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EMTs and Paramedics in New York could be allowed one drink per 12 hours on shift if a new protocol is approved. Various groups of medics have been lobbying for this, and now it might become a reality.
One Drink of EMS
One drink is defined as
-A 12oz Beer
-A 1.5oz shot of 80proof alcohol
-A 5oz glass of most wines
Paramedic Paul Krapence explains the rational as this. “We all have bad calls or crazy shifts. At some point we all need to ‘take the edge off’. By allowing one drink per 12 hours guys who are stressed can alleviate some of it.”
Keep in mind the protocol would not trump DOT regulations. Anyone driving needs to maintain absolute sobriety.
To put one drink into perspective, the common Blood Alcohol Content (BAC) levels of someone on one drink would be
-170Lbs male = .02
-200lbs male = .017
-220lbs male = .016
-120lbs female = .03
-150lbs female = .027
-200lbs female = .02
An NY EMS board memo obtained by CallTheCops explains some of the rational in this decision. The memo quotes a statistic from the American Medical Association (AMA) that says people with a BAC under .04 are not suffering any real ill effects of alcohol. When the board looked at most of the EMTs and Paramedics in the state, one drink would typically keep them under .04.
The protocol would also specify that someone on a 24 hour shift would have to wait six hours between drinks. This would ensure that the majority of people who had one drink would be back to a 0.00 BAC level before having a second drink. The idea being to keep people under that .04 BAC limit.
Paramedic Krapence wants the public to know this is not something every medic will enjoy on every shift. “We want this change so we don’t see burn out. On a slow shift when we just sit at a post, we will not have a drink. But lose a patient, or if we deal with a hurt child. Then in those extreme times we need a nip off the bottle to calm the nerves.”
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