oxygen administration

[Guest guest]

Dear Fellow Docs,

Recently I became aware of a nuance in our scope of practice that disturbs

me. A friend of mine who is a paramedic told me DC's in Oregon are not

allowed to administer oxygen even in a emergency situation. Although I have

only been practicing in Oregon for a few years (previously 18 in another

state) I told him this couldn't be correct. The next day I called the board

and asked the question. I clarified I was not asking to write a

prescription of oxygen for a patient but if we could administer oxygen in an

emergency situation, if we are adequately trained. They stated no.

I am not faulting the board if it is in fact law and not some select DC's

interpretation of the law. So fellow Docs, if you are sitting next to

someone at an event or you are a CCSP at a game and the person exhibits

signs of inadequate breathing you can monitor and do the things we all know

as other standard protocals but you cannot provide supplemental oxygen even

if the equipment is sitting right in front of you! Thats protecting and

helping the public-- eh?

EMT-basics in this state can perform oxygen administration but after all we

are only called chiropractic " physicians " or " doctors " (Sorry for the

sarcasm). For those of you who are dual licensed RN's, EMT's, or ND's this

is a moot point. For those of us who are not dual licensed in this state I

have some ideas but would like to hear your comments, opinions and whether

this something worth trying to change or even a concern to the profession at

large.

Thank-you for your feedback.

Bill Hartje, D.C.

email: billhartje@...