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Paramedics

  • Bright Outlook
  • Rapid Growth

Administer basic or advanced emergency medical care and assess injuries and illnesses. May administer medication intravenously, use equipment such as EKGs, or administer advanced life support to sick or injured individuals.

What you’d do

  • Perform emergency cardiac care, such as cardioversion and manual defibrillation.
  • Perform emergency invasive intervention before delivering patient to an acute care facility.
  • Coordinate work with other emergency medical team members or police or fire department personnel.
  • Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.
  • Comfort and reassure patients.
  • Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.
  • Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.
  • Perform emergency pharmacological interventions.

Skills that matter

  • Service Orientation
  • Coordination
  • Critical Thinking
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Active Listening
  • Monitoring

How to get there

Medium preparation: usually vocational school, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree

Also called

  • Critical Care Paramedic
  • Firefighter Paramedic
  • First Responder
  • Flight Paramedic

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