 Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics
Career Highlights
Because emergency services function 24 hours a day, emergency medical technicians and paramedics have irregular working hours.
Emergency medical technicians and paramedics need formal training and certification, but requirements vary by State.
Employment is projected to grow much faster than average as paid emergency medical technician positions replace unpaid volunteers.
Job opportunities are in local fire and rescue, police, private ambulance services, helicopter services and emergency rooms.
People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians (EMTs), intermediates and paramedics. Paramedics with additional advanced training may perform more difficult prehospital medical procedures. Incidents such as automobile accidents, heart attacks, drownings, childbirth, and gunshot wounds all require immediate medical attention. EMTs and paramedics provide this vital attention as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility.
In an emergency, EMTs and paramedics typically are dispatched to the scene by a 911 operator, and often work with police and fire department personnel. Once they arrive, they determine the nature and extent of the patient’s condition while trying to ascertain whether the patient has preexisting medical problems. Following strict rules and guidelines, they give appropriate emergency care and, when necessary, transport the patient. Some paramedics are trained to treat patients with minor injuries on the scene of an accident or at their home without transporting them to a medical facility. Emergency treatment for more complicated problems is carried out under the direction of medical doctors by radio preceding or during transport.
EMTs and paramedics may use special equipment, such as backboards, to immobilize patients before placing them on stretchers and securing them in the ambulance for transport to a medical facility. At the medical facility, EMTs and paramedics help transfer patients to the emergency department, report their observations and actions to emergency room staff, and may provide additional emergency treatment. After each run, EMTs and paramedics replace used supplies and check equipment.
Beyond these general duties, the specific responsibilities of EMTs and paramedics depend on their level of qualification and training. To determine this, the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) registers emergency medical service (EMS) providers at four levels: First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic. Some States, however, do their own certification and use numeric ratings from 1 to 4 to distinguish levels of proficiency.
First Responders—are trained to provide initial basic emergency medical care prior to the arrival of EMT-B, Intermediate or paramedics. Many firefighters, police officers, and other emergency workers have this level of training. The EMT-Basic, represents the first component of the emergency medical technician system. An EMT is trained to care for patients at the scene of an accident and while transporting patients by ambulance to the hospital under medical direction. The EMT has the emergency skills to assess a patient’s condition and manage basic respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies.
The EMT-Intermediates have more advanced training that allows the administration of intravenous fluids, initial medications, the use of manual defibrillators and the application of advanced airway techniques. EMT-Paramedics provide the most extensive prehospital care. In addition to carrying out the procedures already described, paramedics may administer drugs orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform endotracheal intubations, and use monitors and other complex equipment.
All EMS providers work both indoors and outdoors, in all types of weather. They are required to do considerable kneeling, bending, and heavy lifting. These workers risk noise-induced hearing loss from sirens and back injuries from lifting patients. In addition, EMTs and paramedics may be exposed to infectious diseases such as hepatitis-B and AIDS, as well as violence from drug overdose victims or mentally unstable patients. The work is not only physically strenuous, but can be stressful. Nonetheless, many people find the work exciting and challenging and enjoy the opportunity to help others.
EMS providers at all levels should be emotionally stable, have good dexterity, agility, and physical coordination, and be able to lift and carry heavy loads. They also need good eyesight (corrective lenses may be used) with accurate color vision.
Advancement beyond the EMT-Paramedic level usually means leaving fieldwork. An EMT-Paramedic can become a supervisor, operations manager, administrative director, or executive director of emergency services. Some EMS providers become instructors, dispatchers, or physician assistants, while others move into sales or marketing of emergency medical equipment. A number of people become EMTs, Intermediates, and paramedics to assess their interest in health care, and then decide to return to school and become registered nurses, physicians, or other health workers.
EMTs and paramedics held about 192,000 jobs in 2004. Most career EMTs and paramedics work in metropolitan areas. Volunteer EMTs and paramedics are more common in small cities, towns, and rural areas. These individuals volunteer for fire departments, emergency medical services (EMS), or hospitals, and may respond to only a few calls for service per month or may answer the majority of calls, especially in smaller communities. EMTs and paramedics work closely with firefighters, who often are certified as EMTs as well and act as first responders.
Employment of emergency medical technicians and paramedics is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through 2014, as full-time paid EMS providers replace unpaid volunteers. As population and urbanization increase, and as a large segment of the population—aging baby boomers—becomes more likely to have medical emergencies, demand will increase for EMTs and paramedics.
General information about emergency medical technicians and paramedics is available from:
- National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians, P.O. Box 1400, Clinton, MS 39060-1400. Internet: http://www.naemt.org
- National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians, Rocco V. Morando Bldg., 6610 Busch Blvd., P.O. Box 29233, Columbus, OH 43229. Internet: http://www.nremt.org
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National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, EMS Division, 400 7th St. SW., NTS-14, Washington, DC 20590. Internet: http://www.nhtsa.dot.gov/portal/
site/nhtsa/menuitem.2a0771e91315babbbf30811060008a0c/
SOURCE: Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, Occupational Outlook Handbook, 2006-07 Edition, Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics, on the Internet at http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos101.htm (visited November 13, 2006).
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