Human medicine: what can we do and what can't we do?

[Capella]

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Thanks to the previous two posters for the clarification, I too thought the lecture sounded screwy. 😕

It makes sense that vets should legally be considered no more qualified to perform human medical procedures than any other profession. Those with CPR certification should do CPR.

And what really would we be able to do that a paramedic would not be able to do as well or better? Unless you are in a drastic situation where paramedics will not reach you for an extended period of time, just do CPR and leave all the internal stuff alone. I will adopt this strategy.

 

[Capella]

The Oklahoma Veterinary Practice Act:

§ 698.17 GOOD SAMARITAN APPLICATION
Any veterinarian or registered veterinary technician who is licensed or certified in this state or licensed veterinarian or licensed veterinary technician who is a resident of another state or the District of Columbia, and who in good faith renders or attempts to render emergency care or treatment to an animal at the scene of an accident or disaster or emergency care or treatment to a human victim thereof, shall not be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions by such person rendering or attempting to render the emergency care or treatment.

 

[Edson Farm]

Unless there is a previous "caretaker" relationship (like a doctor and their patient) between the good samaritan and the injured person, or more loosely the "good samaritan" was the one who caused the injury, there is no legal requirement for anyone to help. Negligence (as someone described earlier) would occur in a situation where, for example, someone with first aid training started care then just decided to stop before someone of equal or greater training arrived (patient abandonment). As long as care isn't initiated at all you're in the clear legally- though morally most people would disagree.

 

[Edson Farm]

The Oklahoma Veterinary Practice Act:

§ 698.17 GOOD SAMARITAN APPLICATION
Any veterinarian or registered veterinary technician who is licensed or certified in this state or licensed veterinarian or licensed veterinary technician who is a resident of another state or the District of Columbia, and who in good faith renders or attempts to render emergency care or treatment to an animal at the scene of an accident or disaster or emergency care or treatment to a human victim thereof, shall not be liable for any civil damages as a result of any acts or omissions by such person rendering or attempting to render the emergency care or treatment.

According to that Oklahoma gives vets a HUGE amount of leeway in emergency situations involving people! While I'm sure most people would rather have vet care than no care at all in a disaster, it seems to me that there should probably be a more clear definition of what exactly a veterinarian would be allowed to do. Bleeding control and the like make sense, advanced interventions not so much. Also, I find it very suprising that they extend the same coverage to veterinary technicians. What would you think if you were lying in a car wreck semi-concious and noticed someone hovering over you saying "Don't worry, I'm a vet tech." I wonder how many other states have laws that liberal?

In relation to the original topic of this discussion, the good samaritan law referenced here wouldn't apply anyway. Once a person with a higher certification arrives and assumes patient care, the good samaritan is no longer responsible for the patient (eg. the vet should not have been starting IVs when a paramedic was already on scene). The law is designed to prevent vets from being afraid to help in a true emergency where help has not yet arrived, not to give them permission to practice human medicine.

 

[SuperC]

Interesting topic, this may have been posted but good samaritan laws apply to human medicine too.

We have been taught this: Outside of your office (in terms of dentistry) you have NO obligation to help someone in need (ie a woman has a heart attack in Wal-Mart) However, if you decided to perform CPR, you CANNOT abandon the pt until an EMT arrives.

As a dental student I personally would not do anything outside of CPR. I am sure that your attorney, would not advise you of anything else.

-C