medic101

You've seen them on TV and in the movies, and you think you might want to be one, or just figure out what all this business is about. Well, you've come to the right place.
      In the late 1960's it began to become obvious to many people that the way people were cared for before they got to the hospital could be improved upon quite a bit. Our experience in Vietnam showed us that prehospital advanced care could be quite successful and the less than stellar record of the funeral industry in the prehospital arena convinced The American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, among others, that it was time for things to change. The AAOS laid out the basic framework for a new type of care giver called an Emergency Medical Technician, or EMT.
        EMT's were taught basic anatomy, bandaging and splinting skills, oxygen therapy and a few other neat tricks and turned loose. Well, it worked pretty well, and shortly thereafter the medical community decided that perhaps they could go a bit farther. Thus, the paramedic was born.
        Paramedics were taught advanced skills. Cardiology, pharmacology, defibrillation, and advanced airway skills were taught as well as dozens of other useful tidbits. This also turned out to be quite successful and many of you now rest comfortably under the umbrella of an Advanced Life Support (ALS) ambulance system staffed with EMTs and Paramedics.
        These days EMT training is a semester (15 weeks) long, usually, but not always at a local community college. The prospective student is frequently required to have a first aid card and a CPR card before beginning along with a sharpened pencil and a few scraps of clean paper. Once EMT school is finished most people work on an ambulance for at least six months before going on to paramedic school.
      Paramedic school lasts a year, involves untold sleepless hours while the student completes hundreds and hundreds of hours of clinicals, while preparing for almost weekly exams. Only about half the EMT's who enter paramedic school finish. Once the survivors finish paramedic school and pass the requisite state test they go out into the real world where they start IV's, give cardiac drugs, electrocute people and a dozen other scary and interesting things.
        In some states, there is an EMT-Intermediate level, where the practitioner can usually start IV's, but not give drugs, or something to that effect. Each state offers a slightly different set of certifications.Paramedic's skill level is growing almost by the day, as is the need for them. Being a paramedic is by far the most rewarding job I've ever had. It's tough, it takes a long time to get there, but not many people can say they bring people back from the dead for a living. Good Luck.