Central DuPage Emergency Medical Services System

Title: SCOPE OF PRACTICE- LICENSED EMT

Section/Number: O-28

Initiated: 1/98

Revised: 8/08

Reviewed: 7/13, 5/15

Revision No: 2

PURPOSE: Delineate who may deliver pre-hospital care in the CDEMSS

POLICY:

I. Any person licensed as an EMT-B or EMT-P shall perform emergency and non-emergency medical services in accordance with his or her level of education, training and licensure, the standards of performance and conduct prescribed in the Administrative Rules & Regulations, and the requirements of the CDEMSS System.

II. A person currently licensed as an EMT-B or EMT-P may only practice as an EMT or utilizes his or her EMT license in pre-hospital or inter-hospital emergency care settings or non-emergency medical transport situations, under the written or verbal direction of the EMS Medical Director. A "pre-hospital emergency care setting" may include a location that is not a health care facility, which utilizes EMTs to render pre-hospital emergency care prior to the arrival of a transport vehicle. The location shall include communication equipment and all of the portable equipment and drugs appropriate for the EMT's level of care, and the protocols of the EMS Systems, and shall operate only with the approval and under the direction of the EMS Medical Director.

III. This does not prohibit an EMT-B or EMT-P from practicing within an emergency department or other health care setting for the purpose of receiving continuing education or training approved by the EMS Medical Director. This also does not prohibit an EMT-B or EMT-P from seeking credentials other than his or her EMT license and utilizing such credentials to work in emergency departments or other health care settings under the jurisdiction of that employer.

IV. A student enrolled in a Department-approved emergency medical technician program, while fulfilling the clinical training and in-field supervised experience requirements mandated for licensure or approval by the System and the Department, may perform prescribed procedures under the direct supervision of a physician licensed to practice medicine in all of its branches, a qualified registered professional nurse or a qualified EMT, only when authorized by the EMS Medical Director. The CDEMSS participants able to perform advanced life support skills include the following:

• Licensed paramedics who have successfully completed system entry requirements

• CDEMSS paramedic students doing ride time or field internships after successful completion of skills in the classroom.

• EMT-P students from other training programs may not perform ALS skills in CDEMSS without approval from the EMS Medical Director. After receiving approval from the EMS Medical Director, they must complete the system entry requirements, which include passing both the written and practical skills exams. They must also agree to follow all CDEMSS policies and procedures. The CDEMSS Medical Director shall receive performance evaluations every two weeks from the student’s training program. Evaluations deemed unsatisfactory by the CDEMSS Medical Director will result in the student’s denial of performing ALS skills in the CDEMSS.