Being a paramedic

When it comes to emergency care, there is no one you want by your side more than an emergency medical technician EMT or a paramedic. Their knowledge of anatomy and physiology, assessment skills, and quick thinking are vital when a person needs medical help in a hurry. If you want to save lives and are interested in being the first medical provider on the scene of an incident, you might be wondering how to become a paramedic. First, though, you will likely have to become an EMT. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics , the first steps to riding an ambulance rig are completing high school or getting your GED and getting a CPR certification.

We are searching data for your request:

Wait the end of the search in all databases.
Upon completion, a link will appear to access the found materials.

Content:

• A day in the life of a paramedic
• Emergency Medical Technician
• Becoming a Paramedic Careers & Salary Outlook
• Emergency Medicine Paramedic
• 5 Things to Consider When Pursuing Paramedic Training
• Site Sections
• How do I become a Paramedic?
• Becoming a Paramedic: Getting Started
• What is the job of a paramedic and what are the requirements for certification?
• 20 Pros and Cons of Being a Paramedic

WATCH RELATED VIDEO: Why I Hate My Job As A Paramedic (Top 10 Reasons)

A day in the life of a paramedic

From an early start through to the end of shift, Megan Elsey tells the story of a day in the life of a student paramedic at Edge Hill University. During placement I usually work the 6am-6pm line with my paramedic mentor Sam. My alarm goes off at am and I roll out of bed, throw on my uniform, make sure I have everything I might need for the day ahead, such as my stethoscope and tourniquet and set off to station.

At 6am myself and the crew I am working with go into the garage to complete our essential checks on the ambulance. We check that we have everything we need for any type of emergency, check that all of our equipment works and that all our drugs are in date.

As soon as you turn on your radio and sign on for the day, control who allocate all of our jobs voice us up to check we are ready to go. As soon as this is confirmed a job is sent through. The ambulance service categorises all the calls that come through. Category one is the most life threatening and needs to be attended to within seven minutes. Category four calls have a response time of three hours. Although most people think that every day on an ambulance is different, there are typical jobs that you will be called out to to on a daily basis.

The first job of the day always tends to be elderly falls, this is due to the fact that carers go into the elderly for their morning visit and find that the patient has been on the floor all night. These are always nice jobs to attend to as you can get the patient up off the floor, and providing they have no injury's you can make them some tea and toast and sit and have a chat, a nice way to start the morning.

However, in this job it is easy to become complacent and then a category one will come through and get your adrenaline pumping. We clear from the elderly fall and a job is sent through straight away - 'birth imminent', your mind starts racing on the possible outcomes of this particular job.

The ambulance lights are on and off we go. We arrive on scene to find a lady giving birth on her bathroom floor, straight away we're asking for extra resources as this baby is going to be delivered at home.

Mum and dad are both going to be first time parents and require a lot of reassurance. Within five minutes baby is born and you suddenly start to come back down from all that adrenaline and take a minute to enjoy being able to be part of such a special occasion. Births are one of those jobs that are amazing when everything goes well and are such a privilege to be a part of, but they can also be some of the scariest jobs we attend. Just like that you climb back into the ambulance, clear off that job and wait eagerly for another to come through.

Sometimes what gets sent through to the crew via control can be completely different when you arrive on scene so you have to be ready for anything. Straight away as a crew we start discussing the possibilities of the job.

When we arrive the patient's wife escorts us into the bedroom where we find the patient not breathing - we have to act fast. As well as treating the patient it is also important to keep family members involved in what is going on. We explain to the wife that at the minute her husbands' heart is not beating for itself so we are going to help him.

Straight away we all notice that this patient is in a shockable rhythm so the defib is charged to J and a shock is delivered to the patient. We then need some extra resources in order to give this patient the best possible chance of survival. CPR is a tiring procedure and so it's important that crew members take two-minute turns in order to give the patient good quality CPR. We can then focus on everything else that needs to be done.

The senior paramedic also carries a piece of kit that allows us to drill into the bone if we are unable to find a vein, this is called intra osseous access, we gain this and begin to give our adrenaline. After a second shock we get a return of spontaneous circulation, which means the patient's heart has started to beat on its own again.

This is down to effective teamwork and treatment. The patient is transported to resus on lights and the hospital then takes over the patients care. After a cardiac arrest there is a lot of cleaning and restocking to do, it is also important as a crew to go back to station and have a debrief about the incident.

