Emergency medical responder
Encyclopedia
Emergency medical responders are people who are specially trained to provide out-of-hospital care in medical emergencies
. There are many different types of emergency medical responders, each with different levels of training, ranging from first aid
and basic life support
to advanced life support
. Terms may have different meanings with different training requirements in different countries.
is a term that may be used to denote a wide range of trained medical responders, from people who provide basic first aid to physician
s. Usage of medic does not imply that the individual provides any specific level of care. In some areas, paramedic
is also used as a general term for medical responders. However, paramedic may also be a specific level of training.
A first responder is the first medically trained personnel who come in to contact with a patient. Additionally, there are several levels of training that are referred to as first responders.
skills and CPR. Healthcare providers who are certified first responder
s (known as community first responder
s in the UK) have some additional training in basic life support. These responders may either be lay people or associated with an ambulance
service. In the US the term "Emergency Medical Responder" will largely replace the term "Certified First Responder" beginning 2012.
Emergency medical technician
s (EMT) are the next level of providers. Within the United States, there are three common levels of EMTs, each with an increased scope of practice
: EMT-Basic
, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic (also known as a paramedic).
Paramedic
s have the most training of the emergency medical responders. Paramedics perform advanced life support
.
Emergency physician
s may also respond to serious medical emergencies. Depending on the location, physicians may work on an ambulance
, an air ambulance
, or use a fly-car
.
. There are several levels of certification that parallel the aforementioned levels, which include Wilderness First Responder
and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
.
Street medic
s provide medical care at protests and demonstrations. They have varying degrees of medical training and are usually volunteers.
Flight medic
s are usually trained paramedics who may receive an additional certification (FP-C
) to function in an aeromedical environment. Flight medics work out of an air ambulance
.
A combat medic
is a trained soldier
who is responsible for providing first aid and front-line trauma care on the battlefield
. In the Royal Army Medical Corps
of the British Army
, these medics are known as Combat Medical Technician
. In the United States Army
, these healthcare specialists are known as 68W
(the Military Occupational Specialty
classification).
Medical emergency
A medical emergency is an injury or illness that is acute and poses an immediate risk to a person's life or long term health. These emergencies may require assistance from another person, who should ideally be suitably qualified to do so, although some of these emergencies can be dealt with by the...
. There are many different types of emergency medical responders, each with different levels of training, ranging from first aid
First aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
and basic life support
Basic life support
Basic life support is the level of medical care which is used for patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries until the patient can be given full medical care at a hospital. It can be provided by trained medical personnel, including emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and by...
to advanced life support
Advanced Life Support
Advanced Life Support is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend Basic Life Support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation .-Components of ALS:These include:...
. Terms may have different meanings with different training requirements in different countries.
General terms
MedicMedic
Medic is a general term for a person involved in medicine, especially emergency or first-response medicine, such as an emergency medical technician, paramedic, or a military member trained in battlefield medicine. Also the term is used toward a Nurse in pre-hospital care and/or emergency...
is a term that may be used to denote a wide range of trained medical responders, from people who provide basic first aid to physician
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
s. Usage of medic does not imply that the individual provides any specific level of care. In some areas, paramedic
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...
is also used as a general term for medical responders. However, paramedic may also be a specific level of training.
A first responder is the first medically trained personnel who come in to contact with a patient. Additionally, there are several levels of training that are referred to as first responders.
Levels of training
First responders, as a level of training, perform basic first aidFirst aid
First aid is the provision of initial care for an illness or injury. It is usually performed by non-expert, but trained personnel to a sick or injured person until definitive medical treatment can be accessed. Certain self-limiting illnesses or minor injuries may not require further medical care...
skills and CPR. Healthcare providers who are certified first responder
Certified first responder
A certified first responder is a person who has completed a course and received certification in providing pre-hospital care for medical emergencies. They have more skill than someone who is trained in basic first aid but they are not a substitute for advanced medical care rendered by emergency...
s (known as community first responder
Community first responder
A Community First Responder , is a person available to be dispatched by an ambulance control centre to attend medical emergencies in their local area...
s in the UK) have some additional training in basic life support. These responders may either be lay people or associated with an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
service. In the US the term "Emergency Medical Responder" will largely replace the term "Certified First Responder" beginning 2012.
Emergency medical technician
Emergency medical technician
Emergency Medical Technician or Ambulance Technician are terms used in some countries to denote a healthcare provider of emergency medical services...
s (EMT) are the next level of providers. Within the United States, there are three common levels of EMTs, each with an increased scope of practice
Scope of Practice
Scope of Practice is a terminology used by national and state/provincial licensing boards for various professions that defines the procedures, actions, and processes that are permitted for the licensed individual. The scope of practice is limited to that which the law allows for specific education...
