Ask an EMT

[WolfThomas]

I was in the Army at the time, and in CLS (Combat LifeSaver) class, we were sticking each other with IVs within 4 hours of training. We were flat-out told that, in an emergency scenario in combat, if the Medic wasn't available, to stick each other with IVs. So we're authorized to stick each other with IVs after about 8 hours of training, but EMTs, who've had 100's of hours of training, aren't? This seemed really strange to me. Is it true?

Key point emergency. While IVs are an important part of medical resuscitation where they might save a life, there are a lot of people who might need to be taken to hospital but can wait for one to be put in there. In a lot of places they have intensive care ambulances with more experience paramedics who can even do central lines, intubate etc who respond to the real severe emergencies.

For the rest if the EMT's of whatever particular level aren't universally qualified across the board in something, they may not be legally covered, as it is "outside their scope of practice" even if they've been doing heaps of it. It's bueacracy and can be crazy, but on the other hand it saves someone less competent from f***ing it up.

Obviously people relax this standards depending on the emergency, but it's different when a hospital is 15minutes away than so many hours to even a medical evacuation.