Here you are able to reflect upon your actions and talk about what went well and what could have gone better. Its particularly important in this job to be reflective as it can really help to talk about incidents that might have been distressing or upsetting, as your crew are always there to support. It's now pm and we are ready for our dinner, in this job you eat whenever you can. We have 30 minutes for dinner and we are back out on the road.

The pace of the day slows down as we are going to attend a year-old who has a headache. As an ambulance service, everybody gets sent an ambulance that rings for one; this is a category three call. We do a full assessment for the patient and advise regular pain relief and speak to the patient's own GP to inform them of our call out today.

Not everybody that rings an ambulance requires hospital treatment and we are able to refer patients to appropriate services, which means we are free to carry on attending other incidents. Its pm and we clear off our latest incident ready for what will hopefully be our last job of the day.

A category one job is put through to us - 'seizure'. These jobs are time critical due to the lack of oxygen supplied to the brain while a patient is having a seizure. We arrive on scene and find the patient still seizing on the floor. It's important that we get a cannula in this patient in order to give medication to stop the seizure, however this is a difficult task when someone is not in control of their body and unable to keep still. As a crew we work together to try and keep the arm still and we insert the cannula, the medication is administered and the seizure ends.

It is amazing to see how effective and efficient certain medications are for specific medical emergencies. Initially the patient is groggy as they are in a postictal phase, which is expected after seizures when the patient will be confused and may be agitated.

In this time, we put the patient onto a scoop and carry them out to the ambulance. However, you can never stop watching your patient as after being on the ambulance for five minutes completing our checks the patient begins to go into another seizure. This is now a time critical emergency and the patient needs to be transported to hospital, so a pre alert is put through to let the hospital know we are on our way and we set off.

On route we are giving the patient some more medication and monitoring them. We arrive at hospital and doctors are waiting for a handover. Once this is done, we are free to go. We finish half an hour late but this is the nature of the job, you cannot guarantee an on-time finish. We grab our things off the ambulance and head home, ready to do it all again tomorrow.

Jobs and work experience Search graduate jobs Job profiles Work experience and internships Employer profiles What job would suit me? Job sectors Apprenticeships Working abroad Gap year Self-employment. Search postgraduate courses Funding postgraduate study Universities and departments Study abroad Conversion courses Law qualifications. What can I do with my degree? Getting a job CVs and cover letters. Applying for jobs Interview tips Open days and events. Choosing a course Getting into university Student loans and finance.

University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university. Log in Register. Getting a job CVs and cover letters Applying for jobs Interview tips Open days and events Applying for university Choosing a course Getting into university Student loans and finance University life Changing or leaving your course Alternatives to university Post a job.

On this page First jobs of the day Being ready for anything Time to reflect Last job of the day. View all paramedic courses. From an early start through to the end of shift, Megan Elsey tells the story of a day in the life of a student paramedic at Edge Hill University During placement I usually work the 6am-6pm line with my paramedic mentor Sam. First jobs of the day The ambulance service categorises all the calls that come through. Being ready for anything Just like that you climb back into the ambulance, clear off that job and wait eagerly for another to come through.

Time to reflect After a cardiac arrest there is a lot of cleaning and restocking to do, it is also important as a crew to go back to station and have a debrief about the incident. Last job of the day Its pm and we clear off our latest incident ready for what will hopefully be our last job of the day. Find out more Read more about life as a paramedic. Take a look at the healthcare sector.

Search for postgraduate courses in paramedic studies. How would you rate this page? On a scale where 1 is dislike and 5 is like Something went wrong. Please try again. Tell us why Do not fill this in.

Emergency Medical Technician

To become a paramedic requires commitment and training through the right program. A lot of work goes into landing a job in this field, but once you do you get to enjoy a career that is meaningful and that makes a difference to people every single day. In order to become an EMT emergency medical technician or a paramedic, you need to follow a few important steps: find out if you are really cut out for this work, find and enroll in an academic and training program, pass the necessary exams, and find a job. To get started, first find out exactly what paramedics and EMTs do, so you can make an informed decision about your future career. All areas of healthcare are booming right now, but few industries are growing faster than allied health. Positions in allied health are those that support physicians and nurses and include everything from radiology technicians to medical office assistants to EMTs and paramedics. About 60 percent of health care workers have positions in allied health.

