What are EMTs and what do they do?
Prior to the late 1960’s, a person calling an ambulance received very different care than today. Often funeral homes operated ambulance services, and the responders had little or no training in emergency procedures. The patient, therefore, was merely given a fast ride to the hospital. In contrast to the ambulance drivers of previous years, the goal of today’s Emergency Medical Technicians (EMT’s) is to bring the emergency department to you. It is recognized that the majority of prehospital emergency medical care will be provided by the EMT Basic. The Emergency Medical Technician Basic course provides the first phase of training in prehospital medicine. It includes all skills necessary for the individual to provide emergency medical care at a Basic Life Support (BLS) level with an ambulance service or other specialized service. Specifically, after successful completion of the program, the student will be capable of performing the following skills: • Recognize the nature and seriousness
