Welcome to the 1st Aid Site!
Everything First Aid Related...

Is an emergency room doctor more qualified than a paramedic to administer first aid at an accident?

Is an emergency room doctor more qualified to administer first aid at a car accident scene than a paramedic or EMT? I ask because I was traveling with my friend last week and we stopped at a car accident caused by snow where there was an injury. A bystander had called 911 and my friend's father who is an emergency room doctor at a local hospital got out of the car and started giving first aid to the unconscious passenger. The paramedics arrived a few minutes later and my dad asked them for the equipment and continued giving first aid while the paramedics just kind of stood there. Do emergency room doctors have more training than paramedics for emergency situations?

Second question, is an internist more qualified than a paramedic as well or is it only an emergency room doctor that is more qualified than a paramedic to administer first aid in an emergency?

Public Comments

1. Not necessarily. Your friends father was just there first, what is he supposed to do, sit around and wait for the paramedics. Of course he will jump to action.

2. "Paramedic" - ("para"-meaning beside, aside, close to, around). Paramedics have training in first aid, but no license to practice medicine.
An "ER doctor" has had full medical training, obtained a medical degree and is licensed in basic medical aid of any profile, therefore should be given the floor in such a situation (especially the ones who have additional first aid, reanimation/resuscitation course degree!)
An internist is a specialist of internal medicine who, during the course of obtaining s specialist's degree, should have been licensed for first aid.

To sum it up:
An MD, in general, is an individual licensed t(hence - qualified) to treat a patient from the second of injury, during first aid procedures, reanimation, transport, during each step of the treatment (medicamentous or surgical) including positive and negative outcome, and follow-up - most of which a paramedic is neither trained nor licensed for.
Fortunately, the paramedics are well-trained and capable of dealing with emergency situations, and are as such of great benefit at sites of accidents and as triage teams. Their everyday practice is what makes them apt in dealing with these complicated situations.

3. The paramedics' advantage is that they are used to working in the chaos outside the hospital.
The ER doctor has a lot more knowledge, but not the field experience.

An internist is, to be blunt, useless in the field. A lot of knowledge, but little about what to do outside the hospital

Having said that, I always appreciated the MDs that offered to help on scenes.