medic001918
Contributor
Thanks for sharing your experiences Shane. As pointed out before, this is governed by state law, and what a paramedic or EMT can do in one state (CT) is not an indication of what they can or can't do in another (CA). The protocols you were taught and follow are based on your particular jurisdiction. Of course, you may still be right in CA, but I'm trying to look up the relevant sections now...
You'll have to obtain copies of the protocols for each given area. It's not generally a state mandated protocol. Each medical control hospital sets forth an acceptable protocol for their sponsored paramedics. For example: when I work for one of the services I work for, I'm allowed to perform certain interventions that I'm not allowed to perform when working for another service. It has to do with what our medical control physicians are willing to allow. The answers you'll find are going to be varied greatly.
For reference, here's a copy of our regional protocols: http://www.northcentralctems.org/documents/Final June 11 2007 NCCEMS Protocols.pdf
See page 160 for our termination protocol.
Please keep in mind that these protocols are guidelines and not absolutes. We are allowed to stray from them within reason and we can always contact a medical control physician for confirmation of our decisions.
Shane