Making a decision to become a paramedic or EMT takes a lot of time. The requirements that are necessary to become a paramedic are very extensive. The process of education can take up to two years to complete. It is necessary to get certification from your state in order to work as an emergency medical technician or paramedic on a full time basis. If you are considering becoming a paramedic, which is the most advanced level of emergency medical technician, then you may be looking at two to three years of study and training time. You must also give consideration to the 12 months of preparation time for the state issued examination.
In order or you to start your emergency medical training, you will need a high school diploma or GED. The first level of emergency medical technician training is known as the EMT-Basic. The basic level prepares you to care for patients at the scene of a medical emergency. The basic level emergency medical technician provides patient care and transporting services to the injured and ill under the supervision and direction of more highly trained technicians. He or she will assess the patient’s condition and also provide cardiac, respiratory and trauma support. The next level is known as EMT-Intermediate 99 and Intermediate 85. At this level, the tasks are more extensive and the emergency medical technician is allowed to have more responsibilities.
The last level of emergency medical technician is known as a paramedic. An advanced emergency worker is able to provide more extensive pre-hospital care than an emergency medical technician. Paramedics are able to do many things that emergency workers are not allowed to, including giving medications, interpreting electrocardiograms, using monitors, performing endo tracheal intubations and other sophisticated and complex medical equipment. The exact nature of what a paramedic is allowed to do will depend on the state.
The earnings for emergency medical technicians will depend on the employment setting and also the area where the person lives. Typically the median hourly wages for emergency medical technicians were between $15 hour to $30 an hour in 2010. The middle fifty percent earned around $17 an hour.
The education components of the paramedic and emergency medical technician training include the following:
1. Basic training in first aid and basic life support.
2. Work with a team on an ambulance truck for approximately one year.
3. Take emergency medical technician preparatory courses at a school.
4. Enrollment on a full time basis in an emergency technician training program.
5. Conducting a preliminary diagnosis of the patient.
6. Applying defibrillators manually.
7. Giving drugs and fluids
8. Inserting oro- tracheal equipment
9. Working with police, detectives and fire fighters.
Often, people confuse paramedics and emergency medical technicians. They think that the words can be used interchangeably. Even the news media makes the mistake of calling paramedics the same as emergency medical technicians. There is a difference between what a paramedic and an emergency medical technicians. The difference is the level of knowledge and skills of physiology, anatomy, diagnosis, advanced medical topics and patient assessment in case of an emergency.
The paramedic candidate will need to be able to attend various courses in pediatric life support, pharmacology, cardiology, defensive driving, first aid, medical terminology, and disease control. In some areas, the paramedic may be required to also learn Spanish. This can be the case in areas such as California with a high Spanish speaking population. In addition, the paramedic has to learn about geriatric education for medical emergencies. A complete paramedic training program can include as many has 30 different courses. Even after you have graduated from the training programs, you may be expected to continue your education by taking refresher training.
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