Dustdevil Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 In Texas if you suspect abuse of children or elderly you must report it to protective services. Telling the cops or the doctor does not cover you. I agree. However, I don't really get the impression that she suspected child abuse. It sounds to me more like a case of new EMT overthinking the situation in retrospect. One of those, "well... I felt pretty useles on that run. I didn't learn a thing in school that prepared me for that. I wonder what else I could have done, because obviously with a whole 120 hours of training, I should have some kind of skill to practise on every patient, right?" then coming up with "child abuse" after half an hour of overthinking it. I encourage call reviews, but don't get carried away with the what-ifs. There is absolutely nothing an EMT can or even should do for nine out of ten patients. And a similar number of parents shouldn't be raising kids either. Get used to both of those sad facts of life and learn to live with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spenac Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 I agree. However, I don't really get the impression that she suspected child abuse. It sounds to me more like a case of new EMT overthinking the situation in retrospect. One of those, "well... I felt pretty useles on that run. I didn't learn a thing in school that prepared me for that. I wonder what else I could have done, because obviously with a whole 120 hours of training, I should have some kind of skill to practise on every patient, right?" then coming up with "child abuse" after half an hour of overthinking it. I encourage call reviews, but don't get carried away with the what-ifs. There is absolutely nothing an EMT can or even should do for nine out of ten patients. And a similar number of parents shouldn't be raising kids either. Get used to both of those sad facts of life and learn to live with it. Exactly. Basically what I said in my first post on this subject. Law only brought up because of somebody saying leave it to Barney Fife i.e. the cop on scene if suspected abuse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
certguy Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Yes , in CA EMS personnel are mandated reporters , however , if PD is on scene of a suspicious call , and your findings are reported to them , wouldn't this be in thier realm ? Why duplication of reports if multiple agencies are on scene ? If FD's there , now you have 3 mandated agencies on scene . CPS winds up getting multiple reports on the same incident . Why not let law enforcement handle it and make sure you document thoroughly the circumstances , the officer reported to and badge no. ? :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triemal04 Posted October 28, 2007 Share Posted October 28, 2007 Yes , in CA EMS personnel are mandated reporters , however , if PD is on scene of a suspicious call , and your findings are reported to them , wouldn't this be in thier realm ? Why duplication of reports if multiple agencies are on scene ? If FD's there , now you have 3 mandated agencies on scene . CPS winds up getting multiple reports on the same incident . Why not let law enforcement handle it and make sure you document thoroughly the circumstances , the officer reported to and badge no. ? :?: Long as your state's laws allow you to report to them and not Childrens/Family Services or a like agency. That would be my route for the most part, though there could be exceptions. If the cops are already there, make it clear to them that you think abuse is going on, and they're obligated to investigate it. Course, the only problem with this is if it's Deputy Dawg who's the father Billy Joes second cousin (and brother but we won't go into that). Might be better in that case to take it up with someone else. The important thing to remember is that if you suspect abuse it needs to be reported and followed up on somehow. If you have to tell several people for some reason, that's fine. If you have to let someone else make the official report, that's fine too, long as it get's done. I'd rather overreact 10 times on a hinky child call than miss one true abuse case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPINFV Posted October 29, 2007 Share Posted October 29, 2007 Yes , in CA EMS personnel are mandated reporters , however , if PD is on scene of a suspicious call , and your findings are reported to them , wouldn't this be in thier realm ? Why duplication of reports if multiple agencies are on scene ? If FD's there , now you have 3 mandated agencies on scene . CPS winds up getting multiple reports on the same incident . Why not let law enforcement handle it and make sure you document thoroughly the circumstances , the officer reported to and badge no. ? :?: More reports, more witnesses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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