The Real Paramedic

Written by Marcus H

A man collapses from cardiac arrest; a vehicle strikes a child on his bicycle; a woman becomes unconscious from a heroin overdose. Most people know that Paramedics respond to these medical emergencies and many others, but most do not realize the vital role they play in saving a person’s life. An unfortunate fact is that most people are not educated in what a Paramedic can do. This leaves a stereotypical impression of a Paramedic. Paramedics have come a long way throughout the years and although not viewed as medical experts, Paramedics are the highest level of prehospital care providers and are truly healthcare professionals.

The beginnings of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) were horrific, due to the inability to treat patients prior to hospital arrival. Not that long ago, the ambulance was simply a vehicle that provided rapid, horizontal transportation to the hospital. (Bledsoe, Porter, and Cherry 6) Most baby boomers remember when Cadillac hearse-ambulances were the primary means of transporting patients to the hospital in the mid fifties. In this era, there were no Paramedics to provide life saving medical interventions, just ambulance drivers. This unintelligent approach to an EMS system resulted in a catastrophic mortality rate.

It would be sixteen years until the revision of prehospital care took place. In 1966 the publication of “Accidental Death and Disability: the Neglected Disease of Modern Society” by the National Academy of Sciences, National Resource Council, focused attention on the problem. “The White Paper,” as the report was called, spelled out the deficiencies in prehospital emergency care. It suggested guidelines for the development of EMS systems, the training of prehospital emergency medical providers, and the upgrading of ambulances and their equipment. (Bledsoe, Porter, and Cherry 11) This report resulted in Congress passing numerous acts granting millions of dollars to EMS systems across the nation. Emergency Medical Technician classes began to erupt all over, and then soon after that, Paramedic classes. With Paramedics now having improved medical training and improved equipment, the mortality rate of patients begin to decrease. As medical technology increased over the years, so did the level of care that the Paramedic could administer.

In today’s EMS systems, Paramedics are knowledgeable, medical experts, able to perform a wide variety of medical interventions. These include, endotracheal and nasotracheal intubation, manual defibrillation, synchronized cardioversion, transcutaneous pacing, surgical cricothyroidotomy, intraosseous cannulation, pericardiocentesis, and the administration of over seventy drugs, just to mention a few . Not only are Paramedics saving lives on the streets, their scope of practice has increased, enabling them to perform medical treatment in other places than prehospital alone. In some areas, paramedics are employed in emergency departments and critical care inpatient units. Paramedics may be beneficial to patient care in that setting due to their specialized knowledge and skills related to the management of acute emergencies. Experienced paramedics can also be found as the sole medical provider at remote industrial locations, such as oil rigs and platforms offshore. Their knowledge, skills, and resourcefulness are useful here as well; transport can take hours or days, without communication with a physician. (Wikipedia)

Understanding what Paramedics can do and how their medical skills have rapidly progressed throughout the years, can provide comfort in knowing that when a Paramedic arrives on scene, the emergency is over. Paramedics today are highly trained men and women that fight the constant battle of saving lives, everyday. One thing is for certain, Paramedics are truly healthcare professionals.

Works Cited

Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Paramedic. Vers. 1.2. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 20 Oct. 2006 http:/​/​en.wikipedia.org/​wiki/​Paramedic.

Bledsoe, Bryan E., Robert S. Porter, and Richard A. Cherry. Essentials of Paramedic Care. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Julie Levin Alexander, 2003.

Bledsoe, Bryan E., Robert S. Porter, and Richard A. Cherry. Essentials of Paramedic Care. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Julie Levin Alexander, 2003.

Source: EveryMinuteSucks.com