Paramedic vs (ED) Doctor

[arshar94]

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I don't really know where to post this but I was always curious- can a doctor (any or ED) do everything a paramedic can do? If not, what can a paramedic do that doctors can't? And what would an ED doctor be able to do that paramedics can't?

 

[OrdinaryDO]

I don't wanna get into the specifics because of how much there is to talk about, but paramedics are more like nurses than docs. In the field the hierarchy of command goes EMT < Paramedic < Nurse < Physician. There is nothing a paramedic can do that a physician cannot. There is a plethora of things a physician can do that paramedics can not do.

 

[arshar94]

So if a physician was found in the scene of an emergency and there were no paramedics available to help, would they essentially be able to do the same things as a paramedic in the emergency situation? Thanks for the reply!

 

[AnatomyGrey12]

As soon as the paramedic gets to hospital they have to relinquish control of the patient. The above poster phrased it nicely. Paramedics are great and have their role but at the end of the day they really only have the same science knowledge as a good nurse, but they are exceptionally great at the small scope that they practice in

 

[ERinspired]

So if a physician was found in the scene of an emergency and there were no paramedics available to help, would they essentially be able to do the same things as a paramedic in the emergency situation? Thanks for the reply!

Assuming they had appropriate equipment, they'd be able to do everything a paramedic could do and more on top of it.

 

[austintr]

Assuming they had appropriate equipment, they'd be able to do everything a paramedic could do and more on top of it.

This. Odds are a doc wouldn't have with him/her the equipment needed to do anything of real substance. However, many EMS services have protocols/SOPs in place for working with physicians on scenes. The service I worked at, for example, allows EMS providers to take direct orders from a physician on scene, regardless of specialty. However, the SOP dictates that the doc has to take full responsibility for the pt and ride with the unit to the hospital, etc. Most docs that come across scenes don't want to do this.

Many states allow paramedics to do basically anything they're trained to, with the direct oversight of a physician regardless of local protocol. This includes hanging blood, meds not in their protocols, and some obscure procedures.

But no, there would be nothing a medic can do that a doctor can't. Except efficiently and safely operate an apparatus or use some of the equipment the doc isn't familiar yet, I guess. ;-)