Emergency Medical Technician

Becoming an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is one of the most rewarding things you can do with your life. When it comes to career choices, your options are nearly limitless. That’s what truly makes you stand out when you choose willingly to go into a profession where you’ll be working long hours to save lives and get the job done.

If you’re wondering how long it takes to become a licensed EMT, you’ll be relieved to know that it requires much less training than other career tracks in the medical industry. Compared to the long, rigorous training it takes to become a doctor, you’ll only need a small investment of time to become an entry level Emergency Medical Technician.

Training programs to become an EMT is offered by hospitals, private companies and technical/trade colleges. You might also find training at your local college campus. Much of the training is completed by utilizing on-the-job exercises and learning.

To begin training, you will at least need a high school diploma or a GED to get accepted to a program. Before you’re able to get hired as an EMT, you’ll need to complete the training to become licensed as an EMT-B, or Emergency Medical Technician – Basic.

The training to become a basic level EMT will vary on program length. The subjects covered will be an introduction to how to deal with common emergency medical procedures. You can expect to learn how to efficiently respond to such emergencies as heart attacks, emergency child labor, profuse bleeding, severe fractures, and saving someone from choking. You’ll also become certified in CPR.

Once you complete your training, you’ll need to take a certification test to get your license. This will allow you to practice as an Emergency Medical Technician in your state. From there, you can either start working as a basic-level EMT, or continue your training to the next level.

If you’re interested in becoming a higher-level EMT, the next rank is an EMT-I, or intermediate. You’ll have many more hours of practice under your belt and will be able to assist patients in more skilled ways, such as delivering intravenous medicine. With more responsibility, comes more pay and more job security, so it may be worth it to consider furthering your training as an EMT.

The highest level of training or career pah you can progress to is to become a Paramedic. You’ll have to dedicate several years to becoming a paramedic but you can work during this time as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). As a paramedic, you’ll receive training on detailed anatomy, physiology, and many advanced medical techniques and procedures that will allow you to save more lives and make a difference.

In addition to the education and practical training required to become an EMT, you’ll also need aptitude and the mental fortitude for the job. Don’t forget that a good EMT starts with someone having the core skills necessary to process the environment and respond quickly and efficiently to the situation at hand. Good candidates for the position are naturally dextrous, agile people with a controlled sense of urgency. They are quick thinkers and can handle stressful situations well. It also helps to be in shape and have keen eyesight.

The world depends on people like you to make a difference by becoming an Emergency Medical Technician. Are you ready to make the change?

EMT Job Description – A Day in the life of an EMT

You get the call – it’s an emergency. Everyone around you grabs their equipment as you all hustle, heads down, to the ambulance. As an Emergency Medical Technician, your day will never be dull. Not many people can say they save people’s life on a daily basis. Are you up to the task? Is this the kind of job that interests you? Before you apply to be an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), you’ll need to make sure you’re qualified. We’re not just talking about education, although you’ll need that, too. When you join the team as an EMT, you’ll receive specialized training and will be taught to handle all they medical equipment you will need and operate to rescue people in dire situations.

First, however, make sure that the job interests you and that you are a good fit for this kind of job. Understand exactly what an EMT is and what an EMT does on a daily basis. In this article, let’s look at the nature of the job a little more closely, this will help you decide if you are a good fit. So, what makes a good Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)? There are skills and traits – like balance and coordination – that give you an edge when you’re hunched over in an ambulance trying to wrap up a wound while your partner speeds around corners. You’ll need to be in good physical shape to lift patients and carry large bags and containers of medical supplies. Most importantly, you’ve got to care. Being a considerate person is a must when you’re an Emergency Medical Technician. Rushing or doing a job hastily could cost someone their life.

You’ll be called on to do many things once you’re hired as an EMT, one of your first jobs might be to drive an ambulance truck to pick up patients that need emergency treatment. You’ll need a cool head and be able to think on your feet. There’s pressure and a lot of it – if you don’t get there in time, someone might die. Being an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is full of intense pressure and excitement not to mention danger but it’s an incredibly rewarding job as well. Knowing you saved a life can change your life for the better.

