A&E experience

Shield

Hi everyone.

A long time ago, some of the Dublin A&Es used to allow the Voluntary organisations access to their A&E departments so they could observe how things are done. I recall hearing that members were allowed to provide indirect assistance to the nurses, allowed to observe doctors doing small things like stitches, casts being applied, how vitals are monitored and so on. All observational, no 'hands-on' in any way.

Can someone in the know tell me if this is still the case, or has the practice been "officially" terminated?

Thanks.

Warrior011

I don't know about the hospitals in Dublin, but my local hospital (Kilkenny) do let transition year students (~16 years old) to work shadow the doctors. This so called "work shadowing" obviously involved no hands on experience, however you did get to see what the doctors were doing etc. However, I don't know about the A&E departments.

resus

Don't ask, will never get....

TylerIE

psni wrote: »

Hi everyone.

A long time ago, some of the Dublin A&Es used to allow the Voluntary organisations access to their A&E departments so they could observe how things are done. I recall hearing that members were allowed to provide indirect assistance to the nurses, allowed to observe doctors doing small things like stitches, casts being applied, how vitals are monitored and so on. All observational, no 'hands-on' in any way.

Can someone in the know tell me if this is still the case, or has the practice been "officially" terminated?

Thanks.

I have regularly been in practically all of the Dublin ED's (although mainly AMNCH, SJH, SVUH and the Mater) over the last 5 years and Iv never seen any of the voluntaries or observers in.... One of the above is rumored to have occasionally had members of a certain voluntary organization which had affiliations with a Senior Physician, but I haven't heard of them going in in some time.

I have seen it happen unofficially through political and personal connections of the interested parties in the more rural hospitals though, and I hear OMAC have arranged observational shifts with HSE Ambulance Services for their EMT students, and a medical student got same a few years ago - both in the South / South East .

Shield

lst wrote: »

One of the above is rumored to have occasionally had members of a certain voluntary organization which had affiliations with a Senior Physician, but I haven't heard of them going in in some time.

Yeah we're probably thinking about the same one there then. I didn't know if it was a hospital policy or in absence of policy covering same, Senior Physicians would allow it to happen while they were in charge of an A&E department, obviously under very controlled conditions.

I wonder if the hospitals have a policy on it now, because I'm 99% certain it used to happen years ago.

resus

Some EMT trainees get in-hospital experience, but that is part of their course...

Leo Demidov

I know that Civil Defence propose keeping a log of ambo duties as an EFR rather than trying to get 100 odd emt candidates on ambo placement but all candidates will have to get hospital placements for two days, which i think will be organised by CD if you dont have the relevant contacts.

Apparently its becoming increasingly difficult to get placements as private emt candidates were extracting the urine while on placement and doing SFA else. You must have garda clearance in any event, presumably even for young ones in transition year.

Tango Alpha 51

PSNI,
Your right in that it did happen years ago. Irish Red Cross used to have members on duty in the casualty departments in many hospitals ie North Infirmary in Cork, Barringtons & the Regional in Limerick etc. Doesn't happen anymore though.

resus

You know it only takes one dynamic leader in the voluntaries to approach a hospital Emergency Department with a dynamic proposal...

Elessar

OMAC used to have people in hospitals in Dublin many years ago. Pity they still don't do it.

Actual Paramedic

Depends on the hospital and the administrators, have seen people from the statutories, various vol organisations, training institutes and the PDF helping out in some ED's.

All a case of whom you know

Smokey Bear

Have seen IRCG Vols from a Dub unit in A+E in Dublin last year and think they are doing it again this year.

Smokey Bear

nqemt

Hi Guys,
I used to do A&E in James Connolly with the St Johns back in the 80's, recently as a unit officer in IRC, I wrote to various Matrons in charge of hospitals looking to get unit members some A&E experience and was told thats no lomnger done, as all the spots where take by EMT/Paramedics from HSE/DFB and the privates, also there is an insurance problem associated with being observers from both the hospitals and the IRC.

miju

hmmm strange seems to no hassle with OMAC getting into hospitals