Typically, persons interested in EMS must be 18 years of age, take and pass
an EMT education course, and not have a criminal background. EMT courses are
taught in a variety of settings throughout the United States. All US Army and
Air Force “medics,” are EMTs. The location of courses can be found by contacting
State EMS Offices, found on our website. The EMT course requires about 200 hours
of education to complete. Many EMTs, particularly in rural areas volunteer
to be on the EMS service. Most volunteers are compensated in some fashion for
EMS work. A majority of EMTs are paid ambulance personnel and work either for
Fire Departments, with Ambulance services, or hospitals that deliver local EMS
care. nremt
Emergency Medical personnel have designations or titles based upon the amount of
education and scope of care they provide to patients. The National EMS Scope of
Practice Model has four levels of EMS care. Below is the designations followed
by the recommended amount of education required to reach that level of care:
Emergency Medical Responder
(formerly First Responder)
Emergency Medical Responder (EMR), 44 hours of education. An EMR provides
front line EMS care, typically within a team but are not educated to take care
of patients in the back of an ambulance. Most EMRs are on rapid response
vehicles and help other EMS providers at a scene.
Emergency
Medical Technician
Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), 150 hours of education (200 in GA). An
EMT can serve in the patient compartment of an ambulance. EMTs use medical
equipment such as automatic defibrillators, deliver trauma care and are educated
in a simple way over all injuries and diseases. EMTs form the backbone of EMS
delivery in the United States. Most work in a team with more advanced providers
Advanced EMT
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (AEMT), 136 additional hours of
education. To be an AEMT requires a person to first be an EMT, then take the
advanced education course. Some states combine EMT and AEMT education in 300+ hour courses. AEMTs provide interventions to patients that if done improperly
can cause harm. The AEMT level of care is new in the United States.
Paramedic
Paramedic, 1,112 hours of accredited education. Paramedics provide the most
advanced care of all EMS professionals. To become a Paramedic a person must
first be an EMT. Paramedic education is accredited by the Commission on Allied
Health Education Accreditation. Paramedics work primarily in urban and suburban
communities. About 95% of Paramedics are fully compensated employees.
EMT-Tactical™
Tactical Medic, 52+ additional education beyond EMT. The typical Tactical
Medic provides medical support to the police tactical unit (SWAT) or
the military medic providing medical support to a unit of combat soldiers. Many
Tactical Medics are credentialed police officers in addition to serving as the
medic on the special team. For more information about our EMT-Tactical
certification course, visit
emtt.org.
CPR and AED class to prepare you to save the life of a
loved one or family member
Healthcare professional?
Courses that meet your needs could include BLS for Healthcare
Providers, ACLS, PALS or one of our many other
advanced emergency cardiovascular care courses.
Employee outside of the healthcare field who needs a credentialed
course for your job or to meet OSHA requirements?
A Heartsaver® CPR, AED, First Aid or
Bloodborne Pathogens class is probably best for you.
Recognized as the world’s
premier program for prehospital emergency trauma care, offers a unique approach
to trauma care, promoting critical thinking and addressing multi-system trauma
for the best patient care. PHTLS was developed in cooperation with the American
College of Surgeons Committee on Trauma. It is the preferred trauma program for
the United States Armed Forces.
TCCC
The TCCC course is
the military counterpart to the PHTLS course. It is designed for military
medics, corpsmen, and pararescuemen who are preparing to deploy in support of
combat operations. Casualty care on the battlefield must be the best possible
combination of good medicine and good small-unit tactics.
