Emergency medical service (EMS) providers may be better known as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs). The title also includes paramedics. However one refers to them, EMTs are on the front lines helping save people every day by responding to car accidents, heart attacks, strokes, choking victims, people who stopped breathing, drug overdoses, gunshot victims, women who are giving birth, and countless other medical emergencies. They do their jobs well and in dire situations which force them to summons all of their strength and professionalism to make it through. Sometimes it works out for the best, and sometimes it does not, unfortunately.  When it does not work out well for a victim or the victim’s family, they might try to assess blame for the death or injury to a loved one by filing a complaint against the EMTs who responded to the situation. If that happens, Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney will zealously advocate on the EMTs’ behalf to protect his or her livelihood and professional reputation.

EMTs are licensed medical professionals in both Kansas and Missouri. In each state, EMS candidates must satisfy a rigorous training and educational course before they can provide emergency services.  Once the EMS practitioner receives his or her license to work as an EMT, they must renew their certifications and take continuing educational classes.

The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT) has promulgated a code for its members to follow. The code may serve as the foundation upon which EMTs services are provided and the manner in which EMTs provide them. EMS practitioners are sworn to uphold a code; an ethic that reinforces that they must be selfless, professional, and compassionate performing the job they do. The code embodies everything an EMT must be.

The NAEMT code was designed by its authors to enrich the quality of care, and service EMTs provide. Therefore, to abide by the code, EMS practitioners must:

• Do what they can to preserve life and eliminate pain and suffering. They must not do harm and must provide emergency medical services with equality for all who rely on them for care;
• EMTs must maintain the dignity of human life. They must not evince any prejudice toward any person. Rather, EMTS must treat people with compassion and respect without regard to race, color, creed, or socio-economic status in life;
• EMTs must always act for the well-being of the public good;
• EMTS shall not disclose confidential information;
• EMS practitioners may use social media but should not compromise their professional integrity or shame the profession in any way;
• EMS providers must maintain and demonstrate technical competence at all times;
• EMTS shall maintain the highest standards in the practice and continue to educate themselves on new techniques in addition to maintaining competence in current technologies;
• Individuals should use their best judgment at all times;
• EMS providers must cooperate with other healthcare providers, so the patient for which care is given receives the highest-quality healthcare; and
• EMS practitioners must report unethical or incompetent practitioners or practices as well as refuse to participate in unethical practices.

Following this code allows the EMS providers to care for patients not only with care, compassion, and dignity, but to perform technical, life-saving measures when called upon to do so.

Attorney Danielle Sanger; Aggressive Defense of EMTS In Kansas and Missouri

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger understands and appreciates the sacrifices EMTs make every day for the good of us all. If you are an EMTs facing professional discipline, contact Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to schedule a consultation. Attorney Sanger will use her vast experience to defend you and your profession.

One does not have to search too hard today for claims of “fake news” passed off as actual events. Social media has been rife with false claims of factual situations for some time. Unfortunately, such claims crept into our Presidential election, and mainstream media suffered accusations of passing off fake news as fact. The medical profession is not immune from patients being misled by fake news stories. A simple “Google” search can yield seemingly official results, marked with an imprimatur of legitimacy. Internet search results should inspire a person to ask their physician questions and not accept the results as a substitute for a trained medical professional’s opinion.  Consequently, doctors and other healthcare professionals must take care to debunk misinformation presented by their patients. Their failure to do so could lead to claims of unethical behavior and malpractice. Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger represents healthcare professionals facing allegations of unethical conduct.

The notion of fake news is baffling in many ways. Why promulgate false information? To what end? Joel Cooper, D.O. suggests that people or institutions who generate fake news are trying to manipulate people financially, economically, or politically without regard for the potentially harmful consequences people who believe the fake news can suffer. No one is immune. Dr. Cooper related how the medical device company Theranos created an impression across the medical community that their new product could somehow deliver accurate blood analysis without drawing as much blood from patients as typically required. The claims proved false, yet before Theranos’ claims could be disproved, doctors and other healthcare professionals were buying in.

