Paramedics are formally trained & certified personnel. They are ambulance crews trained in all aspects of emergency & pre- hospital care. They are the primary care provider in the pre hospital setting. Paramedics make great efforts to maintain high quality and reasonable cost health care. Paramedics possess the knowledge, skills, and attitudes as par the expectations of the public and the profession. Paramedics are recognized as an essential component of care and serve as linkages with the health units. They must be a confident leader ready to accept the challenge and high degree of responsibility as required in this profession. The EMT is expected to know all the legal, moral and ethical issues involved emergency medical service. He should have a good power of judgment& a presence of mind to take decision in the interest of the patient. He should be able to work independently in a non-structured environment. EMTs & paramedics work both indoors & outdoors in any type of weather conditions. Their work is physically strenuous & stressful because they need to do a lot of kneeling; bending & heavy lifting .They may suffer hearing losses from sirens& back pain by lifting patients. They also remain exposed to diseases like hepatitis-B and AIDS from patients. They have to remain calm while working in difficult & stressful conditions. They must have excellent communication skills & capability of adapting to adverse conditions. Self motivation is a must in this field. Another essential point is that they must have a thorough knowledge of the streets, highway, addressing system of the area he will be working in. The paramedic gives written documentation on patient condition and treatment provided, and must fulfill all applicable legal issues surrounding emergency medical service. The paramedic must be dedicated to his work and must maintain all the licensures and certifications. They have irregular working hours. Those paramedics who are employed by the fire departments work for 50hrs a week. Those employed by hospitals often work between 45 and 60 hours a week, and those in private ambulance services, between 45 and 50 hours. Especially those who work in police and fire departments remain on call for extended periods. Because emergency services function 24 hours a day, EMTs and paramedics have irregular working hours. The responsibilities of Paramedics depend on their level of qualification & training .The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) determine these strata as First Responder, EMT-Basic, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic. Some States, however, do their own certification and use numeric ratings from 1 to 4 according to levels of proficiency. The lowest level workers are called the First responder. They are trained to provide basic emergency medical care because they tend to be the first persons to arrive at the scene of an incident. Many firefighters, police officers, and other emergency service men are given this level of training. . The EMT-1 possesses the emergency skills to assess a patient’s condition and manage respiratory, cardiac and trauma emergencies. They are allowed to use oxygen.
The EMT-Intermediate are called EMT-2 and EMT-3 .They are trained in more advanced way that teaches them to give lifesaving shocks to a stopped heart, and the application of advanced airway techniques and equipment to assist patients experiencing respiratory emergencies. EMT –4 provide the most crucial pre hospital care. According to the situation they may also provide drugs orally, interpret electrocardiograms (EKG) &may use complex equipments.
The paramedics are frequently sent as leaders to work with a small team of lesser-trained pre-hospital care providers. This is very fast growing sector than the average for all occupations & is expected to grow extensively within 2014.With the ever increasing population& urbanization the demand for the paramedics is definitely going to increase. Though now-a-days the full-time time paid paramedics are replacing the volunteers still they are having demand in rural areas.
Article provided by Future-tech Inc.
