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From Transports to Triage: Applying Ethics to EMS
As prehospital medical providers, we often overlook ethics, viewing it as a field that belongs only in doctors’ offices long after we’ve transferred care, but ethical issues surround every decision we make as providers. This presentation explores often ignored bioethical concepts in prehospital emergency medicine like the provider-patient relationship, triage considerations, and medical decision-making capacity. First, we will discuss some basic bioethical principles. Next, we will use those principles to uncover and discuss solutions to dilemmas that we face as prehospital healthcare providers. Finally, we will examine case studies to build upon and solidify the ideas we discussed earlier and demonstrate how those ideas can be applied to situations we see on our campuses every single day.