If physicians can buy into fake news, it is not hard to imagine that a member of a vulnerable population could suffer the same fate, with potentially disastrous consequences.  People who suffer from chronic or fatal diseases, desperate to find a cure, could easily be trapped by unscrupulous claims for a substance providing a miracle cure. Another good example and one which garners much debate is the question of childhood vaccinations.  Many sources claim conclusively that traditional childhood vaccinations cause autism, according to Dr. Cooper, notwithstanding the fact that scientific research proves the hypothesis wrong. Similarly, Dr. Cooper relates that many people in need of taking a cholesterol drug refuse to take a statin only because someone on social media claimed that someone they know suffered a rare side effect from the medication.  Because of the misinformation, the patient refuses to take the drug that can prevent heart disease leading to an early death.

What can be done to combat this problem? Dr. Cooper suggests honest and open communication with their patients and spending time with them to dispel their fears and concerns. Failure to do so can undermine the doctor’s ability to treat the patient with “evidence-based” diagnostic and treatment modalities. Dr. Cooper does not discourage patients from asking questions. In fact, he wants to foster good communication to address his patients’ concerns. Dismissing the patient’s question can be seen as arrogant by the patient cause the patient to refuse to communicate with their physician. Dr. Cooper argues that communication and fostering a higher level of trust is the antidote to the poison of misinformation. Dr. Cooper also argues that doctors owe a duty to the public to work hard to dispel fake news stories. He suggests taking to social media as a method of opening the lines of communication between the public and medical profession.

Failure to Dispel Fake News Stories Early Can Cause Future Problems

Encourage your patients to ask questions. Open, and frank dialogue builds trust between patient and healthcare provider. Failure to do so can result in claims of malpractice and unethical conduct. If you have fallen victim to claims of unethical conduct, call Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger today at 785-979-4353 today to schedule a consultation. Attorney Sanger has devoted her professional life to defending professional licensees who face discipline.

Nurses play a critical role in delivering necessary medical care to all patients. We, as consumers of healthcare services, come to expect that our nurse will treat us with empathy, respect, and care. We also expect that our nurses maintain the highest degree of ethical behavior. We do not give it a second thought. However, nurses are human and can make mistakes. Nurses need to take a step back every once and a while and take inventory of who they are and how their nursing practice affects their patients, other healthcare providers, and themselves. Doing so may help you avoid licensing discipline in Kansas and Missouri.

The Kansas Nurses Association recommends that nurses should have a good foundation of nursing ethics to enjoy a long and fruitful career.  The Kansas Nurses Association enumerated five (5) points of emphasis nurses should employ to avoid ethics violations when behavior or possible decisions skirt the boundaries of ethical conduct.  Medical professionals in Kansas and Missouri can benefit from using these tips for maintaining ethical conduct.

One of the suggestions espoused by the Kansas Nurses Association is related to self-knowledge and awareness. They counsel the nurse to know who they are from a personal and professional sense. Reflecting upon their beliefs, standards, and ethics will guide the nurse when making professional ethical decisions.  Self-awareness builds confidence and empowers a nurse to speak out against unethical or questionable medical practices and have the courage to stand up for what the nurse believes.

The second suggestion made by the Nurses Association is related to the first. They recommend not only knowing your ethical beliefs but encourage nurses to live them.  The Kansas Nurses Association suggests that living your beliefs and speaking out for what is right complies with the nurse’s obligation to take care of themselves before they care for others.  Taking care of oneself allows the nurse to meet head-on the daily ethical quandaries they face. But if you do not put yourself in a position to have the skill and courage to know the difference between ethical and unethical behavior then you may not be able to correct unethical medical practices.

