Emergency Medical Technicians & Paramedic

Overview and Key Facts

What Do They Do?

An emergency medical technician or paramedic could...

Overview Listen to this section

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics belong to a group of healthcare workers known as first responders. They are among the first people to respond to an accident or emergency, providing prehospital care for conditions such as heart attacks, strokes, gunshot wounds, childbirth, or falls. Although this work is physically and emotionally demanding, many emergency medical technicians and paramedics enjoy the challenges and the satisfaction of knowing their work is critical in saving lives.

Do You Have the Skills and Characteristics of an Emergency Medical Technicians & Paramedic?

1. Speaking: ? Talking to others to convey information effectively.
2. Active Listening: ? Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
3. Coordination: ? Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
4. Social Perceptiveness: ? Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
5. Critical Thinking: ? Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

6. Service Orientation: ? Actively looking for ways to help people.
7. Calm Manner: ? Remaining focused and not showing stress during an emergency.
8. Physical Strength: ? Having physical ability and stamina to perform the job.

Core Tasks

Think about if you'd like the typical tasks an Emergency Medical Technicians & Paramedic might do:

• Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures.
• Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
• Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
• Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
• Comfort and reassure patients.
• Coordinate with treatment center personnel to obtain patients' vital statistics and medical history, to determine the circumstances of the emergency, and to administer emergency treatment.
• Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
• Instruct emergency medical response team about emergency interventions, to ensure correct application of procedures.
• Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
• Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
• Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
• Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
• Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.