As the designation implies, emergency medical technicians refer to the pool of medical professionals who offer emergency care services to victims beyond or on the way to the healthcare facilities. They are trained to give primary medical as well as basic first-aid care until an injured person gets specialized medical intervention at a nearby medical facility. Unlike a doctor, nurses, and also paramedics, EMTs play a major role in emergency medical services says John Rose Oak Bluff.
What makes paramedics different from EMTs is that paramedics get more comprehensive training making them carry out a wider range of procedures. The main job of ENTs involves fast responding to emergency calls, providing first aid as well as life-saving care wherever necessary, and carrying the injured persons to the hospital. Their job areas generally include
- Responding to 911 calls and allocating teams of paramedics as well as informing the nearest healthcare facility
- Evaluation of the condition of injured in accidents and calamities like fire, terrorist attack, earthquake, etc., and need emergency care
- Checking the vital signs of inured and documenting the details of what happened to them in a prescribed form
- Providing first-aid and administering life support as necessary.
- Bringing the injured people to the nearest hospital for further medical care
- Briefing the doctors on each person that they have taken care of with detailed reporting
EMTs in Pre-Disaster Planning and Preparedness
According to John Rose Oak Bluff, when it comes to disaster management preparedness EMTs play a vital role by engaging them actively in training, education, and coordinating efforts with various response agencies. Here is how they are involved in the pre-disaster planning and preparedness program:
Training and Education: EMTs need to undergo wide-ranging specialized training in emergency protocols, incident response, and disaster management programs, which prepares them to deal with a variety of scenarios, including natural disasters, mass casualties in fire, hazardous materials incidents, etc. During the training and later, they are required to get updated on the newest approaches to administering healthcare and innovations in emergency medicine.
Collaboration with Response Agencies: EMTs work in conjunction with other response agencies, including fire departments, public health agencies, law enforcement, and other disaster management teams by providing their expertise as well as insights into the development programming of disaster response planning, protocols, and the standard of operational procedures.
Drills, Workshops, and Disaster Response Plans: EMTs actively take part in drills and workshops in mimicly arranged settings that develop their skills to manage disaster scenarios, prepare response planning, and identify areas for needed improvement. Apart from contributing their opinions to the development program, they also study the disaster response plans to make sure they are in line with the best practices and implement lessons that are learned from previous incidents.
Knowledge of ICS and IMT Structure: Noteworthy, Incident Command System (ICS) refers to a standardized management system implemented in the course of disasters and emergencies to ensure effectiveness in coordination and communication between responding agencies. EMTs need to stay updated in incident command systems (ICS) as well as the Incident Management Team (IMT) structure. This helps them to understand their responsibilities within the ICS framework which helps in streamlining operations and decision-making.
Enhancing Preparedness: Involving in training, education, drills, and workshops helps EMTs develop and retain their much-needed knowledge, skills, and required mindset to respond efficiently during stressful situations amidst a disastrous scenario. Their overall familiarity with disaster response preparedness, coordination protocols, and knowledge of incident command systems thereby ensures prompt and seamless coordination in disaster response as and when occurs.