The Kansas Nurses Association suggests nurses “go with their gut.” In other words, your instinct will tell you when something is wrong. Intuition is strong; listen to it. Your instinct is usually right.   Acting according to your intuition is different than acting on a hunch. A hunch is a guess. Your instinct is an internal guide that can lead you to make the appropriate decision. However, you should not only rely on your gut. If you have any uncertainty as to the proper course of action, then ask someone. Talk the problem out with a respected colleague or mentor. You may easily arrive at the correct decision by simply talking the problem out.  Rely on your co-workers and superiors to make the best decision.

Keeping in mind the core practice of nursing and the primary tenant of nursing will aid you in the decision-making process. At bottom, nurses’ primary responsibility is to respect life and treat others with dignity. Nurses must respect their patients, co-workers, physicians, and other healthcare professionals. This mandate extends to the nurse and the nurse’s family as well. The Kansas Nurses Association posits that nurses must not disrespect anyone and call out others who may be disrespectful to correct the problem immediately. In the end, ethical nursing starts with respect for life.

Seek Immediate Assistance For Ethical Questions

Kansas and Missouri professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger counsels nurses who are facing ethical questions to seek competent advice for your ethical issues. Failure to do so could lead to professional discipline. If you find yourself under investigation for unethical behavior or need advice on ethical questions, make an appointment to meet with Attorney Sanger by calling 785-979-4353 today.

Substance abuse in the United States has reached near pandemic proportions. Nearly one in every twelve Americans suffer from the scourge of addiction. New methods for treating addiction, especially opioid addiction, are constantly tested by medical and treatment professionals. This problem created an enormous need for additional addiction counselors and treatment facilities. One highly-regarding health care professional suggests psychiatrists can be used to help break the cycle of addiction. Both addiction counselors and psychiatrists are subject to regulatory agencies with authority to discipline the licensees for unethical practices. Kansas professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger aggressively represents addiction counselors and psychiatrists facing accusations of unethical or unprofessional behavior.

Regarding opioid addiction, researchers linked prescription drug abuse to heroin abuse. Prescription painkillers such as Percocet and Oxycodone (Oxycontin) are readily available and are in high demand among addicts. These prescriptions are so prevalent on the street from physicians overprescribing pain medications as a method of treating injuries and chronic pain. They are strong medications which must be taken only under a physician’s care. Oxycontin specifically eases pain from cancer. Regrettably, people of all ages turned to abusing pain medications.

Once the high from pain medications is unavailing to the addict, they frequently turn to heroin. Heroin is an opioid, as are most prescription painkillers. However, heroin is a potentially lethal narcotic and is highly addictive. Whereas pain medications are made in a laboratory and theoretically were approved for prescription use, heroin is a raw powder made from a poppy seed. Mixing the pain-killing medication Fentanyl with heroin or drug dealers substituting Fentanyl for heroin is a common trend. Fentanyl is a prescription painkiller that presents in appearance like heroin but is much stronger than the average street-level dosage of heroin. Addicts, believing the substance is heroin, inject the amount they need to get their “fix.” Unwittingly, the addict injects Fentanyl instead of heroin and dies from an overdose as a result.

Many addicts need intensive treatment to combat their problem. Addiction counselors step in and help those who can no longer help themselves. The Kansas Behavioral Sciences Regulatory regulates and licenses addiction counselors. Addiction counselors are not beyond reproach despite providing consumers with a valuable resource. Addiction counselors must comply with Kansas’ ethical and professional rules of their profession. Kansas Legislature recently passed a bill creating an additional level of counseling in an attempt to combat this problem.

Addiction prevention, as opposed to addiction management, helps alleviate the opioid crisis. One recent theory espoused by Nora D. Volkow, M.D., Director of the Nation Institute on Drug Abuse challenges the prevailing treatment paradigm of pain management to reduce the need for prescription painkillers. Dr. Volkow suggests that the trend of physicians overprescribing painkilling medications in the 1990s to treat many patients’ pain symptoms lacked a basis in science. Dr. Volkow suggests that reducing painkilling prescriptions will curb the opioid problem.

