Emergency Medical Technician

Emergency MedicalTechnician

General Summary : The work of theEmergency Medical Technician involves responsibility for the careand transportation of sick and injured persons on an emergent andnonemergent basis.

Assignments and responsibilities are general andare to include but not be limited to thefollowing :

1. DUTIES ANDRESPONSIBILITIES :

• Provides emergencyand nonemergency care and transportation of sick and injuredpersons;
• Be familiar and remains familiar withroadways and geographic locations within the District boundaries;
• Be familiar and remains familiar with alldistrict vehicles / equipment;
• Be familiar andremains familiar with all district operational guidelines policiesand procedures;
• Be familiar and remainsfamiliar with all prehospital treatment protocols as required bydistrict Medical Director guidelines and state regulations;
• Makes presentations to groups and individualson subjects related to the jobs tasks and functions;
• Handles complaints made by the public andrefers complaints to Captain or the Chief or his designee whennecessary;
• Collects information and eitheracts upon it within the scope of his authority or routes it to theproper authority or agency;
• Appears andtestifies in court hearings deposition sessions and similarproceedings as necessary;
• Responds to specificrequests from police and fire services;
• Administers aid up to level of licensure tosick and injured persons including CPR Airway evaluation andmanagement CardioRespiratory evaluation and management includinguse of AED Assisting with childbirth prepares patients fortransportation in order to prevent further injury by packagingpatients through use of appropriate splints such as backboards orneck braces by bandaging wounds by removing patients from vehiclewreckage and by lifting patients to and from the ambulance and / orup and down stairs;
• Determines patientcondition in order to decide upon appropriate treatment or toassist a physician in such decisions by conducting an assessmentthat includes checking vital signs airway breathing blood pressurepulse pupils skin color and skin temperature obtain informationabout medications medical treatment and prior conditions orillnesses and a scene evaluation;
• Responds toincidents involving dead persons resulting from criminal accidentalsuicidal and natural causes including determination of thecircumstances making decisions regarding the incident and dealingwith the family relatives friends witnesses or other individuals;
• Applies a knowledge of illness injury anatomyand medical terminology and decides on appropriate treatment andestablishes treatment priorities;
• Directsand / or supervises civilian employees and the public at the scenesof crimes accidents disasters assemblies or other incidents;
• Drives the ambulance in order to reach andtransport patients as quickly as possible while protecting thecommunity from accidents by obeying traffic laws duringnonemergency driving by following state laws governing ambulanceoperation as listed in the District Operational Guidelines byfollowing prescribed safety procedures for responding to andapproaching and parking at the scene of an accident by driving at asafe rate of speed by braking and proceeding cautiously throughintersections by using the siren and emergency lights for criticalcalls by being aware of differences in handling an emergencyvehicle such as weight top heaviness and braking distance;
• Maintains life support vehicles in order toensure an exceptional state of readiness for emergency responses bydaily completing a vehicle inventory by documenting needed repairsby checking and recording levels of fuel by adding fluids asnecessary and by checking items such as battery condition tirepressure electrical charging system emergency lighting siren heaterand air conditioner as outlined by the vehicle checklist;
• Performs daily inventory of ambulance suppliesand forms in order to ensure continuous availability of neededequipment by visually inspecting and counting supplies bycompleting equipment supply check lists and by replacing orreporting any missing items;
• Cleans vehiclesand district property in order to prevent the spread of contagiousdiseases and to maintain a state of preparedness for oncall shiftsby cleaning and disinfecting the patient care areas and emergencycare equipment by washing and waxing the district vehicles and byperforming routine housekeeping tasks;
• Mayperform office duties including telecommunications (telephonecomputer terminal radio) processing reports etc;
• Develops and maintains required skills andlicenses / permits / certifications associated with areas of specialinstruction or expertise;
• Regularly attendsdistrict personnel meeting trainings and special events whenpossible or as outlined by District Operational Guidelines;
• Trains new personnel in areas of special skillor expertise;
• Prepares clear accurate andcomplete reports on any and all activities engaged in.
• Performs other duties asdirected

2. WORKCHARACTERISTICS / CONDITIONS

a.Scheduling :

Emergency Medical Services (E.M.S)positions involve regular and irregular shift work and shiftrotations necessary to provide EMS services 24 hours a day 7 days aweek 52 weeks a year (weekends and holidays included).