There won’t be too much sitting down at this job. As an Emergency Medical Technician, you can expect to stand on your feet all day. In all practicality, you most likely will be on the move all the time, rushing from one scene of emergency to another, always on the move. At the scene of an accident or emergency, you’re on your feet monitoring vital signs and fighting to keep people alive. You’ll learn how to be gentle but persistent when moving an injured person so that you don’t make their injuries and condition worse. Every part of the job has you walking a thin line between safety and danger. Can you handle it?

Another important requirement is your people skills. You might want to brush up on your people skills because believe it or not being an Emergency Medical Technician is a social job. You are responsible to calm and provide answers to patients at their most crucial times. You’ll also need to talk to family members, keep them calm and keep them informed. People will look to you to make sense of the situation, so knowing how to calm people and provide answers with confidence will go a long way.

At the end of the day, there is nothing easy about being an EMT. People do it because it feels right to help, and they know they’ll do good there. If you are ready for a job that requires you to think on your feet, be calm and collected in the face of life or death emergency situations then go ahead and apply to become an Emergency Medical Technician.

We talked about what an EMT is last time around. Today let’s take a closer look at the job itself. If you’ve ever wondered what an Emergency Medical Technician does all day, you’ll be pleased to know it’s not all ambulance rides. Being an EMT is a lot like any job. There are many different opportunities and you have to do them all for the organization to run smoothly.

Here is a list filled with 8 things an Emergency Medical Technician might do over the course of a day. This will help you gain insight into the world of being a fast-paced, danger-driven EMT that will save people’s lives daily.

1. Be On Call – You’ll need to be on call nearly all the time. The average length of a shift for an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is 24 hours. You may or may not be working that whole time. It is your responsibility to remain alert and available to provide emergency services the entire time you’re on call.
2. Respond to Emergency Calls from the 911 Dispatcher – You’ll receive notification by phone or emergency pager from the 911 dispatcher. That means that someone has just called 911 and your assistance is required immediately.
3. Take Detailed Inventory of Ambulance – While you’re on call but not working, it will be your responsibility as an Emergency Medical Technician to make sure your ambulance has all the necessary medical equipment to treat patients. Every day, you’ll be restocking and organizing your ambulance and supplies.
4. Drive an Ambulance – Driving an ambulance is how you’ll get to the scene of emergency. Be prepared to make lightning fast judgments and have incredible reflexes to deal with oncoming traffic. You’ll never have to wait for a red light again, but you will need to drive safely and carefully to protect the life of the injured passengers.
5. Respond Immediately to Potentially Hurt Patients – Patients that are critically hurt or in danger of dying rely on you to see them through. Whether it’s providing quick CPR or applying pressure to wounds, it’s your job as an Emergency Medical Technician to know what to do and when to do it.
6. Calm Friends and Family – One thing you might not realize you’ll be doing is calming the family members, friends or even onlookers. You’ll rely on their recounting of what happened if the patient is unconscious or can’t speak. The family members will want to know exactly what’s going on, what they can do, and what will happen to their loved ones. You’ll have to calm them down and explain that you’re doing the best you can do.
7. Transfer Patients – When it’s time to transport the injured to the vehicle, you’ll need to be in good physical condition. Most people that become EMT’s are in great shape and continue to stay that way because of the heavy lifting needed.
8. Stabilize the Patient’s Condition – On the way to the emergency room, you’ll need to work hard at stabilizing the patient’s vital signs. Additionally you might be required to establish a rapport with the patient thereby keeping them conscious and lucid till you reach the hospital. You’ll need to talk to them and encourage them to hold on, pretty similar to what you would have seen actors do when they are playing an EMT in the movies or television.

The above points should give you a pretty good idea of what it’s like to be an EMT. It might be a hard job, but it’s one of the more rewarding career paths you can choose to take. You will be a respected figure in your community and receive a fair salary in return for a job well done. If you’re interested in the idea of helping people for a living, this can be a great career path to start yourself on.

Ten Reasons to Become an Emergency Medical Technician

I’m pretty sure there are more. If you are considering a career in health care and have an affinity for a fast moving, excitement filled career and love working under pressure, then a job as an EMT might just be up your alley. Below are a few reasons that you might find interesting while pondering your choice of career.

