The healthcare industry is perhaps one of the most rewarding industries you could enter into because you’re helping others with their health, whatever the scenario might look like.
A career in Emergency Medical Transportation in the USA will often involve fast-paced and emotionally intense work.
Providers will want to split their time between emergency responses and non-emergency transports, like transferring patients between facilities.
This field provides strong job security and high fufilment but of course, it requires being able to manage high stress and physical demands. Here’s what to expect from a career in emergency medical transportation.
Roles and Tiers of Care Available
Emergency medical professionals fall into distinct tiers of certification, and each of these comes with a different scope of practice. Let’s take a look at the roles and tiers of care available:
EMT
This is the entry level into this industry. EMTs are trained in the basics of life support, airway management, CPR, and bleeding control. They also handle patient assessment and transport.
Paramedic
This is the highest level of pre-hospital care. Paramedics will undergo a lot more training to administer medications, perform advanced airway procedures, and interpret EKGs.
Speciality Care Transport
Some transport units will utilize EMTs alongside Registered Nurses to help transport those highly critical patients who require intensive care.
The Daily Reality of Emergency Medical Transportation
Understanding the reality of daily life in Emergency Medical Transportation is important because it rarely looks like what you see on television.
Many services will run on 12-hour or even 24-hour shifts. You may experience some downtime during certain hours, but then you may have times where you have back-to-back calls without any breaks.
There’s also the physical and emotional toll that comes with the job. There’s a lot of lifting patients, kneeling and often having to work in tight spaces. This can all take a physical strain on the body. You’ll also be exposed to fairly traumatic situations you may not be used to and so strong coping mechanisms will be required.
Compensation and Job Outlook
What about compensation and the career progression in general? Well, salaries will depend on where you’re located, as well as the employer type and the level of certification. EMTs will have around $35,000 to $50,000 annually and paramedics due to their training will earn between $50,000 and $70,000+.
The demand for jobs is well above the national average across the healthcare industry. Again, it’s a stable career path to be a part of, wherever you may be.
Career Pathways To Go Down
Working with emergency medical transportation is often one that’s treated as a stepping stone or foundational career in medicine. It’s good to explore what current Royal Ambulance jobs as there’s a lot to explore and choose from. It’a worth knowing what options are available and which are best suited for the career type you want.
These common career progression paths include transitioning to firefighter-paramedic within a municipal fire department. It could be moving into air medical transport or using field medical hours to fufil the prerequisite requirements for Physician Assistant, medical school or nursing.
However, much like a lot of this industry, it can be a tough one to sustain over time so it’s good to be prepared and armed with the knowledge of what to expect.
