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Emergency Care Practitioner
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An Emergency Care Practitioner or ECP may come from either a Paramedical, Nursing or Allied Health Professional background and has developed additional academic qualifications, usually at university, with enhanced skills in medical assessment and extra clinical skills over and above those of a 'standard' paramedic/qualified nurse or other ambulance crew such as technicians. It has been recommended by the British Paramedic Association that ECPs be trained to PgDip or MSc Level.[1]
Additional skills which they may be able to perform include:
- Administration of certain medications under patient group directives (PGD's)such as antibiotics
- Suturing, Steri-Strips™ (adhesive skin closure strips), and tissue adhesive wound closure (gluing of wounds)[2]
- Minor surgical procedures in the field (i.e., removal of skin flaps)
- Urinary catheterization (placing a Foley catheter)
- System based assessment & otoscopy/ophthalmoscopy/urinalysis
- Neurological assessment - e.g. Tendon reflexes, Cranial nerve assessment (CNII-XII), MMSE
The Emergency Care Practitioner (ECP) may be employed in any area of care such as Primary Care Centers, Hospitals, Prisons, Walk in centers, or Out of Hours Medical Centers. The majority of ECP's work autonomously. Many are employed by Primary Care Trusts or Ambulance Services. The work of the ECP appears to be recognized as a valuable asset in many care arenas with the current trend of employment within primary care practices becoming more prevalent.
External links
References
- ^ BBC NEWS | Health | What does a 'super-paramedic' do?
- ^ Dermabond
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