The EMT Code of Ethics

Did you know you had a code of ethics? You do.

It was writen by Dr. Charles Gillespie and adopted by the National Association of EMT’s in 1978. It probably appeared somewhere near the front of your EMT textbook. It may have been touched upon by your instructor during your medical / legal lecture. It’s less likely that you were ever ask to raise your hand and recite its words (or accompanying oath.)

Consider what it means to be ethical. Ideas regarding what it means to act ethically in the practice of medicine have been handed down from hard won lessons of human history. From the sacred pledge of the Hippocratic Oath to the tenants of the Declaration of Helsinki and the Nuremberg Code,  medical ethics has evolved to deepen our understanding of what it means to be a moral provider of medical care.

Your patients place great trust in you because your authority rests on the honor and tradition of a code of medical ethics. In case you haven’t read it in a while, here is the EMT Code of Ethics.

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