A paramedic is a person who is trained as a medical professional to respond to medical emergencies and or traumatic situations. His or her job is to provide immediate medical assistance by providing pre-hospital medical treatment.

For example, when you see a car accident, you will usually see the paramedics helping the people who are hurt. Paramedics are responsible for operating very sophisticated technology. Sometimes, when people have heart attacks, paramedics will use a special machine that is designed to send electric shocks back to the heart, saving the person’s life.

Paramedics are also called EMTs - Emergency Medical Technicians.

FUN FACTS: Emergency medical services can be traced back to when Napolean’s French army used horse drawn ambulances to transport wounded soldiers from the battlefield. Did you know that modern-day paramedics didn’t exist until 70 yeas ago?  

Paramedics drive ambulances, box-like trucks or large vans with a raised roof. The trucks have equipment inside to make them like a small hosptial until the paramedics can get the sick people to the big hospital. Paramedics are very important to the community because they provide immediate medical help by giving sick people, medicine, shots, or bandages for wounds.

Paramedics will:

• Give immediate medical help at the scene of a car accident
• Help firefighters at the scene of a fire
• Give people with heart attacks the chance to get to a hospital
• Support other emergency people in times of floods, earthquakes or other natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina
• Be ready for any emergency or accident call at any time

In addition to performing life-saving procedures, paramedics, respond to calls requesting medical assistance for accidents of all kinds. Paramedics are responsible for applying splints to arms and legs, bandaging wounds, administering medication and reading monitoring equipment to determine what steps should be taken as a means for helping the patient. Paramedics have very good communication skills, which are needed to communicate with the patient and his or her loved ones.

The sign for the paramedic is a staff with a single serpent connected to a winged staff. Legend has it, the staff with the single serpent represents the time when Asclepius had a very difficult patient that he could not cure, so he consulted a snake for advice and the patient survived

Don't be afraid when you see a paramedic or hear an ambulance's siren - they're on their way to helping people to stay safe and healthy.