If it is possible to train nurse practioners to diagnose atypical chest
pain, assess head injury, collapse ?cause etc effectively using a highly
structured course(and it surely is possible) then surely questions need to be
urgently asked as to why SpRs need to train for 5 years at least to be
able to essentially do the same job. In the United states, most
emergency residencies are 3-4 years long, and remember that they will
not spend several years at SHO grade. I know that the training offered
there is far more structured than here-time for a radical overhaul
here?. It may well be that nurse practioners will eventually see the
vast majority of A&E patients minor and major) but surely I'm not the
only medic wondering quite where my future role will be in emergency
medicine!-time to head for australia?
On Wed, 18 Oct 2000, Suzanne Mason wrote:
>I agree with Adrian Fogarty here, collapses and non-specific CP's are some
>of the diagnostic challenges in A&E and something that we have great
>difficulty in guiding our SHO's over. We seem to be becoming more cautious
>in these instances with the advent of chest pain units to thoroughly
>investigate and rule-out serious pathology. I would be concerned that ENP's
>are not ready to take this leap yet. We have ENP's within our department and
>run a highly successful course 3 to 4 times a year. These practitioners are
>very protocol driven and thus at present it seems that only conditions which
>lend themselves to protocols would be appropriate. I think collapses and
>chest pains have many unknown variables, and many different ways of
>presenting and developing functional protocols which would encompass these
>aspects would be very hard. I would have to question the depth of
>understanding and experience of senior A&E or PC nurses to tackle these
>patient groups - their training is very different to ours. Having said
>that - is this a role for the nurse consultant?
>
>Sue Mason
>SpR North Trent
>
>
>
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