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Concept
Emergency medical technician
Summary
An emergency medical technician is a medical professional that provides emergency medical services. EMTs are most commonly found serving on ambulances.
In English-speaking countries, paramedics are a separate profession that has additional educational requirements, qualifications, and scope of practice.
EMTs are often employed by public ambulance services, municipal EMS agencies, governments, hospitals, and fire departments. Some EMTs are paid employees, while others (particularly those in rural areas) are volunteers. EMTs provide medical care under a set of protocols, which are typically written by a physician.
EMTs are exposed to a variety of hazards such as lifting patients and equipment, treating those with infectious disease, handling hazardous substances, and transportation via ground or air vehicles. Employers can prevent occupational illness or injury by providing safe patient handling equipment, implementing a training program to educate EMTs on job hazards, and supplying PPE such as respirators, gloves, and isolation gowns when dealing with biological hazards.
Infectious disease has become a major concern in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other agencies and organizations have issued guidance regarding workplace hazard controls for COVID-19. Some specific recommendations include modified call queries, symptom screening, universal PPE use, hand hygiene, physical distancing, and stringent disinfection protocols. Research on ambulance ventilation systems found that aerosols often recirculate throughout the compartment, creating a health hazard for EMTs when transporting sick patients capable of airborne transmission. Unidirectional airflow design can better protect workers.
Paramedics in Canada
There is considerable degree of inter-provincial variation in the Canadian paramedic practice.
Official source
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