What, then, becomes of the person suffering from chronic pain not attributed to cancer? Dr. Volkow recommends turning to psychiatry for help. Dr. Volkow hypothesizes that cognitive-behavioral therapy is a modality that can be very useful in combatting chronic pain. Dr. Volkows suggests that training pain sufferers to think and feel differently about the pain from which they suffer. Consequently, increasing psychiatric intervention will decrease the patient’s need for painkilling medication in addition to providing the patient with a means to ease their suffering.

For More Information

Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger aggressively and zealously represents health care professionals facing discipline. If you face professional discipline from your work as an additional counselor or psychiatrist, or any other medical profession, you need an experienced advocate on your side like Attorney Sanger. Call Attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 today to schedule your free consultation.

In Kansas, architecture, landscape architecture, professional engineering, professional geology, and professional surveying are known as technical professions. The Kansas Board of Technical Professionals (“the Board”) issues licenses for technical professions. The Board also has the authority to institute disciplinary actions for technical professionals as well.  The Board works to make certain that each technical professional licensee maintains the highest standard of work in their profession and maintains the highest level of ethical responsibility. Failure to maintain the standards of a technical professional leads to disciplinary action. Kansas professional licensing attorney Danielle Sanger represents professional licensees against disciplinary actions with great zeal and vigor with tremendous results.

As with all professional licensing boards in Kansas, the Kansas Board of Technical Professionals authority to issue licenses and determine disciplinary action comes from state law. The Kansas legislature charged the Board with the task of maintaining the highest level of integrity, skill, and technical proficiency. Ensuring that each technical professional licensee aspires to those laudable attributes preserves the public trust and safeguards against damage and injury to the public to whom the licensees provides a service.  Each person wishing to practice a technical profession must satisfy the Board based upon satisfactory testing scores and possess the minimum character traits before the Board issues a license.

Concomitant with the Board’s authority to issue a license is the Board’s authority to discipline a license. Kansas law explicitly limits the Board’s authority to discipline its members. Discipline may take the form of probation, censure, reprimand, suspension or revocation of a license. The Board has the authority to start disciplinary action for allegations concerning obtaining a license to practice a technical profession fraudulently, gross negligence or incompetence, misconduct or showing no regard for the rights of other people while practicing in the profession. The Board may also issue discipline for a conviction of a felony criminal act in Kansas or another state or committed against the United States. The Board may discipline a business organization as if the business organization was an individual. Also, the Board possesses the authority to reinstate a license which the Board revoked if seven members of the Board agree to reinstate the license.

At the initial disciplinary stage, the Board conducts a hearing to determine if any wrongdoing occurred and what, if any discipline, should be levied. The Board has the power to order witnesses to attend and testify at a hearing before the Board. The Board may also compel any witness to bring documents, records, books, or other materials relevant to the hearing.  The hearings must be held according to Kansas’ administrative procedure act. Therefore, the licensee facing discipline must receive proper notice of the allegations, have the right to be represented by counsel, and to examine witnesses for or against them. Proper notice to the licensee includes a provision alerting the licensee that they have 15 days in which to appeal the Board’s decision.

A person aggrieved by the Board has the right to appeal the decision to a court in Kansas with jurisdiction over the issue.  The licensee may appeal the final decision of the Board to the courts and only after exhausting all “administrative remedies.” In a rare instance, the court will permit review of the Board’s decision before the Board’s final action. The licensee has 30 days from the date of service of the Board’s final action to appeal to a court for judicial review.

Technical Professional Need Superior Representation

Representing yourself in matters where your livelihood and career are at stake can be costly. You should rely on competent counsel who a skilled at defending professional licensees like Kansas Professional Licensing Attorney Danielle Sanger. Attorney Sanger has the experience to protect your career and preserve your way of life. Call attorney Sanger today at 785-979-4353 to discuss your case and learn the difference passion and experience will make for you.