Skills needed for a paramedic

Paramedics usually respond to emergency team to provide initial treatment in an emergency situation. They may either work for private companies or as a part of emergency response team. But the main intention being transporting the patient immediately to the nearby medical care facility.

• Emergency skills: They must understand the broad scope of emergency medicine and emergency rescue skills. They must also have knowledge of rescue techniques like oxygen delivery systems, taking care for wounds, bleeding and heart attack response procedures.

• Physical skills: Paramedics are expected to have good hand-eye coordination as many medical procedures require very delicate work they will have to bend, crouch, lean, twist and turn etc. they must be able to lift heavy objects as a part of job. They are also expected to have good driving skills as a part of job.

• Anatomy: Paramedics are expected to understand physical anatomy so as to address medical emergencies. They must exactly know the placement of bones and tissues in the body with which they can assess the extent of danger in an emergency situation.

• Equipment skills: They must know how to use the basic emergency response equipment for providing initial first aid treatment for the patients along with specialized equipment like giving intravenous fluids and taking care of pregnancies.  They must interpret electrocardiograms, canulate patients, if necessary perform minor surgeries. They must properly know how to set up and operate along with storing all equipment properly.

• Wound identification: They must properly identify the type and severity of wound. They must differentiate between types of burns and determine the severity of the cuts give proper treatment with medicines or ointment and advice patients about the after care they are supposed to take for the wound.

• Communications skills: They must have very good communication skills and make the patient understand the procedures they are going to conduct on them. It is always advised that a Paramedic knows two or three languages to communicate with all kinds of patients. And they need to make them comfortable without getting panic.

Educational requirements

Paramedics are trained professionals to treat patient who are injured by any accidents or have any serious problems like heart attacks, pregnancy etc. they access the medical condition of the patient and on authorization of the doctor provide initial treatment and administer proper care until they arrive medical care facility.

• A high school diploma is required to enter formal Paramedic training program.

• EMT training is the first level of education which is offered at community colleges or technical/ junior colleges.

• The basic training that is provided in EMT is evaluating patient condition, cardiac emergency response, emergency childbirth and airway management for choking     (suffocating) victims.

•  EMT intermediate is a 30 to 350 hours of training based on the range of practice. In this practice students are expected to learn advanced skills like using advanced airway devices, intravenous fluids, and some medications.

• The most advanced level of training is considered as Paramedics training in these caregivers are trained in anatomy and physiology along with advanced medical skills.

• These programs may take one to two years to complete in community /technical/ junior colleges which will usually result in an associate degree.

• They are trained to be emotionally stable, have good sleight, nimbleness, and have physical coordination and be able to lift heavy loads and carry.

• They are also required to have good eyesight with accurate color vision.

• With all the above education a graduate can now be prepared to take up NREMT examination to become certified as a Paramedic.

Usually Paramedic’s duties differ from one day to another but the responsibilities remain the same they perform very essential duties which serve the community they evaluate the condition of the patient, provide first aid, and immediately take the patients to pre-hospital medical emergency response team.

Duties and responsibilities of a Paramedic

• Paramedics work together with police and firefighter on emergency scenes to provide immediate medical attention.
• Paramedics are responsible for attending emergency situations where they need to evaluate the condition of the ill patient and determine which medical steps are required.
• If the patient condition is such a position that they need physician’s assistance they should try to stabilize the patient and immediately transport them to hospital.
• They are responsible for making a note of each and every moment of the patient throughout the transport in such a way that emergency room doctors will have immediate information about the patient condition and the changes that Paramedics attended to while in transit.
• They should always possess important equipment required by the patient and they perform some methods like taking blood samples, giving oxygen and cardiac medical care.
• They perform small surgical tasks like minor wounds.
• They can administer medications orally and intravenous and interpret electrocardiograms.
• They user certain equipment and monitors to keep the patient safe till they reach any health care facilities.
• They take consultation with the doctor in the emergency room through two-way radio or telephone to get authorization for performing certain procedures.
• It is the responsibility of the Paramedics to clean the area that may have become contaminated from patients who have communicable diseases.
• They need to ensure that equipment which they use are functioning properly and replace used supplies and make a record of entire trip before attending next emergency.
• Usually they are expected to work in teams one drive the ambulance while another provide required medical needs to injured patient and transport them to medical care facility.
• Depending on the condition of the ill patient they work with helicopter flight crews to transport ill patient to the nearby hospital.