Work shiftsare scheduled for a specific number of hours but may be extended inthe event of an emergency disaster manpower shortage workload orworkinprogress.

b. EnvironmentalFactors

E.M.S. positions involve exposure to andrequire the EMT to appropriately protect themselves and to functionin the presence of the following according to District OperationalGuidelines and PrehospitalProtocols :

• Inclement weather toinclude but not limited to exposure to extreme heat / cold rain snowand wind;
• Light conditions associated with dayand night;
• Fire smoke chemical leaks / spills asclose proximity as necessary to provide emergency services safely;

c. Personal Danger including but notlimited to :

• Armed and / or dangerouspersons;
• Dangerous animals;
• Persons and / or articles withcontagious / communicable diseases
• Hazardsassociated with emergency driving traffic control and working inand around traffic;
• Hazards associated withnatural and manmade disasters.

3.PHYSICAL ABILITIES / MOTOR SKILLS / FLEXIBILITY

TheEMT must have and maintain the physical and mental ability neededto :

• React and move rapidly from asedentary to active condition in response to environmentalsituations or events;
• Render care to the levelof training / licensure as another person of equal training andexperience would;
• Operate all equipmentnecessary for performing routine daily assignments;
• Operate office equipment such as telephonesaudio / visual devices computer or workstation keyboards andcalculators as needed;
• Operate / utilize alldistrict vehicle mounted equipment whether in a mobile orstationary mode;
• Perform required duties forextended periods of time while exposed to adverse conditions toinclude time worked in excess of normal daily shift and rotatingshift work;
• Be able to discern colors as theyare applied in traffic safety situations (electric signals signinghazardous materials placards etc.);
• Adequatelyjudge distances and estimate speed;
• See readand recognize obstacles in a variety of normal and / or emergencyenvironments.
• Have vision correctable to beable to perform all job duties;
• Determine orestimate the point of origin of noise;
• Recognize / relate sounds to situations based onfrequencies of voice inflection within the normal range of hearing;
• Employ the normal senses of touch and smell.

4. COMMUNICATIVESKILLS

The EMT must have and maintain thephysical and mental condition neededto :

• Speak read and write the Englishlanguage in a clear and understandable manner;
• Reasonably identify and display basicnonverbal communications (body language);
• Effectively relate to or communicate with avariety of personality types during interpersonal contacts.

5. JUDGEMENT / DECISION MAKINGABILITY

The EMT must have the abilityto :

• Comprehend and implement verbaland written instructions;
• Apply reasoningskills when confronted with circumstances requiring discretionarydecisions;
• Establish priorities and constructsubsequent plans during normal duties;
• Formulate and carry out an appropriate courseof action for a given situation for which no specific rule orprocedure has been established;
• Apply theorybased instruction / training to actual incidents / situations;
• Handle situations firmly courteously tactfullyand impartially;
• Retain and retrieveinformation furnished in the form of but not limited to bulletinsmemos verbal reports training and classes;
• Becapable of receiving and giving instructions.
• Assume a leadership role of patient care inthe prehospital environment appropriate with level of licensure.

6. EMOTIONAL / PSYCHOLOGICALSTABILITY

The EMT must have the emotional andpsychological stability requiredto :

• Cope with and perform daytodayduties in a professional manner;
• Maintainselfcontrol when receiving constructive criticism and / or beingridiculed;
• Continue performing all requiredtasks at a professional level when faced with unpleasantcircumstances;
• Perform E.M.S. duties withoutdependence on alcohol / drugs;
• Deal effectivelywith the morbid the macabre the repugnant the abnormal the morosethe psychotic the neurotic and the otherwise unpleasant or unusualfacets or results of humanbehavior.
17 days ago