Last Updated: March 3rd, 2022 by
Paramedics are the first responders of the healthcare system. These healthcare professionals rush to provide emergency care before transporting patients to the closest medical facility.
Becoming a paramedic starts with paramedical education and training. Then, a national certification opens the doors to a career working with ambulance services, onboard ships and planes, or even working with your local fire department.
In this guide, we’ll dive deeper into how to become a paramedic, including the necessary education, training, and certification!
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Job Description
Let’s take a look at the paramedic job description before we discuss how to become a paramedic.
As a paramedic, you’ll be working as a trained and licensed healthcare professional.
However, you won’t be restricted to working in a hospital or other healthcare facility. Instead, your work happens “on the field” where you specialize in providing emergency treatment.
Every day, you’ll respond to emergency calls and act as the patient’s first point of contact with the medical system. You’ll arrive on the scene in an ambulance carrying limited medical equipment and supplies to provide first aid.
Then, you’ll evaluate the situation and decide whether or not to transport the patient to a hospital for further treatment.
To assume this role, you’ll need to attend paramedic school, undergo practical on-the-job training, and gain national or state-level certification to work.
Read More: How to Become an OBGYN Nurse. If you’re interested in all things medical, you may be curious to learn about an OBGYN Nursing career!
What Does an Average Day For a Paramedic Look Like?
Before you move on to learn how to become a paramedic, you should first know what a day in the life of a paramedic looks like.
It’s not unusual to have days when nothing exciting happens. These are the days when no emergency calls come in and you’ll be sitting around waiting for your shift to end.
Still, your job is to be prepared for those moments when things do get chaotic.
Here’s what an average day will look like for you as a paramedic:
Respond to 911 Calls
Being a paramedic means that you’ll be on standby, waiting for the next emergency to occur.
Typically, that scenario begins with someone in the community calling 911 asking for medical assistance. When that happens, you’ll be dispatched to the scene as quickly as possible to provide emergency care and evaluate the situation.
Whether your day has been uneventful or you’ve just finished responding to another call, you must always be ready to respond to the next emergency.
Assess Patient On-Site
Once you arrive at the scene of an emergency, you’ll then have to triage the patient(s). That means you’ll assess the situation, decide what care to provide, and who to provide it to first.
Not all of your calls will be for life or death situations. Instead, plenty of them will be routine calls to attend to minor injuries.
However, you must always treat each call with urgency because every second you take to respond could affect someone’s life.
Transport Patients to Ambulance
Paramedics work in teams and sometimes double as ambulance drivers. One team member will attend to the patient and provide the necessary treatment, while another will be in the driver’s seat.
Suppose you’re responsible for driving the ambulance. If that’s the case, then your responsibility is to drive swiftly while maintaining the safety of your patient, your team, and the general public.
Communicate With Healthcare Staff
As described above, your responsibility is to provide emergency care (e.g. first aid) and transport the patient to the hospital. At that point, you’ll hand the patient over to the doctors and nurses for them to continue the patient’s treatment.
Since you were the patient’s first responder, you must inform the hospital staff of the patient’s conditions and what treatments you had already started. Then, they’ll know how best to continue helping the patient.
Prepare Patient Reports
When you’re not responding to emergencies, you’ll spend time on your shift preparing patient reports. Details of the emergency, the patient, and your initial treatments must be included in great detail.
Firstly, detailed reports are a crucial part of the patient’s medical records. However, some emergencies, like auto accidents and crimes, will also involve a police investigation.
As the first responder, your report will aid the relevant authorities in understanding what happened.
Clean Any Used Equipment and Replenish Supplies
Lastly, never forget that your next emergency call could come at any moment. As such, any downtime you have will be spent cleaning and preparing the equipment in your ambulance. Plus, medical supplies like oxygen tanks and bandages must be replenished in preparation for the next emergency.
How to Become a Paramedic: Process
Now that you know what the responsibilities of a paramedic are, let’s cover how to become a paramedic.
Here’s what the process will look like for becoming a paramedic:
1. Get Certified as an EMT
Before pursuing a paramedic course, you must first become certified as an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). That involves pursuing an EMT course that involves classroom study as well as practical training.
The typical EMT course requires approximately 150 total hours to complete.
They’re very hands-on, so you’ll only spend a part of your time performing academic study, while the rest is spent in medical settings like hospitals and around ambulances.