1. Job Security – In a time of economical unrest, it can be comforting to know that your job is secure. As an EMT, your services will always be needed. This translates into job security that no other profession can provide. You can even move from state to state provided you renew your license.
2. Career, not a Job – It’s tough when you feel like you’re working a dead-end job. As an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), you feel better about spending your time at work. That’s because it’s a career, not a job. You’ll be surrounded by other like-minded professionals that take your career choice seriously.
3. Good Salary – Money pays the bills and makes the world go around, and as an EMT, you’ll be well compensated. Salaries vary depending on location and affiliation, but you will comfortably be able to support yourself or your family. You’ll also receive frequent raises when you take steps to advance your training.
4. Excitement – Here’s a job that will keep you on your toes. If the idea of a desk job sounds boring and predictable, being an EMT might be the perfect fit. This is a high-octane career choice with the need for split-second decisions that save lives. It keeps your adrenaline going and makes you feel alive.
5. Room for Advancement – Your initial investment will be a smart one. Once you being licensed to be an actual Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), you can easily advance up the ranks to different levels of expertise. With each promotion comes new knowledge and more benefits. You can start as an EMT-Basic and end up as a paramedic in a matter of a few years of training.
6. Great Benefits – You’ll most likely get incredible benefits for medical coverage as a thank you from companies that hire EMTs. You’ll also get small perks, like discounts at restaurants and the right-of-way in traffic when on the job.
7. Flexible Schedule – You’ll be on call for 24 hours, but you’ll most likely have a large amount of time off afterward. This allows you ample time to spend with your family, friends, or developing hobbies. It also leaves time to further your training if you’re advancing up the latter. Being on call doesn’t mean you’ll be working for 24 hours straight, only that they can call you in case of an emergency.
8. Respectable Career – There is a certain amount of pride and respect that comes from telling people you’re an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Members of the community will look upon your career choice favorably and your family will admire you. People might even stop and thank you for your service.
9. Short Training – All you need to begin your training as an EMT is a high school diploma or GED. The training to become a basic EMT is less than a year long. Compared to other medical professions, this is one of the shortest lengths of time for entry into the medical field. That means you’ll get access to all of these benefits quicker.
10. Save Lives – Last but certainly not the least and perhaps the most important reason of all. You get to save lives, this single thing makes it all worthwhile. As an EMT, you’ll save lives and give people precious additional time to spend with their families and loved ones. You can give the gift of life every day as an EMT. This should make you feel really good about your career choice like nothing else ever could.

Ever wondered what happens if a person needs medical attention immediately? In situations where there isn’t much time to make a difference, someone has to step in and be willing to act in the place of a doctor. Oftentimes, immediate treatment is administered in the back of an ambulance or at the scene of an emergency. The person who arrives on the scene to offer immediate medical help is called an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT).

An Emergency Medical Technician is trained to be able to deliver emergency medical treatment in situations where you can’t get to a doctor or are in the process of being transported to a medical facility. There are many incidents that require immediate assistance. Imagine someone having a heart attack. They call 911, but their heart starts to hurt and pound. By the time the ambulance arrives with an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) on board, the person may have only minutes left to live. The Emergency Medical Technician quickly and expertly hooks the patient up to their medical equipment and in many cases pretty much saves their life by administering treatment. This is but one scenario where the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) has just helped extend the patient’s life by keeping them alive during the ride to the hospital.

Most EMT’s are dispatched by 911 operators  when you call in to report an emergency. They arrive on scene ready to deal with situations and conditions that can’t wait – near-fatal slips and falls, car accidents, emergency childbirth, gunshot/stab wounds, and heart attacks to name a few. People who find themselves affected by any of these unfortunate scenarios can trust that their EMT will work diligently to keep them safe and alive until they get to the hospital.

Keep in mind that an EMT receives an incredible amount of specialized training. This training is what will help them perform their job more efficiently. An Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is required to learn how to lift patients gently without causing more damage, and may also be charged with getting them onto a stretcher or backboard. An Emergency Medical Technician must be physically fit, as well, to shoulder the enormous amount of weight from carrying patients.

