The Happy Medic (THM)  recently posted a fantastic topic on his blog. I love diving into controversial decisions that we have to make every shift. Here’s one of those questions that we need to answer on just about every call. Should we walk the patient to the pram or carry them? This is one of those things that we have no choice but to address in every system on just about every call. How to we get the patient to the pram? When is it OK to walk them? It seems like this subject got rolling on Justin’s (THM) blog when EMS types from around the country started sending him feedback about his role in the documentary film, The Chronicles of EMS . He was surprised by the volume of comments about him choosing to walk patients to the ambulance. Unfortunately, I understand the surprise of some of the Chronicles viewers. I once worked in a system where allowing a patient to walk to the pram was taboo. Allowing EMS providers to use their judgment was also taboo so the no-walking policy went hand-in-hand with the general management style. Now I work in system much like Justin’s. Our operational guidelines give care providers much more leeway. Using good judgment, doing things that make sense and being accountable for the decisions that you make are all given a higher priority than strict adherence to thick policy manuals that outline every aspect of operational minutia. (Whoa, that was quite a mouthful.) When I transitioned from the carry-everyone-to-the-pram mindset to the do-what-makes-sense mindset it took a bit of adjustment

Original Source of To Walk or Not To Walk?