Emergency Medical Technician is the entry level of
Emergency Medical Technician
An emergency medical technician (EMT), also known as an ambulance technician, is a health professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances. In English-speaking countries, paramedics are ...
(pre-hospital
emergency medical provider) in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
.
EMTs are not trained to provide definitive medical care, but instead focus on rapid in-field treatment and transport to higher medical providers. EMTs work in conjunction with other medical providers such as
paramedics
A paramedic is a registered healthcare professional who works autonomously across a range of health and care settings and may specialise in clinical practice, as well as in education, leadership, and research.
Not all ambulance personnel are p ...
,
nurses
Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
, and
physicians
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
, as well as with other EMTs. When operating in the prehospital environment, their actions are governed by protocols and procedures set by their system's physician
medical director.
Education and training
EMT training is regulated at both the state and federal level. At the federal level, the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA ) is an agency of the U.S. federal government, part of the Department of Transportation. It describes its mission as "Save lives, prevent injuries, reduce vehicle-related crashes" rela ...
(NHTSA) has developed a minimum content and hour curriculum, but it is not binding on the states. This is known as the ''National Standard Curriculum''.
Under the NHTSA curriculum, students receive 110 hours of lecture and lab time covering anatomy, physiology, legal aspects of medical care, assessment, and treatment of
medical
Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care practic ...
,
trauma
Trauma most often refers to:
* Major trauma, in physical medicine, severe physical injury caused by an external source
* Psychological trauma, a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a severely distressing event
*Traumatic i ...
,
behavioral
Behavior (American English) or behaviour (British English) is the range of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems or artificial entities in some environment. These systems can include other systems or organisms as well ...
, and
obstetric
Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgic ...
emergencies. In addition to class time, the NHTSA recommends clinical rotations on board
ambulances
An ambulance is a medically equipped vehicle which transports patients to treatment facilities, such as hospitals. Typically, out-of-hospital medical care is provided to the patient during the transport.
Ambulances are used to respond to medi ...
and in
emergency departments
An emergency department (ED), also known as an accident and emergency department (A&E), emergency room (ER), emergency ward (EW) or casualty department, is a medical treatment facility specializing in emergency medicine, the acute care of pati ...
.
Using NHTSA guidelines, the
National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians is a US certification agency covering prehospital medical providers.
History
The NREMT was established in 1970 in response to a recommendation from President Lyndon Johnson's Committee on ...
have developed and implemented certification tests for the NHTSA EMT levels, including the EMT level. As of 2006, 39 US states utilize the NREMT EMT exam as part of the state licensing and/or certification procedure.
Once certified, EMTs are required to obtain continuing education hours to recertify. Recertification requirements vary from state to state. Continuing education courses can cover a variety of topics, provided that they cover relevant material, including college courses covering anatomy, physiology, or psychology, to more applied courses that are either standardized, such as a
Prehospital Trauma Life Support (PHTLS), or tailored to the needs of an individual EMS system or region.
Some states allow for an already certified EMT from another state to apply for reciprocity in their state. The states that participate in this can be found by contacting the certification boards of each state or on their websites.
Scope of practice
The scope of medical practice for EMTs is regulated by state law, and can vary significantly both among states as well as inside states. In general, EMTs provide what is considered
basic life support
Basic life support (BLS) is a level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries until they can be given full medical care by advanced life support providers (paramedics, nurses, physicians). It can be pr ...
(BLS) and are limited to essentially non-invasive procedures. Besides employing basic medical assessment skills, typical procedures provided by EMTs include
CPR
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) is an emergency procedure consisting of chest compressions often combined with artificial ventilation in an effort to manually preserve intact brain function until further measures are taken to restore sponta ...