: EMT-Basic
Emergency medical technician-basic
Emergency Medical Technician-Basic is the entry level of Emergency Medical Technician in the United States....
, EMT-Intermediate, and EMT-Paramedic (also known as a paramedic).
Paramedic
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...
s have the most training of the emergency medical responders. Paramedics perform advanced life support
Advanced Life Support
Advanced Life Support is a set of life-saving protocols and skills that extend Basic Life Support to further support the circulation and provide an open airway and adequate ventilation .-Components of ALS:These include:...
.
Emergency physician
Emergency physician
An emergency physician is a physician who works at an emergency department to care for acutely ill patients. The emergency physician is a specialist in advanced cardiac life support , trauma care such as fractures and soft tissue injuries, and management of other life-threatening situations.In...
s may also respond to serious medical emergencies. Depending on the location, physicians may work on an ambulance
Ambulance
An ambulance is a vehicle for transportation of sick or injured people to, from or between places of treatment for an illness or injury, and in some instances will also provide out of hospital medical care to the patient...
, an air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
, or use a fly-car
Fly-car
An ambulance emergency response vehicle is a vehicle operated by an emergency medical service to respond to medical emergencies either in addition to, or in place of, an ambulance capable of transporting patients....
.
Additional types of responders
In the field of wilderness first aid, medical providers receive additional training relating to wilderness medicineWilderness medicine
Wilderness medicine is defined by difficult patient access, limited equipment, and environmental extremes. Today, wilderness or expedition medicine is practiced by Wilderness First Responders, Wilderness EMTs, Remote/Offshore/Wilderness Paramedics and Physicians on expeditions, in outdoor...
. There are several levels of certification that parallel the aforementioned levels, which include Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness First Responder
Wilderness First Responders are individuals who are trained to respond to emergency situations in remote settings. They are part of a wide variety of wilderness medical professionals who deal with medical emergencies that occur in wilderness settings....
and Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
Wilderness emergency medical technician
Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician, or WEMT, is the second highest level of wilderness emergency medical training available in the USA , or other courses for advanced providers such as AWLS, and RMAP...
.
Street medic
Street medic
Street medics, or action medics, are volunteers with varying degrees of medical training who attend protests and demonstrations to provide medical care such as first aid. Unlike regular emergency medical technicians, who serve with more established institutions, street medics usually operate in a...
s provide medical care at protests and demonstrations. They have varying degrees of medical training and are usually volunteers.
Flight medic
Flight medic
A Flight Medic is a generic term used to describe a Paramedic that functions in an aeromedical environment. Typically the Flight Medic will work with a registered nurse, physician, Respiratory Therapist, or another Paramedic. The Flight Paramedic is usually highly trained and has years of clinical...
s are usually trained paramedics who may receive an additional certification (FP-C
FP-C
FP-C is an abbreviation indicating that an individual is Flight Paramedic-Certified. This certification is for paramedics who have demonstrated their knowledge of critical care medicine by successfully passing a two-and-a-half-hour exam consisting of 125 multiple-choice questions...
) to function in an aeromedical environment. Flight medics work out of an air ambulance
Air ambulance
An air ambulance is an aircraft used for emergency medical assistance in situations where either a traditional ambulance cannot reach the scene easily or quickly enough, or the patient needs to be transported over a distance or terrain that makes air transportation the most practical transport....
.
A combat medic
Combat medic
Combat medics are trained military personnel who are responsible for providing first aid and frontline trauma care on the battlefield. They are also responsible for providing continuing medical care in the absence of a readily available physician, including care for disease and battle injury...
is a trained soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
who is responsible for providing first aid and front-line trauma care on the battlefield
Battle
Generally, a battle is a conceptual component in the hierarchy of combat in warfare between two or more armed forces, or combatants. In a battle, each combatant will seek to defeat the others, with defeat determined by the conditions of a military campaign...
. In the Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, these medics are known as Combat Medical Technician
Combat Medical Technician
A Combat Medical Technician CMT is a soldier with a specialist military trade within the Royal Army Medical Corps of the British Army and the Royal Air Force.-Role:The fully trained Combat Medical Technician is capable of:...
. In the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, these healthcare specialists are known as 68W
68W
68W is the Military Occupational Specialty for the United States Army's healthcare specialist, also known as the combat medic...
(the Military Occupational Specialty
Military Occupational Specialty
A United States military occupation code, or a Military Occupational Specialty code , is a nine character code used in the United States Army and United States Marines to identify a specific job. In the U.S. Air Force, a system of Air Force Specialty Codes is used...
classification).
See also
- Emergency medical servicesEmergency medical servicesEmergency medical services are a type of emergency service dedicated to providing out-of-hospital acute medical care and/or transport to definitive care, to patients with illnesses and injuries which the patient, or the medical practitioner, believes constitutes a medical emergency...
- Emergency medical responder levels by state (United States)