Becoming a Paramedic Careers & Salary Outlook

Paramedics, sometimes referred to as emergency medical technicians, respond to calls for emergency medical assistance. Paramedics provide preliminary treatment and transport the patient to a medical facility for further treatment if necessary. There are a number of job reasons to become a paramedic and a number of benefits for the those suited to a career in the medical profession. Because paramedics typically respond to emergency situations, their ability to quickly assess a medical condition and provide the appropriate medical care can make the difference between life and death. While this can be highly stressful for paramedics, they can also gain a high level of satisfaction from knowing that they play an important role in society. As a result, the career can be extremely rewarding for those who enjoy helping others. A career as a paramedic can appeal to those who wish to function as part of a team as opposed to working on their own. Paramedics frequently work in pairs and rely on precise teamwork with their partner to perform effectively. They must communicate well with physicians while at the scene of an emergency and when transporting the patient to a medical facility to apprise them of the condition and receive treatment guidance. Paramedics also work in conjunction with firefighters and law enforcement officers.

Emergency Medicine Paramedic

If you have an interest in medicine and can think on your feet in a crisis, the role of paramedic may be ideal. The role of a paramedic is to provide acute and life-saving aid of all kinds in the event of a medical emergency. As paramedics are the first line of response in the event of such emergencies, the role typically involves pre-hospital and out of hospital work. A career as a paramedic is difficult and demanding. Many paramedics quit after just five years of the role, transferring to another medical position.

5 Things to Consider When Pursuing Paramedic Training

From an early start through to the end of shift, Megan Elsey tells the story of a day in the life of a student paramedic at Edge Hill University. During placement I usually work the 6am-6pm line with my paramedic mentor Sam. My alarm goes off at am and I roll out of bed, throw on my uniform, make sure I have everything I might need for the day ahead, such as my stethoscope and tourniquet and set off to station. At 6am myself and the crew I am working with go into the garage to complete our essential checks on the ambulance. We check that we have everything we need for any type of emergency, check that all of our equipment works and that all our drugs are in date. As soon as you turn on your radio and sign on for the day, control who allocate all of our jobs voice us up to check we are ready to go.

Site Sections

Paramedics and emergency medical technicians EMTs care for the sick or injured in emergency medical settings. They respond to emergency calls, performing medical services and transporting patients to medical facilities. They work both indoors and outdoors, in all types of weather. Their work is physically strenuous and can be stressful, sometimes involving life-or-death situations. Paramedics generally provide more extensive pre-hospital care than do EMTs. In addition to carrying out the procedures that EMTs use, paramedics can give medications orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms EKGs —used to monitor heart function—and use other monitors and complex equipment.

How do I become a Paramedic?

Paramedic training is intense and rigorous, but the rewards of serving others can be tremendous. A paramedic's job is to perform advanced life support ALS , which includes administering IV fluids, injections, medications and performing advanced respiratory procedures. A paramedic also performs many of the same functions as a basic EMT, such as treating wounds, performing CPR , delivering babies, and performing patient assessments. EMT: Which path is right for you?

Becoming a Paramedic: Getting Started

RELATED VIDEO: What Is Being a Paramedic Really Like? - This Morning

People's lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of New Castle County paramedics. Incidents as varied as automobile crashes, heart attacks, drownings, asthma attacks, and gunshot wounds often require immediate medical intervention to save the victim's life. Paramedics bring the capabilities of a hospital emergency room directly to the scene of an emergency, and deliver advanced life support care to victims of sudden illness or injury. In an emergency, paramedics are typically dispatched to the scene by a center and often work with other emergency response personnel, including police, firefighters, and basic life support ambulance services.

What is the job of a paramedic and what are the requirements for certification?

Personal Skills:. Subscribe to our FREE newsletter and start improving your life in just 5 minutes a day. Working as a paramedic is a fast-paced yet highly rewarding career that allows you to be there for others in their time of need. If you like the idea of a job that provides a lot of adrenaline rushes and no two days are the same, this could be the ideal choice for you. Before enrolling at university, many paramedics get experience by taking first aid courses and working as a first-aider at their place of work or study. During your studies, working as a first aid course tutor can be a great source of experience.

20 Pros and Cons of Being a Paramedic

In Ontario, high school graduates who wish to become paramedics must attend a recognized paramedic program at a Community College. Almost all college Paramedic programs are 2 years in length. The "Class F" Ambulance Drivers license medical must be repeated as follows:. Physical requirements should follow best-practice guidelines as established by researchers at Wilfred Laurier University.