Emergency medical services training levels: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 18:24, 5 May 2025

US levels of EMS personnel training
Current Name	Former Name	Training Requirements	Authorized Skills
Emergency Medical Responder	First Responder	~60 hours	Basic first aid and airway management (including OPA and BVM) CPR and AED use Epi-pen
Emergency Medical Technician	EMT - Basic	~150-200 hours	Advanced first aid and airway management (including OPA/NPA and BVM) Assist patients in taking home meds Limited medication administration (ASA, NTG, IM Epinephrine, Nalaxone, oral glucose, etc per medical director) Oxygen administration Monitoring vitals
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician	EMT - Intermediate	~300-450 hours	Initiate IVs/IOs Limited IV medication administration (D10, Epi 1:10000 in Cardiac Arrest, Nitrous Oxide) Fluid Resuscitation Airway management (including Supraglottic airway but NOT endotracheal tube)
Paramedic	EMT - Paramedic	1000-2000 hours	Initiate IVs/IOs 30-40+ Medications (including narcotics, benzodiazepines) Cardiac monitoring and 12-lead ECG interpretation Ultrasound Manual defibrillation and cardioversion Transcutaneous pacing Advanced Airway including endotracheal tube, RSI/DSI Needle/Surgical cricothyrotomy Needle Chest Decompression and/or Finger Thoracostomy Chest tube monitoring

Note: there remains considerable variability among state laws related to EMS scope of practice as well as agency guidance and medical direction/protocols.

References

National EMS Education Standards

Authors:

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 {| class="wikitable sortable"
-|+ Levels of EMS personnel training
+|+ US levels of EMS personnel training
 |-
 ! scope="col" | '''Current Name'''
@@ Line 7: / Line 7: @@
 ! scope="col" | '''Authorized Skills'''
 |-
-| Emergency Medical Responder||First Responder||<100||AEDs
+| Emergency Medical Responder||First Responder||~60 hours||
+*Basic first aid and airway management (including [[OPA]] and BVM)
+*CPR and AED  use
+*Epi-pen
 |-
-| Emergency Medical Technician||EMT - Basic||100||*Basic First Aid *Assist pts in taking home meds
+| Emergency Medical Technician||EMT - Basic||~150-200 hours||
+*Advanced first aid and airway management (including [[OPA]]/NPA and BVM)
+*Assist patients in taking home meds
+*Limited medication administration (ASA, NTG, IM Epinephrine, Nalaxone, oral glucose, etc per medical director)
+*Oxygen administration
+*Monitoring vitals
 |-
-| Advanced Emergency Medical Technician||EMT - Intermediate||130||Begin IVs, IV meds, Cardiac monitoring, EKGs, Advanced Airway
+| Advanced Emergency Medical Technician||EMT - Intermediate||~300-450 hours||
+*Initiate IVs/IOs
+*Limited IV medication administration (D10, Epi 1:10000 in Cardiac Arrest, Nitrous Oxide)
+*Fluid Resuscitation
+*Airway management (including [[Supraglottic airway]] but NOT endotracheal tube)
 |-
-| Paramedic||EMT - Advanced||700-1000||Begin IVs, IV meds, Cardiac monitoring, EKGs, Manual Defib, External Pacing, Advanced Airway, Needle Chest Decompression
+| Paramedic||EMT - Paramedic||1000-2000 hours||
+*Initiate IVs/IOs
+*30-40+ Medications (including narcotics, benzodiazepines)
+*Cardiac monitoring and 12-lead ECG interpretation
+*Ultrasound
+*Manual defibrillation and cardioversion
+*[[Transcutaneous pacing]]
+*Advanced Airway including endotracheal tube, RSI/DSI
+*[[Needle cricothyrotomy|Needle]]/[[Surgical cricothyrotomy]]
+*Needle Chest Decompression and/or Finger Thoracostomy
+*Chest tube monitoring
 |}
+Note: there remains considerable variability among state laws related to EMS scope of practice as well as agency guidance and medical direction/protocols.
+==See Also==
+*[[Military emergency medicine]]
+==References==
+<references/>
+*[https://www.ems.gov/assets/EMS_Education-Standards_2021_FNL.pdf National EMS Education Standards]
+[[Category:EMS]]