Emergency Medical Technician
Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics
29-2041.00
Median wages
$31,590
Assess injuries, administer emergency medical care, and extricate trapped individuals. Transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.
- Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
- Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
- Perform emergency diagnostic and treatment procedures, such as stomach suction, airway management, or heart monitoring, during ambulance ride.
- Observe, record, and report to physician the patient's condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.
- Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
- Drive mobile intensive care unit to specified location, following instructions from emergency medical dispatcher.
- Decontaminate ambulance interior following treatment of patient with infectious disease and report case to proper authorities.
- Administer drugs, orally or by injection, or perform intravenous procedures under a physician's direction.
- Immobilize patient for placement on stretcher and ambulance transport, using backboard or other spinal immobilization device.
- Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
- Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment and replenish first aid equipment and supplies.
- Communicate with dispatchers or treatment center personnel to provide information about situation, to arrange reception of victims, or to receive instructions for further treatment.
- Coordinate with treatment center personnel to obtain patients' vital statistics and medical history, to determine the circumstances of the emergency, and to administer emergency treatment.
- Comfort and reassure patients.
- Attend training classes to maintain certification licensure, keep abreast of new developments in the field, or maintain existing knowledge.
- Information retrieval or search software — Epocrates; HyperTox; Skyscape Rosen and Barkin's 5-Minute Emergency Medicine Consult; TechOnSoftware HazMatCE Pro
- Medical software — MedDataSolutions Regist*r; MEDITECH software
- Office suite software — Microsoft Office
- Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel
- Word processing software — Microsoft Word
- Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
- Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
- Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
- Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Monitoring — Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Operation and Control — Controlling operations of equipment or systems.
- Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
- Operation Monitoring — Watching gauges, dials, or other indicators to make sure a machine is working properly.
- Science — Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.
- Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
