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As you may know, the Standards of Practice set out the minimum standards in paramedic services. Each regulated member is required to understand and comply with these Standards, but how does this translate in the day-to-day work of EMRs, PCPs, and ACPS?
In an effort to help regulated members understand and apply the Standards to real life situations, we will be sharing scenarios that give context to the Standards and ideas on how to implement this into practice.
The following scenario will attempt to address communication:
1.6 Communication
A regulated member communicates professionally, respectfully, effectively and in a timely manner by:
- Being truthful and factual in all respects.
- Communicating in plain language, wherever practical, in all forms of communication (e.g., written, spoken, electronic).
- Being respectful in every manner with patients, other regulated members, the College, healthcare providers and the public.
- Being respectful about the role and expertise of other healthcare providers in the care of patients.
- Sharing knowledge and expertise with other healthcare providers for the benefit of the patient.
- Diligently following privacy legislation and confidentiality requirements.
- Not promoting their own moral or religious beliefs when interacting with patients.
- Ensuring comments made in public (including online and social media) about the profession of paramedicine, individuals within the profession and the College are factual and professional.
Scenario:
Jimmy is a new EMR to the profession and just starting his professional career in his early twenties. He is very passionate about his job and loves helping people. In his free time, he makes TikTok videos with his friends and has developed a following online. Recently, he has started sharing information about his work as an EMR, posting stories from his job while in uniform and providing his opinions on specific treatments that his coworkers provided to certain patients.
In one of his most popular posts, he referenced an event in a small town where their ambulance was dispatched to assist another crew with an obese patient with back pain. He openly critiqued his colleagues for administering pain medications (Morphine as per protocol) and lifting the patient onto the stretcher then into the ambulance and went on to state that patients in this situation should “just take Tylenol and drive themselves to the Emergency Department.”
Regulated members are fully within their right to have social media accounts, identify as a medical professional online or publicly, share information about medical practice and speak to personal experiences online or in public. However, members who identify online or in public as healthcare professionals are still bound to their responsibilities as a member of a regulated health profession. These include practicing (including providing education) within your scope of practice, maintaining privacy and consent and adhering to the Standards of Practice and Code of Ethics.
In the scenario above, Jimmy’s comments regarding the administration of opioid pain medication are beyond his scope of practice as an EMR. Further, his comments advising other patients in similar situations to take specific drugs and drive to the ED could be viewed as providing medical advice that again would be outside his scope of practice as an EMR. The College’s conduct department would be required to investigate this behavior and may likely result in remediation.
It is important to understand your responsibilities communicating with the public regardless of if you are on the job or not, especially if you are identifying yourself as a healthcare professional. It is also important to recognize that social media is pervasive, almost always permanent and out of personal control once posted. We encourage members to keep the Standards of Practice, Code of Ethics and other regulatory responsibilities in mind when posting online or communicating in public as an identified healthcare provider.