the benefit to the college and the local EMS service; here's an MD on campus and here's the local ER. We have a way to work together, so the 12 minutes from base to campus would be covered, by me. What about carrying over my cert?"

 

[EM Junkie]

I don't know about the legalities of a "loose association" between you and a physician. Basically, you are setting up a one man EMS system with no protocols, malpractice insurance, SOP's, etc. Sounds like trouble to me.

How about volunteering 1-2 shifts per month with a not so local EMS service?

By the way, for info. on an on-campus EMS service, visit www.ncemsf.org

Good luck to you!

Scott, MS3, EMT-B

 

[Febrifuge]

Yowza. You put it like that, it sounds downright shady! 😉

It's a good point; being some random part-time student helper to the health service could be difficult. Maybe I'd be better off trying to wrangle some manner of position with the local EMS service. Since they're volunteer anyhow, maybe they'd let me be 'the volunteer who's a student on campus, so if there's something on campus, call this guy too.' If I do a few actual shifts in a month, maybe they might call it good.

 

[jonb12997]

if they're a volunteer agency, there's your answer, join them and you're all set