Do you have a flickering desire to serve others? Or do you often feel your adrenaline rushing to save someone’s life? The world of paramedic is for you to conquer.
Paramedics are the most advanced and highly trained Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs) trained to care for the patient and medical management until they can get them to a hospital or a doctor. Their service is usually outside the hospital, including a residence, community, accident area or a natural disaster.
Since they are often the first to respond to an emergency or urgent medical situation, they can take charge and perform life-saving procedures like intravenous treatment, tracheotomy, and others while transferring the patient to a hospital. Unlike EMTs, they can do more than stabilize and transport a patient.
Difference Between PM And EMTs
Many people get confused between a PM and an EMT. Emergency medical technicians and paramedics work together as a team in the Emergency Medical Service (EMS) as care providers. Although they work together, they have different roles, making them apart from each other regarding their duties.
An EMT is an entry-level medical provider who can not perform invasive procedures. To become a PM, an EMT must gain experience and pass the state-accredited exam to get a license.
How To Become A Paramedic?
Since they are dealing with human life and working as care providers at the frontline to save lives, the jobs of these individuals require education, certifications, and experience.
Eligibility
For most states in the US, the age criteria are set to above 18 years of age to take the EMT course along with a high school diploma that may or may not be required, depending on state regulations. Your previous experience does not count for an EMT course, but some tests may assess your physical fitness and immunizations.
Complete The EMT Course And Exam
The state must approve the EMT course you choose and has two options. You can either take it as a part of an associate’s degree or as a vocational training program. The associate degree takes two years, while the vocational program requires a few hours. Once the course is completed, candidates must pass the written exam and practical skill assessment to get certified as EMT.
Gain Experience
Once you have your EMT certification, you can gain experience working as an Emergency Medical Technician. Usually, an understanding of 6 months is required before you enroll for the actual course, but this may vary according to the state.
Complete State Accredited Course
To take a step forward from your journey of becoming a certified EMT to your dream job, you have to enroll and qualify for the state-accredited paramedic course. You can do this while working as an EMT and taking the program as a part of your associate degree.
Some of these programs may require you to have anatomy and physiology at your college level.
Pass The Exam
This exam is conducted by the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians and comprises a cognitive computerized test and a psychomotor skill assessment. This has to be done within two years of completing the course.
Look For Open Positions
Once you have passed your exam, you can have your license and work as a licensed PM either in the same EMT setup with a new position or start looking for a new role in another EMS specialty to brighten your career.
Each educational path you choose comes with the financial burden of your tuition fee. You can invest in your future by exploring the financial aid options in your state. Find a list of colleges that provide financial aid on our Free FAFSA Application.
What Does A Paramedic Do?
There are several services that medical tech can provide. As they work with EMS, they receive calls that fall into either medical or trauma conditions.
The emergency calls usually call for illnesses like heart attacks, complications of shock, labor and delivery and allergic reactions where they can administer a medicine to keep them calm and soothe them till the time they reach a hospital.
The trauma calls are directed at accidents or physical injury. This can include a car crash, falls, sports injuries and others.
These emergency service providers are now also getting trained with police and other agencies to provide critical service to the patients of mass shootings or dangerous encounters. They can offer the following services
-
Administering intravenous (IV) fluids
-
Cleaning and setting up the supplies in an ambulance
-
Transporting the patient to the hospital or clinic
-
Providing necessary first aid
-
Resuscitating the drowning victims
-
Cleaning and bandage of wounds
-
Performing cardiac support for heart patients, such as Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
-
Stabilizing neck and head injuries as well as broken bones
-
Accessing health conditions and administering medicine
-
Performing emergency respiratory procedures
-
Treating allergic reactions with an auto-injector
-
Performing emergency childbirth procedures
In between, they keep the hospital updated about their procedures and the medicines they administer to the patients.
If you are still in doubt and think this career is not for you, you have other options available, where you can work in a healthcare and nursing setup to serve humanity.
The difference between the two is, that nurses typically work in a hospital or clinic setup instead of an ambulance or giving emergency aid on-site. To advance your nursing career, you can check College Evently to read more on Healthcare and Nursing.