You may have never given a second thought to what an Emergency Medical Technician is and how they spend their day working. Most people never see the inside of an ambulance in their entire life. Unknown to you, however, there are hundreds of Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) workers on call every week. Now that you know, hopefully you have a new found respect for them and the difficult nature of their job. Riding unsecured in the backseat of an  vehicle is tough enough, but imagine trying to save someone’s life while you’re bouncing around!

Always make sure you stop and yield to ambulances and all emergency vehicles. Getting in the way and slowing down an EMT could mean the difference between them getting there too late and them getting there just in time to save a life.

Any emergency situation such as accidents, fire injuries, heart attacks, labor complications, stab injuries, gun shots, etc. require attention even before the patient is taken or transferred to a hospital. An Emergency Medical Technician gives this attention and care.

Emergency Medical Technician Job Description

Emergency medical technician, also called EMT are found to work both indoor and outdoor as the situation requires. Their job involves lot of lifting weights, bending, kneeling and hence carry a high risk for back injury and hearing impairment due to frequent exposure to siren sounds. The job also involves mental stress due to the many life and death situations that an EMT is constantly faced with along with dealing with difficult patients and grieving members of the patients family.

An EMT, depending on the need of the situation has to work with police officers, doctors and fire fighters. The foremost task of an EMT is to provide basic necessary treatment for the patient on assessing the condition and collecting the medical history of the patient if possible. After the emergency situation is taken care of or addressed in the best possible manner, the EMT has to transfer the patient to a hospital or other nearby health center. On reaching the hospital, the EMT has to report to the staff in the emergency department, handover the patient, check their equipments, replace the used medicines and other supplies and be ready with the ambulance for the next call

The EMT has to know how to use medical equipment in emergency situations such as using defibrillators for cardiac arrest cases. The EMT should possess the skill of assessing the condition of the patient without miscalculations, provide comfort to delivering women and patients in critical condition. Some EMTs also take advance training to administer IV fluids and providing electric shock to save patients from cardiac arrest. An EMT takes the assistance of a registered nurse or physician over radio in case of complications and follows the instructions of the medical professional and act step by step accordingly and treat the patient in the best possible manner and medical care possible.

Emergency Medical Technician Working hours

An EMT can work upto 60 hours in a week. Since the nature of the job involves being on call that can come at all odd hours, EMT’s work in shifts and take turns. That said, most EMT’s work extended hours due to the nature of their work.

Emergency Medical Technician(EMT) Training and Certification

An EMT has to be physically and emotionally a very strong individual to deal with the emergency situation and must have a non criminal background. Training is crucial to become an EMT since the job involves and regularly deals with lives of people. There are three levels of training for an EMT, Basic, Intermediate, and Paramedic. Some complete all the three levels and become a fully qualified technician. Fire services, health departments, hospitals, police services, colleges, and universities offer EMT training and certification programs.

Entry level or Basic level EMT program trains a student to develop skills such as respiratory management, severe injury, cardiac arrest, labor, respiratory problems etc. EMT students are also trained to use stretchers, splints, oxygen, backboards, and other emergency equipments. This level requires about 110 hours of training.

The Intermediate level trains a student on usage of IV fluids, administering certain medications and advanced airway equipments. The intermediate level of EMT requires at least 30 to 350 hours of practical training.

The Paramedic – This is the most advanced and intensive of all the EMT programs. Here the student is trained on all types of advanced medical skills as well as on human anatomy and physiology too. The Paramedic level requires about 1000 hours of practical training.

One must complete all the above three levels to become a fully trained technician. Students are required to take the NREMT examination to acquire certification at all levels. An EMT has to have a license irrespective of the state and the license has to be renewed every two years during which an EMT is expected to take a refresher training program.

Emergency Medical Technician Job Prospects

The career advancement options are quite high for an EMT. An EMT could be promoted to become an operation manager, supervisor, executive director for emergency services. Some choose to become physician assistants or instructors too. The EMT job profile is on the growth chart and is expected to be as good as other occupations. Demand for EMTs in rural areas is more compared to urban areas.

Emergency Medical Technician Salary

This varies depending on the department of service. Typically an emergency medical technician salary ranges between $18000 and $23000 annually. If you look at a particular service department for example an EMT in ambulance services can easily earn between $29000 and $32000, an EMT in the fire department can have a salary between $18000 and $28000.