Talk:Certified first responder

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Are there certified first responders outside the United States? If this is a US term only, this fact should be mentioned in the very first paragraph. THe article itself is interesting. <KF> 21:29, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

The term first responder is used in much of the United States. I first heard the term certified first responder in reference to the East Coast where volunteer services are more often used, but I've also seen references to its use in the UK, and a UK contributor to the EMS article let it slide without comment. <clarka> 13:32 2 Mar 2004 (PST)

Thanks! <KF> 21:41, 2 Mar 2004 (UTC)

CFR and EMT-B

Hello,

can someone tell a poor french boy whether there is a difference between a CFR and an EMT-B? I read that "The first responder training is intended to fill the gap between First Aid and EMT-Basic", but which are these differences?

Cdang 13:06, 23 Sep 2004 (UTC)

This varies from state to state in the USA. In NJ, the only procedure that EMTs are permitted to do that CFRs are not is to apply a particular type of splint to a femur fracture. The real difference is that EMTs have much more background training than CFRs and are more prepared to recognize signs and symptoms. One must be an EMT to be in charge of an ambulance crew, although a CFR can be part of the crew. CFRs are subordinate to all higher medical authorities present, including EMTs. EMTs almost always have more experience than CFRs. EMTs are required to continue their education by a certain number of points worth of classes every year. CFRs must take a refresher course and pass a test every two years. This makes it much easier to continue as a CFR than as an EMT.PyroNemisis 20:15, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

France

This starts off with US DOT, then we have a big section on France. Wouldn't it be more appropriate to have that in the equivalent article on fr.wikipedia? --Gadget850 04:16, 5 November 2005 (UTC)

On fr:, you might find things at fr:secourisme; the specific French part is developped in fr:Secourisme en France.

cdang|write me 16:20, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

I read this again and think I might have misunderstood. Fr.wikipedia means that the language is franch, not that it is related to french stuff. Thus, you will get information about US CFR on fr, and you will have either information about french CFR on en.

The question is: is the "certified first responder" term specific to some countries, and if so, what is the generic term for the equivalent in other countries ?

cdang|write me 15:23, 13 February 2006 (UTC)

"Certified First Responder" is a legal term in the USA. A person who is a CFR has legal rights and responsibilities. The rights include some protection from being sued under "Good Samaritan Laws". The responsibilities include a duty to act which means under certain legal conditions a CFR must assist a victim. To be a CFR, one must be trained, pass an exam and be certified as a first responder by an accredited agency.PyroNemisis 20:26, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

Nasopharyngeal Airway

This technique is no longer taught in most if not all first responder courses. Mike _{(T C)} 05:07, 10 February 2006 (UTC)

Don't know what course you're referring to, but it is still taught as part of the standard First Responder course through St. John Ambulance in Canada, and is taught in the Emergency Medical Responder through the Canadian Red Cross. Could you say more about where your information comes from? Frmatt (talk) 06:26, 28 May 2009 (UTC)

Sorry, should add that I'm certified by both St. John Ambulance Canada and the Canadian Red Cross as a First Responder, and am a Red Cross First Responder/Emergency Medical Responder instructor. And...having reviewed my CRC materials, NPAs are not taught as a standard part of the First Responder course, but is included in the Emergency Medical Responder Course. Frmatt (talk) 04:43, 29 May 2009 (UTC)

Red Cross Emergency Response in the United States continues to teach both oral and nasal airways. 19 Nov 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.231.134.48 (talk) 01:47, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

NYC EMT-B here. I was certified in 2019 and I was taught the use of Nasopharyngeal Airways by my instructor. Our New York State protocols were renewed on 25 February 2022. According to the state protocols, Nasopharyngeal Airways (NPA) are still considered a viable airway intervention. According to our city protocols, also referred to as REMAC Pre-Hospital Treatment Protocols, which went into effect on 1 January 2022, the use of an NPA when needed is encouraged unless contraindicated. Contraindications include when there is significant facial trauma or any facial burns. KMorales34 (talk) 17:29, 14 September 2022 (UTC)

Outside the U.S.

The American Red Cross conducts a course titled "Emergency Response" that fits this definition.

...advanced first aid (as taught by the Red Cross) ...

...associations, including the French Red cross, ...

Slight bias IMHO :-/ If there is no objection, May we investigate and add other providers ? exit2dos2000 14:46, 5 February 2007 (UTC)

I agree with the bias call- It's present in the Canadian section- specifically, there is no such thing as "Duty To Act" as a concept in Canadian law regarding first aid and emergency cases- it's provincially managed, and doesn't always apply to people who don't have training or a specific mandate. Quebec civil law is pretty specific about how and when people are expected to come to the aid of others, and I assume the other (common law) provinces have similar passages. This article still needs a cleanup.206.126.83.12 (talk) 03:43, 29 October 2012 (UTC)

Oral Glucose and Activated Charcoal

At this point, the First Responders in my unit and myself are trained to administer Activated Charcoal and Oral Glucose. We are also trained to 'assist' with a varying amount of other things which would normally be beyond our certifications. For instance, if a patient is not quite conscious to administer EPI himself, we can place the auto injector in his hand, hold his hand with him, and administer it under the pretense of assisting him. However, we would not be able to do this to a patient who we suspected had anaphylaxis who was unconscious, we would need to wait for and EMT-B or other higher certification to arrive while attempting to do the best we could to maintain BLS. To my knowledge, none of CFRs in our unit have had the additional classes the article states for the ability to administer it ourselves. Kotetsu131 00:55, February 20 2007 (UTC)

Removed globalize tag

The article lists the CFR in four countries now and has extensive info on some, so it's not US centric anymore. Change if you disagree. Fr33kMan (talk) 03:07, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Renamed the article to First Responder?

