Good grief Adrian! I've spent the last two days in a fit of depression from
feel guilty about hitting the roof re: your last post, and now your off
again!
1. Unlike ATLS, ALS teams don't need to be led by a doctor. An experienced
appropriately trained paramedic or nurse can do it equally well in many
circumstances [see vignette below].
2. All members of the team ARE equal. Some may be more equal than others
but it's churlish to point that out (and it's not always who you would
think!).
2. Iain J. and I are not paramedics, we are both BASICS doctors. (I've put
my full signature below so you can assess how equal we all are)
I'll round this off with one of my many tales of woe.
As a medical student I dropped a cardiac arrest patient off at a large urban
A+E. He had had 3 VF arrests successfully cardioverted with a single shock
each by the paramedic I was on ride-along with. He arrested again in A+E.
The doctor could not operate the defib (it turned out later it was on sync)
and the nurse BLS was beyond dreadful. I offered to assist them, but seeing
the green squad suit they assumed I was a paramedic and I was told in no
uncertain terms that I should leave. The patient died.
Moral(one one several): Pick the best person for the job, not the best
title.
Dr Robbie Coull MB ChB, DipIMC RCSEd
Locum GP Service BASICS Immediate Care Doctor
INVERNESS - GLASGOW ALS / PHPLS Instructor
Suite 400 Suite 451
24 Station Square 355 Byres Road
Inverness IV1 1LD Glasgow G12 8QZ
email [log in to unmask] telephone 0777 492 7757
website http://www.coull.net fax 0704 407 3033
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