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 defining regulated member-subordinate (non-patient) relationship.
2.6 Regulated Member-Subordinate (non-patient) Relationships
A regulated member-subordinate relationship may form when a regulated member holds an educational, employer or supervisory role. Subordinate includes employees, students, mentees, and clinical trainees.
1. A regulated member must not:
a. Make sexual comments or gestures toward a subordinate.
b. Enter into a close personal or sexual relationship with a subordinate while responsible for mentoring, teaching, supervising, or evaluating the subordinate.
c. Enter into any relationship with a subordinate that could create a conflict of interest or present as coercion while responsible for mentoring, teaching and/or evaluating the subordinate.
2. A regulated member who has a current/pre-existing close personal or sexual relationship with a subordinate must:
a. Notify the applicable clinical and academic leaders of the relationship.
b. Remove themself from any role teaching or evaluating the subordinate.
c. Remove themself from any discussion of the performance of the subordinate.
3. A regulated member who is uncertain about the potential for a boundary violation must consult with the College.
Scenario:
Manpreet is an Advanced Care Paramedic (ACP) who works in the rural community of Red Water. Manpreet and his partner have recently been asked by their supervisor to take on and mentor an ACP student on their final practicum. As Manpreet has successfully mentored many students before, he and his partner agree to take on Malinda as their student. Next tour, Malinda joins Manpreet and his partner on their unit to start her precepting for her final ACP practicum.
The first few tours go well for Malinda, and she is feeling very supported in her learning endeavors on the unit with Manpreet and his partner. Manpreet is an extremely professional, knowledgeable, caring, and charismatic paramedic and it is evident that he is well-liked by patients and colleagues. After spending many hours around Manpreet, Malinda begins to realize she is developing personal and sexual feelings for Manpreet. She decides to discuss her feelings with Manpreet on their next shift.
At the same time, Manpreet is noticing that Malinda’s demeanor changes around him while he is precepting her. She seems more nervous, stumbles over her words, and often seems flushed in the face when he is in close proximity to her on calls. He begins to wonder if there is a potential conflict of interest arising. Manpreet decides he wants to discuss their student/preceptor relationship at the start of next shift and that if she does indeed have an attraction building, that it would be appropriate to potentially remove himself from the role of teaching and evaluating Malinda, his subordinate.
Note: Neither Manpreet or his partner is in a current/pre-existing close personal or sexual relationship with Malinda (subordinate).
Before Malinda sits down with Manpreet to explain her feelings, she confides in her classmate Kate about her feelings towards her preceptor. Kate understands how she could develop these feelings but reminds Malinda that because Manpreet is a regulated member of the Alberta College of Paramedics, he is not allowed to enter into a personal or sexual relationship with a subordinate while he is responsible for mentoring, teaching, supervising or evaluating her. She urges Malinda to contact the College if she is concerned about the potential boundary violation, which Malinda agrees to.
Next shift Malinda and Manpreet sit down to discuss where Malinda is at in her precepting journey. Malinda discloses to Manpreet that she has developed emotional and sexual feelings for him, and it has caused a disruption in her preceptorship. Manpreet listens to Malinda’s concerns and goes on to reference Standard 2.6 – and advises Malinda that it is no longer appropriate to precept her. Together, they agree to notify the clinical and academic leaders of her school to have her placed with another ACP to finish her practicum. No boundaries were violated by Malinda or Manpreet.
In this example, both Manpreet and Malinda demonstrate their knowledge and adherence to the Standard 2.6 – Regulated Member-Subordinate (non-patient) Relationships in which a regulated member-subordinate relationship may form when a regulated member holds an educational, employer or supervisory role. Subordinate includes employees, students, mentees and clinical trainees. In this case, Manpreet did not make sexual comments or gestures toward a subordinate (Malinda). Nor did he enter into a close personal or sexual relationship with a subordinate while responsible for mentoring, teaching, supervising or evaluating the subordinate. Lastly, he did not enter into any relationship with a subordinate that could create a conflict of interest or present as coercion while responsible for mentoring, teaching and/or evaluating the subordinate.
When Manpreet and Malinda sat down to discuss their ongoing regulated member- subordinate relationship, Manpreet decided it would be appropriate to notify the applicable clinical and academic leaders of the relationship shift, remove himself from any role teaching or evaluating the subordinate, as well as remove himself from any discussion of the performance of the subordinate.