8.1 Research Paramedic as a career EMT/ Paramedic 8.1 Research Paramedic as a career

What do they do Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics care for the sick or injured in emergency medical settings. People’s lives often depend on their quick reaction and competent care. EMTs and paramedics respond to emergency calls, performing medical services and transporting patients to medical facilities.

Duties Respond to 911 calls for emergency medical assistance, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) or bandaging a wound Assess a patient’s condition and determine a course of treatment Follow guidelines that they learned in training and that they receive from physicians who oversee their work

Duties Use backboards and restraints to keep patients still and safe in an ambulance for transport Help transfer patients to the emergency department of a healthcare facility and report their observations and treatment to the staff Create a patient care report; documenting the medical care they gave the patient Replace used supplies and check or clean equipment after use

When taking a patient to the hospital, one EMT or paramedic may drive the ambulance while another monitors the patient's vital signs and gives additional care. Some paramedics work as part of a helicopter's flight crew to transport critically ill or injured patients to a hospital.

Titles An EMT-Basic, also known as an EMT, cares for patients at the scene and while taking patients by ambulance to a hospital. An EMT-Basic has the emergency skills to assess a patient's condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies.

An EMT-Intermediate also known as Advanced EMT, has completed the training required at the EMT-Basic level, as well as training for more advanced skills, such as the use of intravenous fluids and some medications.

Paramedics provide more extensive prehospital 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.

Work Environment 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 and patients who are suffering.

Schedule Because EMTs and paramedics must be available to work in emergencies, they may work overnight and on weekends. Some EMTs and paramedics are volunteers and have varied work schedules.

Standard 8.1 Research EMT/Paramedic as a career

School/Certification All emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics must complete a formal training program. All states require EMTs and paramedics to be licensed; requirements vary by state.

Salary The median annual wage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics was $30,360 in May 2010. top 10 percent earned more than $51,370.

Job Outlook expected to grow by 33 percent from 2010 to 2020, much faster than the average for all occupations.

SAMPLE History SAMPLE history is an way to remember key questions for a person's medical assessment. The questions are most commonly used in the field of emergency medicine by first responders. It is used for alert people, but often much of this information can also be obtained from the family or friend of an unresponsive person.

SAMPLE History Signs and Symptoms Allergies Medications Pertinent medical history, injuries, illnesses Last meal/intake Events leading up to the injury and/or illness

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START Triage Simple triage and rapid treatment (START) is a triage method used by first responders to quickly classify victims during a mass casualty incident (MCI) based on the severity of their injury.

First responders using START evaluate victims and assign them to one of the following four categories: Immediate (red) Delayed (yellow) Walking wounded/minor (green) Deceased/expectant (black) The colors correspond to triage tags, which are used by some agencies to indicate each victim's status, although physical tags are not necessary if patients can be physically sorted into different areas.

Responders arriving to the scene of a mass casualty incident may first ask that any victim who is able to walk relocate to a certain area, thereby identifying the ambulatory, or walking wounded, patients. Non-ambulatory patients are then assessed. The only medical intervention used prior to declaring a patient deceased is an attempt to open the airway. Any patient who is not breathing after this attempt is classified as deceased and given a black tag. No further interventions or therapies are attempted on deceased patients until all other patients have been treated. Patients who are breathing and have any of the following conditions are classified as immediate: respiratory rate greater than 30 per minute. unresponsive (unable to follow commands) All other patients are classified as delayed.

TRIAGE TAG

SCENARIOS You are assigned the duty of triage officer at a local factory where an explosion has taken place due to a gas leak. Utility workers have turned off power and gas at this time and the scene is safe. There are 435 workers at the site and many were in the area of the explosion.

The next patient is a 50 y/o welder with partial amputation of RLE at the ankle. No radial pulses are noted. RR 28/min.

The next patient is a 36 year old pipe fitter with fracture of humerus. He is in pain, but no other obvious distress or injury noted. He rates pain of 8/10 when prompted.

The next patient is a 42 y/o fabricator with fracture of tib/fib with deformity. He is in severe pain 10/10. RR 34, Radial pulse 120. You would tag:

Scenario 2 A tornado hits a small town and a day care with approximately 25 children is involved.

You first patient is 2 year old who was thrown from the building. He is unresponsive with a hematoma to the forhead. RR 34, Radial pulse 120. You would tag:

You third patient is 2 year old who was trapped under building debris. He is unresponsive, no pulse and not breathing. You would:

A 6 y/o was found in a back bedroom. He is semiconscious. RR are 10/min. Pulses are present.

Scenario #3 A bus carrying school children of various ages and their chaperones on a field trip loses control, slams into a another vehicle.

A toddler lies with his lower body trapped under a seat inside the bus.  Apneic  Remains apneic with modified jaw thrust  No pulse

A school aged girl crawls out of the wreckage. She’s able to stand and walk toward you crying.  Jacket and shirt torn  No obvious bleeding

Lab EACH STUDENT WILL PERFORM EITHER A TRAUMA OR BLEEDING CONTROL/SHOCK MANAGEMENT ASSESSMENT. PT. ASSESSMENT CHART WILL BE TURNED IN TO YOUR CHART PLEASE HAVE YOUR SCRUBS ON.

LETS GO OVER YOUR ASSESSMENT SHEETS