,
automated external defibrillation, mechanical ventilation using a bag valve mask, placement of air way adjuncts such as
oropharyngeal
The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struct ...
and
nasopharyngeal
The pharynx (plural: pharynges) is the part of the throat behind the mouth and nasal cavity, and above the oesophagus and trachea (the tubes going down to the stomach and the lungs). It is found in vertebrates and invertebrates, though its struct ...
airways, pulse
oximetry
Pulse oximetry is a noninvasive method for monitoring a person's oxygen saturation. Peripheral oxygen saturation (SpO2) readings are typically within 2% accuracy (within 4% accuracy in 95% of cases) of the more accurate (and invasive) reading o ...
, glucose testing using a
glucometer, splinting (including spinal immobilization and
traction splint
A traction splint most commonly refers to a splinting device that uses straps attaching over the pelvis or hip as an anchor, a metal rod(s) to mimic normal bone stability and limb length, and a mechanical device to apply traction (used in an at ...
s), and suctioning. In addition, EMT-Bs are trained to assist patients with administration of certain prescribed medications, including nitroglycerin,
metered-dose inhaler
A metered-dose inhaler (MDI) is a device that delivers a specific amount of medication to the lungs, in the form of a short burst of aerosolized medicine that is usually self-administered by the patient via inhalation. It is the most commonly used ...
such as
albuterol
Salbutamol, also known as albuterol and sold under the brand name Ventolin among others, is a medication that opens up the medium and large airways in the lungs. It is a short-acting β2 adrenergic receptor agonist which works by causing rel ...
, and epinephrine auto injectors such as the
EpiPen
An epinephrine autoinjector (or adrenaline autoinjector, also known by the trademark EpiPen) is a medical device for injecting a measured dose or doses of epinephrine (adrenaline) by means of autoinjector technology. It is most often used for t ...
. EMT-Bs can typically also administer certain non-preprescribed drugs including oxygen, oral glucose, and
activated charcoal
"Activated" is a song by English singer Cher Lloyd. It was released on 22 July 2016 through Vixen Records. The song was made available to stream exclusively on ''Rolling Stone'' a day before to release (on 21 July 2016).
Background
In an interv ...
(usually upon medical direction).
[ In response to the opioid overdose epidemic, states are rapidly changing protocols to permit EMT-Bs to administer ]naloxone
Naloxone, sold under the brand names Narcan (4 mg) and Kloxxado (8 mg) among others, is a medication used to reverse or reduce the effects of opioids. It is commonly used to counter decreased breathing in opioid overdose. Effects begin within ...
as well.
Individually, each state is free to add or subtract to their EMTs scope of practice. For example, EMTs working in California may not administer activated charcoal, an NHTSA approved intervention, under a standard certification. Local EMS systems (i.e. counties in California) can apply to the state to implement an extended scope of practice for EMTs that includes activated charcoal as well as other pharmaceutical interventions not normally allowed to be administered by EMTs.
See also
* Emergency medical responder levels by state
In the United States, the licensing of prehospital emergency medical providers ( emergency medical technicians) (EMTs) and oversight of emergency medical services are governed at the state level. Each state is free to add or subtract levels as each ...
* National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians
The National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians is an American professional association representing Emergency medical technicians and paramedics.
Lobbying
In March 2013, the association unsuccessfully lobbied for the Veteran Emer ...
* Emergency Medical Services in the United States
In the United States, emergency medical services (EMS) provide out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care for those in need. They are regulated at the most basic level by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administra ...
* Medic
A medic is a person involved in medicine such as a medical doctor, medical student, paramedic or an emergency medical responder.
Among physicians in the UK, the term "medic" indicates someone who has followed a "medical" career path in postgradu ...
* Combat medic
A combat medic, or healthcare specialist, is responsible for providing emergency medical treatment at a point of wounding in a combat or training environment, as well as primary care and health protection and evacuation from a point of injury ...
* Rescue squad
A rescue squad is an emergency service that provides technical rescue services, and may also provide emergency medical services and firefighting services. Rescue squads may be standalone organizations or an integrated part of fire departments o ...
* Wilderness emergency medical technician
References
External links
National Highway Traffic Safety Agency, Office of Emergency Medical Services
The Basics about Emergency Medical Technician
{{Emergency medicine
Emergency medical responders
Emergency medical services in the United States
Medical credentials
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