What is an EMT?
People’s lives often depend on the quick reaction and competent care of emergency medical technicians (EMTs). Incidents as varied as automobile accidents, heart attacks, slips and falls, childbirth, and gunshot wounds all require immediate medical attention. EMTs provide this vital service as they care for and transport the sick or injured to a medical facility.
In an emergency, EMTs are dispatched by a 911 operator to the scene, where they often work with other emergency service personnel. Once they arrive, EMTs assess the nature of the patient’s condition while trying to determine whether the patient has any pre-existing medical conditions. Following medical protocols and guidelines, they provide appropriate emergency care and, transport the patient. Emergency treatment is carried out under the medical direction of physicians.
EMTs use special equipment, such as backboards, to immobilize patients before placing them on stretchers and securing them in the ambulance for transport to a medical facility. During the transport of a patient, one EMT drives while the other monitors the patient and gives additional care as needed.
At the medical facility, EMTs help transfer patients to the emergency department, report their observations and actions to emergency department staff, and may provide additional emergency treatment. After each emergency that a crew responds to (run), EMTs replace used supplies and check equipment.
EMTs also provide transportation for patients from one medical facility to another, particularly if they work for private ambulance services. Patients often need to be transferred to a hospital that specializes in their injury or illness or to a nursing home.
All graduates of the West Queens Emergency Medical Training Institute EMT program are eligible to receive both New York State Certification and National Registry as an EMT.
The EMT-Basic represents the first component of the emergency medical technician system. An EMT trained at this level is prepared to care for patients at the scene of an accident and while transporting patients by ambulance to the hospital under medical direction. The EMT-Basic has the emergency skills to assess a patient’s condition and manage respiratory, cardiac, and trauma emergencies.
|
