Paramedic
A paramedic is a healthcare professional that works in emergency medical situations. Paramedics provide advanced levels of care for medical emergencies and trauma. The majority of paramedics are based in the field in ambulances, emergency response vehicles, or in specialist mobile units such as cycle response. Paramedics can perform as field doctors, providing extensive out-of-hospital treatment and diagnostic services, although some may undertake hospital-based roles, such as in the treatment of minor injuries.
In Canada the paramedic is a health professional, providing pre-hospital assessment and medical care to the victims of illnesses or injuries. The term is generally limited to include those who work on emergency and non-emergency patient transport service environment ambulances. In Canada, the term 'paramedic' is typically used generically, to refer to anyone who works on a land or air ambulance. This may not be unreasonable, since the entry level in some jurisdictions involves substantially more mandatory education and training than paramedics (generally speaking Advanced Care Paramedic equivalent) in other environments, and the skill set is sometimes, but not always, beyond that of an EMT (generally speaking Primary Care Paramedic equivalent). Increasingly in Canada, paramedics are becoming self-regulated health professionals, operating and regulated in the same manner as nurses, physiotherapists, etc.
Structure of Employment
Paramedics are employed by a variety of different organizations, and the services provided by paramedics may occur under differing organizational structures, depending on the part of the world. A new and evolving role for paramedics involves the expansion of their practice into the provision of relatively basic primary health care and assessment services.
Some paramedics have begun to specialize their practice, frequently in association with the environment in which they will work. Some early examples of this involved aviation medicine and the use of helicopters, and the transfer of critical care patients between facilities. While some jurisdictions still use physicians, nurses, and technicians for transporting patients, increasingly this role falls to specialized senior and experienced paramedics. Other areas of specialization include such roles as tactical paramedics working in police units, marine paramedics, hazardous materials (Hazmat) teams, Heavy Urban Search and Rescue, and paramedics on offshore oil platforms, oil and mineral exploration teams, and in the military.
The majority of paramedics are employed by the municipal emergency medical service for their area, although this employer could be itself be working under a number of models, including a specific autonomous public ambulance service, a fire department, a hospital based service or a private company working under contract. There are also legions of paramedics who volunteer for back country rescue teams, small town rescue squads, and the like.
The provision of municipal ambulance services, and paramedics, can vary by area, even within the same country or state. For instance, in Canada, the state of British Columbia operates a state wide service (the British Columbia Ambulance Service) whereas in Ontario, the service is provided by each municipality, either as a distinct service, linked to the fire brigade, or contracted out to a third party.
Common skills
While there are varying degrees of training and expectations around the world, a general set of skills shared by essentially all paramedics and EMTs includes:
- Spinal injury management, including immobilization and safe transport
- Fracture management, including assessment, splinting, and use of traction splints where appropriate
- Obstetrics, including assessment, assisting with uncomplicated childbirth, and recognition of and procedures for obstetrical emergencies such as breech presentation, cord presentation, and placental abruption
- Management of burns, including classification, estimate of surface area, recognition of more serious burns, and treatment
- Triage of patients in a mass casualty incident
- Assessment and evaluation of general incident scene safety
- Effective verbal and written reporting skills (charting)
- Routine medical equipment maintenance procedures
- Routine radio operating procedures
- Emergency vehicle operation
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedic, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paramedics_in_Canada
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