Author Topic: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students  (Read 13784 times)

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Fallleaves

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #15 on: Dec 28, 2013, 05:12 pm »
Ok, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you so much!!
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SMeustace

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #16 on: Dec 30, 2013, 03:51 pm »
Emergency contact/medical info forms are usually handled by administrative staff. I would recommend speaking to your director/instructor about what to do if an emergency occurs.

 Will it be appropriate to have some information such as allergies on your cast in your records? They may come in handy especially if food may be ordered.   
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Branden

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #17 on: Feb 14, 2014, 07:45 pm »
BUMP

I know this Emergency Medical Forms were discussed in school settings, but what about summer stocks? I feel like I'd rather give them out and let the cast fill them out if they choose, so that way if anything ever happens, I can relay to the EMS squad that said actor has been taking Xmg of Ativan, and is allergic to Morphine.

I would hand them out, and make it clear that they don't have to fill them out unless they choose too.

Thoughts?
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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #18 on: Feb 15, 2014, 10:54 am »
Canadian Actors' Equity Association provides every member working under contract with an Voluntary Emergency Medical Information form.  The individual is encouraged to fill out the form with basic info, emergency contact, insurance info, and relevant medical details such as prescription medications, drug allergies, chronic conditions, etc.  The form is sealed in an envelope, with a signature across the seal.  Forms are held securely by stage management, and are only accessed in the case of a medical emergency where the individual cannot respond to medical personnel (i.e. unconscious).  The envelope is returned to the member at the end of the contract.

These forms are voluntary, but I remind artists very clearly about the medical benefit of quick access to this information in an emergency.  I store ours in a locked drawer in one of our touring crates - easy to get to when we are at home in rehearsal, and always in the theatre when we are on tour.  It takes a bit of planning to ensure the forms are always in the same location as our dancers when smaller groups separate for outreach and educational performances, but it's just a matter of making it a checklist item.

Branden

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #19 on: Mar 01, 2014, 05:34 pm »
That's a good point.

I was talking to one of my nurse friends, and she said that for those who would rather not fill out an Emergency Medical Form, they should sign a waiver saying they choose not to do so, that way everything is in the clear. Have you ever heard of someone doing this?
Branden Scott Stewart

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #20 on: Mar 02, 2014, 09:15 am »
That's one step further than I would endorse.  In every circumstance that I am aware of, providing this information is voluntary; the most you can do is go to whatever length you feel is appropriate to lobby for compliance.  It is not appropriate to ask people to confirm that they are not volunteering. 

The only circumstance I can think of that might differ would be a commercial high-risk engagement (circus?), where the engager is required by its insurer to be able provide medical information in an emergency.  In this circumstance it would be a condition of the engagement contract.  Just speculating on that one ...

On_Headset

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #21 on: Mar 02, 2014, 11:23 am »
I would add one caveat to what DSM says.

You can't force people to contribute a form, but it's nevertheless useful for you, as the SM, to have a record of their refusal. (Consider the utility of "My records show that Stephanie didn't give me back a form", as opposed to "#$%#^ me I can't find Stephanie's $%^$#ing form and the $%^#$ing ambulance is right outside...")

With that in mind, in your situation, I would complete the Name line on the form and provide people with an envelope. They must return a sealed envelope to you, but they may complete as much or as little of the form as they wish. Explicitly mention that they can choose to leave the rest of it blank. ("Just put the form straight back into the envelope, sign over the seal, and bring it back.")

This way providing the information remains voluntary, and the SM never comes into contact with any medical information (or even with the fact that a company member has refused to provide information!) until and unless that information becomes necessary.
« Last Edit: Mar 02, 2014, 11:25 am by On_Headset »

Dart

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #22 on: Mar 02, 2014, 02:17 pm »
I REALLY like the sealed envelope idea!

bex

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #23 on: Mar 02, 2014, 05:15 pm »
For those of you who keep the forms in a sealed envelope and don't look at them unless the ambulance is coming, do you have some other way of finding out if people have allergies to detergents or nuts or something? Do you leave that up to props/costumes folks to ask before giving an actor a food prop, or do you trust that anyone with an allergy severe enough to be a concern will volunteer that information themselves?
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Maribeth

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #24 on: Mar 02, 2014, 05:41 pm »
I ask at first rehearsal if anyone has allergies that I should be aware of. For a show that I know in advance is going to be food-heavy, I have asked about allergies and preferences during my prep week phone call to the actors. That way we can start an early conversation with props about what we are planning on using. This has helped me a lot during food-heavy shows, especially if there are vegans or vegetarians in the cast.

MatthewShiner

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #25 on: Mar 02, 2014, 08:38 pm »
My new company member info sheet is now two pages

First Page
Contact Information and Emergency Contact Info
Show related allergies including food, laundry, dust.
A section for , if their birthday is during the production, how they would like to celebrate it.

The second page is
Emergency Contact (I know it's a repeat)
Other Allergies EMT might need
Doctor Contact
Insurance Info

This second page is put in a sealed envelope for the EMT.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Anything posted here as in my own personal opinion, and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of my employer - whomever they be at a given moment in time.

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #26 on: Mar 02, 2014, 09:16 pm »
On_Headset - I agree that keeping track of who has chosen to return the form can be an extra step, but understand that the practical use of the information on this form is not for the stage manager, but for emergency medical personnel.  I keep an alphabetical list of who has returned the form on the exterior of the locked box they are stored in.  If a situation arises where an individual cannot respond or provide information to medical staff, the sealed envelope is (in theory) provided to the emergency responder.  I don't feel it would be particularly useful to provide them with an envelope containing a potentially blank form.

Regarding seeking out allergy information in advance, I have to say that working primarily in dance, food props occur far less frequently than in text-based theatre.  That's not to say that they don't exist - we have a co-production with the Royal Ballet of Christopher Wheeldon's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" in our repertoire, and there is a cupcake as a food prop.  Before purchasing cupcakes for the run, we asked all the dancers in the role of Alice if they had any allergies/intolerances/preferences. One of them maintains a vegetarian gluten-free diet, so we sourced cupcakes from a local bakery that satisfied these requirements, and actually used them for all casts. 

If I were working on a new creation that had any suggestion of the potential for food props, I would immediately take a poll of allergies and other restrictions among cast members.
« Last Edit: Mar 02, 2014, 09:33 pm by dance stage manager »

SMeustace

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Re: Emergency Contact/Medical Info forms for Students
« Reply #27 on: Jul 22, 2014, 09:42 am »
In a school setting, the administrative staff already has that information on file and the director and instructor already had the training on what to do in emergency.

As a student, I do not see the administrative staff (including director or instructor) will be willing to or be legally allowed to give you emergency contact information of other students.   

I'd consider asking the cast for any known allergies.
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