Horse Show Medic

[airslant]

My wife shows horses on the weekends and I usually go along to support her. The paramedic that works all the shows currently is retiring this year. I'm thinking of taking over for him since I'm there anyways.

 

He carries no insurance because he is only providing BLS at most which anyone can do and the laws in our state say if you participate in am equine sport there are inherent risks so there is no liability placed on the show sponser.

 

I currently have malpractice through my employer but it would not cover shows obviously. Since I am not working as a PA and am just providing BLS do I need malpractice? If I do it would cost too much to make it worth my time.

 

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[Guest ral]

Even though you say that you will just be providing BLS (as opposed to first aid?), you are still rendering care.  You will be held to a standard of anyone with your education, experience, and level of expertise; especially if there is any documentation that you are "the guy who evaluates injured riders, etc."  Not trying to sound like an alarmist but, I would be hesitant to accept without some type of coverage.  Something as stupid as an abrasion that develops infection, could come back to haunt you, and regardless of whether or not anything ultimately becomes of the situation, the headache wouldn't be worth it.  Add in the fact that you would be a dependent practitioner operating without a policy outlining physician oversight, and you could see where it might become a big hassle.  I would suspect that a lot of this occurs on a daily basis without much thought, and never with any problems but, it only takes one time to ruin your day.

YMMV

[airslant]

I just said BLS because that was the current medics wording. First aid works too. I guess part of the question needs to be, am I able to work providing first aid and not involve my PA license. I don't want to have a supervising physician and malpractice involved. If I do, I'm not interested in the work. The pay wouldn't be worth the hassle.

Can't we as PAs work below the level of our license without risking our license and needing malpractice? For example if I wanted to be an EMT, I wouldn't need a supervising physician and malpractice.

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[Arthropathy]

7 hours ago, airslant said:

For example if I wanted to be an EMT, I wouldn't need a supervising physician and malpractice.

But you would need an EMT license. And to work/volunteer as an EMT you would need a medical director  (physician) and protocols.

 

It's probably more hassle than it's worth. And accepting payment exposes you to unnecessary risk. I would either walk away, or volunteer to be a first aid attendant and make sure your cell phone is charged so you can call 911 if needed because other than handing out bandaids I would not put my PA license at risk by treating actual patients.

 

Incidentally, our private practice contracts with a local high school to cover their football games and i will literally assess and recommend ambulance vs parents driving directly the ER or follow up with PCP in 1 week for minor injuries. But really no direct treatment.