What is the most appropriate age to be directly involved in patient care?

[my_0.02]

<p>I apologize for using old citations and wandering off topic.</p>

<p>ACLS has little to do with the original poster’s question. In the context of EMT tasks, age alone should not preclude clinical involvement. Most EMT interventions, performed by a well-trained EMT, are effective.</p>

<p>Among all medical tasks though, ACLS remains a largely ineffective (70-95%) and poorly founded intervention. ACLS outcomes data have not changed much in 20 years. </p>

<p>See the 1997 Circulation article.

Nevertheless, the true effectiveness of many aspects of resuscitation remains unknown despite the huge investment of scientific and healthcare resources.2-9 For example, we do not know the value of antiarrhythmic or adrenergic agents given for cardiac arrest,9-11 nor do we know the true effectiveness of training programs in emergency cardiac care.3,12 How well do people learn, and can they remember what they learn?5 Will they perform these skills in a true emergency?4,13,14 Although several investigators have observed that the quality of resuscitation attempts in terms of objective process criteria improve after formal CPR training,6-8 significant differences in the critical outcome of survival rates have not been recorded. Finally, it is not firmly established that the correct use of resuscitation protocols, even by formally trained emergency personnel, influences patient outcome.2

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<p><a href=“American Heart Association | To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives”>American Heart Association | To be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives;

<p>Note also that ACLS certification only states that the certificate bearer took the course and passed the test</p>