The disappearing endotracheal tube: historic skill threatened by lack of practice & new devices.
When paramedics were first introduced in the 1970s, one of the most controversial aspects of their training program was endotracheal intubation (ETI). Prior to that, the skill of intubating the trachea was purely the domain of physicians and nurse anesthetists. Thus, it was difficult to secure time when paramedic students could practice their intubations skills on live patients. In actuality, many paramedics of that era were graduated without ever having the opportunity to perform an ETI on a living patient.
Bledsoe
Bryan E
BE
University of Nevada School of Medicine, Las Vegas, NV, USA. bbledsoe@earthlink.net
Gandy
William E
WE
D002983:Clinical Competence; D004634:Emergency Medical Technicians / Q000193:education / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000592:standards; D019300:Medical Errors