Different adjectives are added prior to the term "First Responder" depending on the country or class of responder (such as Certified, Medical or Advanced). Consequently, I think this thread should be moved to First Responder but alas I am a lowly IP and can do little. Also, the amount of training required can vary more than 40 to 60 hours. In Canada, St. John Ambulance has three different levels of First Responder which require 24, 40 and 80 hours of training respectively.--72.1.222.61 (talk) 01:52, 9 June 2009 (UTC)

Oxygen

The administration of emergency oxygen is a common skill for First Responders. The inaccurate statement "First responders are allowed to administer oxygen under an EMT basic or higher only." has been removed. Review of the source link reveals that the PDF document referenced was not paginated sequentially but by section, and no reference to EMT-Basics supervising first responders was found in the document. The authority to use emergency medical oxygen in the USA derives from Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidelines as well as local and state EMS agencies and guidelines. I encourage the unknown person, presumably an EMT, who contributed this statement to look at their nearest O2 tank and read the O2 label where it says "For emergency use only when administered by properly trained personnel for oxygen deficiency and resuscitation. For all other medical applications, Rx Only." See also http://www.lifecorporation.com/cder.html. 19 Nov 2009. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.231.134.48 (talk) 01:52, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

I was the person who inserted that reference which clearly showed that Oxygen therapy was not part of the DOT First Responder Protocols, thereby implying that any oxygen therapy would have to be done under the supervision of an EMT or higher. For the record, I am not an EMT, I am a First Responder Instructor in Canada where First Responders are allowed to administer Oxygen (which leaves me wondering why American First Responders aren't!) Frmatt (talk) 02:04, 20 November 2009 (UTC)

Israel

Certified first responders are very important in Magen David Adom (Israel's ambulance service). Many a time the ambulances in Israel have at least one CFR, quite often more. It is also important to note that CFRs with MDA are always (I believe) volunteers. Perhaps there should be an addition explaining how MDA uses CFRs as this would most likely be unique to other countries as these CFRs might be considered by some as being treated as 'almost' paramedics. HostDavid (talk) 20:38, 13 November 2012 (UTC)

Merge "Emergency Medical Responder" with "Certified First Responder"

I've already edited the Certified first responder page with other names they are called (Emergency Medical Responders, Medical First Responders, First Responders). Most of the info is on that page anyway. Let's get the admins to merge the two topics. (I actually edited that...don't steal my work - Bostonguy2000)

I don't think these topics are necessarily the same, and it is not as easy as just adding all of these names to this one article and claiming them as synonymous. They probably should not be merged. EMR is a NREMT certification, and deserves an article in its own right. CFR is a certification specific to NY State. There are 3 questions that need to be answered before merging/deleting/renaming articles takes place:

1. What is the name of the people who provide first aid response for emergencies?
2. Are these people all "certified?"
3. What is a generalized term to include all people who respond to medical emergencies (first responders, EMT, paramedic, etc)?

Before changing around the content and articles, additional articles including First responder, Community first responder, Certified first responder, and Emergency medical responder need to be considered, and scope/purpose/topic of each should be defined.

Currently, Emergency medical responder serves as a generalized term referring to any person who responds to an emergency. There is no specific location where the NREMT EMR certification is housed. Certified first responder is mostly about medical first responders. Is the term "certified first responder" even in common use? (Google doesn't have too many hits for it once you exclude New York.) Does it imply "medical" or "first aid?" Perhaps "Medical first responder" is a better title for this article, as not all first responders to medical emergencies are certified. Or maybe move most of this content into the recently resurrected First responder article under a medical section, and have a separate section for types of certifications. Once all of this is sorted out, all of these articles could be made better while reducing overlap of content. --Scott Alter (talk) 08:23, 23 August 2014 (UTC)

In Florida, the term "First Responder" carried little to no meaning in EMS and fire service. The state prerequisites for EMT-B and FF-I now specifically state Emergency Medical Responder. If anything, The "Certified First Responder" article may need to be changed to reflect this. While many colleges and companies will offer "EMR" classes/certifications, the State of Florida Department of Health does not recognize these certificates. According to EMS.gov The First Responder Curriculum was established in 1995, but advises that new information is available in the EMS Education Standards. These standards point to a PDF document That states the instructional guidelines for this designation. It would seem that EMS.gov has changed the name. As for definition of certification, any course that follows these guidelines would satisfy the title of EMR. This would identify a higher trained responder. First responders could include anyone that arrives that can give care and build a hierarchy of training: Bystander-->First Aid/CPR (AHA or ARC)-->EMR-->EMT-B-->EMT-P-->Hospital providers.

Another thought would be to create an article for the levels of training that EMS.gov recognizes and have subheadings for the different levels of training: Emergency Medical Responder, Emergency Medical Technician, Advanced Emergency Medical Technician, Paramedic. Firestic (talk) 14:34, 16 July 2016 (UTC) Mark (talk)

References