code of ethics Essay

I tested to become an EMT in the spring of 2010. I have been working as an Emergency Medical Technician for just over three years now and just now have I realized there was a written code of ethics for my current profession. Most people, when they think about the emergency medical field, fail to realize that EMS is a huge part of that field. Most would think of nurses, doctors, firefighters, and even police officers as the only part of the emergency medical system. They are not wrong but what about the EMTs? EMTs and paramedics have fallen through the cracks and need to be given more respect. According to Caldwell (2013) paramedics in EMS should get more credit due to all the skills and decisions they need to learn and make in the field. Many co-workers of mine and myself have followed this code of ethics as an EMS Practitioner without even noticing it because I was doing what is right for the patient. Not everyone has the same views on what is ethically right. According to Bill Raynovich (2011),” Three fundamental components play a role in the challenge of teaching ethics in EMS; the students and their backgrounds, the curriculum, and the available instructional resources.” Since the age and backgrounds of EMTs and paramedics widely vary, what is ethically correct for you may not be ethically correct for someone else. As EMTs we have to be careful what we say about a patient in public and what we do with patients around others. If you were a patient in need would you want someone else knowing your personal information? Social Media has also become a large problem in the EMS community. Not only do we have to be careful of what we take pictures of but what bystanders take pictures of. One Code of Ethics for EMS is “to use social media in a responsible and professional manner that does not discredit, dishonor, or embarrass an EMS organization, co-workers, other health care practitioners, patients, individuals or the community at large.” (Gillespie 1978) There has been many instances were pictures of patients have showed up on social media sites and that violates the patients privacy rights (HIPPA) and is not ethically correct. Other ethics that must be followed in my profession, written by Charles B.Gillespie, M.D., and adopted by the National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, in 1978. One is “to maintain professional competence, striving always for clinical excellence in the delivery of patient care.” (Gillespie 1978) You wouldn’t want someone with any medical skills helping you. EMTs are trained and have to continue learning new information every year to keep our certificates. Another is “to refuse participation in unethical procedures, and assume the responsibility to expose incompetence or unethical conduct of others to the appropriate authority in a proper and professional manner.” (Gillespie 1978) One of my favorite code of ethics is “to work cooperatively with EMS associates and other

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