Emergency Care Practitioner

An Emergency Care Practitioner or ECP may come from either a Paramedical or Nursing background and has developed additional academic qualifications, usually at university, with enhanced skills in medical assessment and extra clinical skills over and above those of a 'standard' paramedic/qualified nurse or other ambulance crew such as technicians. It has been recommended by the British Paramedic Association that ECPs be trained to PgDip or MSc Level.

Additional skills which they may be able to perform include:

• Administration of certain medications under patient group directives (PGD's)such as antibiotics
• Suturing of wounds
• Minor surgical procedures in the field
• Catheterisation
• System based assessment & otoscopy/opthalmoscopy
• Neurological assessment - e.g. Tendon reflexes

Internal Links: Emergency Medical Care

Web links: http://www.emergencycarepractitioner.com