Certifications for paramedics

To get Paramedic certification candidate must meet the following requirement:

• They must complete 18 years of age.
• They must possess National Certificate or current state certificate at the EMT basic level or higher.
• They must complete successfully the state approved EMT Paramedic course which will meet the standards of United States Paramedic National Standard curriculum which may take two years to complete and must be verified by program director on NREMT website.
• To get the certificate Paramedics are required to complete both cognitive and psychomotor exam which will be valid for twelve months.
• This cognitive examination is a Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) which will cover the entire range EMS care like airway, ventilation, oxygenation of blood, trauma situations, cardiology etc. in order to pass the examination they must meet a standard level of competency .
• If the candidate has not cleared the examination the NREMT will send the feedback on their performance and they can apply for retest in fifteen days after last examination.
• The next important examination which Paramedic needs to pass is the psychomotor examination after cognition exam.
• The psychomotor examination consists of twelve separate skills like patient, assessment trauma, ventilator management, cardiac management skills, IV and medication skills, oral station, pediatric skills and random basic skills which are very important to know for a Paramedic and this is a formal verification by the candidate’s hands-on abilities and knowledge.
• Cognitive and psychomotor passed examinations will be valid for twelve months from the date of the examination.
• If the candidate ‘s EMS national certification has lapsed after two years period and they are still on state certified Paramedic level then they must document successful completion of EMT Paramedic course , complete online application and pay the fees online. In addition, they need to successfully complete the cognitive and psychomotor examinations.

Who is paramedic what is their job?
Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians usually provide care for the people in response to their phone calls they generally come to rescue or save the people who are in emergency medical situations. They are the first people to respond to emergency crisis like car accidents, childbirth, heart attacks, and any other serious injury that require immediate medical attention. They usually work for ambulance services, local governments, and hospitals to deliver all ages of patients who are in need of emergency treatment. Most of the Paramedical work on ground like receiving calls and going to emergency situation by ambulance but most of them work even in helicopters, planes with specially equipped medical emergencies. They are expected to have certain qualities like Paramedics should be physically fit, they are always on calls, should be able to work in irregular hours and must be able to handle diverse situations.
Paramedics usually analyze patient’s condition and use different equipment to immobilize and secure the patients according to the situation of the patient they monitor vital signs and report the same information to the hospital emergency personnel. They mainly attempt to stabilize patients and make them feel comfortable and alleviate their pain depending on the condition of the patient and the distance of health care facility they either take them by ambulance or by helicopters. They are always equipped with medical supplies and stretchers for them to enable to help patients and place them into ambulance. They are the first persons to rush to the scenes of any kind of incident in vehicles outfitted with sirens and flashing lights after receiving instructions form the emergency dispatcher. They provide immediate and initial care for the patients who are injured in car accidents, gunshots wounds, sports injuries, heart attacks and pregnancies.

Salary and remuneration for paramedics

Depending on various factors like years of experience, geographical location the salary of Paramedics differs according to rules and regulations of each state.

• The median average annual income of Paramedics is $35,867 per annum.
• The starting salary of Paramedics who is with less than one year of experience is between $15,205 and $24,248 per annum.
• Paramedics who are with one to four years of experience earned an average salary of $23,518and $51,987 per annum.
• Paramedics with five to nine years of experience earned between $29,210 and $57,508 per annum.
• The income of Paramedics who are with ten to nineteen years of experience in the field earn between $32,268 and $70,253 per annum.
• Paramedics with more than twenty years of experience will get an average income of $35,420 and $98,754 per annum.

Location also plays an important role in determining salaries as it mostly depends on the cost of living in that particular place and the rules and regulations of that particular state.

Salaries according to geographical location

• A Paramedic working in Hawaii earns an average income of $47,380per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Alaska earns an average income of $46,630 per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Oregon earns an average income of $43,220 per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Washington earns an average income of $41,830 per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Maryland earns an average income of $23,860 per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Arkansas earns an average income of $28,630 per annum.
• A Paramedic working in Pennsylvania earns an average income of $49,656 per annum.