Lastly, you must pass the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) certification exam. When you become a certified EMT, that will open the door for you to progress towards becoming a paramedic.
2. Progress On to a Paramedic Course
After becoming a certified EMT, you can further your studies by signing up for a paramedical course. These courses are available at higher learning institutions like community colleges and universities.
The academic study and practical elements of a course like this are much broader than an EMT. As such, these courses typically require approximately 1,200 hours of instruction to complete.
In addition, part of your learning here will include more complex emergency care procedures like wound stitching and the use of intravenous medications.
Depending on the institution you sign up with, this course may award you an Associate’s or Bachelor’s Degree.
3. Obtain National Certification
The final step towards becoming a full-fledged paramedic is to obtain national certification.
The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) mentioned earlier is also the same organization that administers certification exams for paramedics.
That exam consists of written and practical elements designed to test your knowledge and abilities.
Depending on the state you’re from, the NREMT examination process might be enough for you to begin working as a paramedic. However, some states will require you to take an additional state-level examination before you can be certified.
4. Additional Training
Once you’re on the job, you’ll also need to take additional training from time to time.
Doing so will keep your skills and knowledge sharp and up to date. For example, you’ll likely be required to receive ambulance driving training and various Emergency Medical Services (EMS) safety courses.
5. Recertification Every 2 Years
Also, according to the NREMT mentioned earlier, you’ll need to go through the recertification process every 2 years.
However, this process is relatively flexible because you can be recertified through examination or by pursuing continuing education through the Paramedic National Continued Competency Program (NCCP).
Read More: How to Become a Medical Coder. Not sure if a career as a Paramedic is right for you? See what becoming a Medical Coder has to offer.
Are You Suited For a Paramedic Career?
Now that you know how to become a paramedic, are you suited for this career path?
Being a paramedic can be pretty challenging mentally, physically, and emotionally. So here are the personality traits and proficiencies that you’ll need to have or develop to be suited for this career path.
Personality and Skills
Having the appropriate level of medical knowledge is a given in this role, but it’s easy to overlook the importance of physical endurance and strength.
That’s especially true when responding to multiple emergencies in one day and for carrying your supplies around to each one.
Besides that, your listening skills and compassion are also crucial. Remember: You’re a first responder, which means gathering information from people who are potentially injured or scared.
As a first responder, you’ll also provide emergency care in the field away from a hospital. That means you’ll have limited support and equipment, which is why being a good problem solver will also go a very long way in this line of work.
Lastly, you’ll need to have excellent communication skills. Besides interacting with patients and their family members, you must also communicate well with your fellow medical professionals.
Credentials and Proficiencies
This role will involve using essential medical tools like stethoscopes and blood pressure monitors to check patients’ vital signs at the emergency location.
For more severe conditions or injuries, the use of defibrillators, suction units, tourniquets and other equipment will also be required to stabilize the patient until you can get them to a hospital.
Read More: Looking for a non-invasive medical career? Check out How to Become a Sports Physical Therapist! You’ll learn about how to work with the human body for better performance.
How to Become a Paramedic and Find Work
You know how to become a paramedic and everything it takes, so how will you find work? Generally speaking, there’s a strong need for paramedics in plenty of different contexts.
However, the most commonly known place where you can find work in this role is with hospital emergency departments and ambulance service providers. Here, you’ll be first responders who help people in medical emergencies.
Still, plenty of people forget that fire departments and law enforcement agencies also have job openings for this role, as well. Due to the type of work these departments perform, they always need someone like you on-site to respond to medical emergencies quickly.
Lastly, consider organizations like airlines, air cargo, oil and gas, and shipping companies. With planes in the sky and ships or rigs out at sea, these companies’ operations are often too far from hospitals to rely on them for medical help.
So, they have a strong need for qualified medical professionals who know how to respond to medical emergencies quickly and prevent fatalities.
Paramedic Salaries
If you’re wondering how to become a paramedic, your potential salary is probably a concern.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average salary of a paramedic is $36,650 per year. The top 90th percentile of people in this line of work earns an average of $62,150 annually, while those at the bottom 10th percentile earn a yearly average of $24,650.
The BLS also points out that the top 5 states with the highest salaries for this role are:
- Hawaii ($58,580 average per year)
- Washington ($56,910 average per year)
- Maryland ($53,440 average per year)
- Alaska ($50,030 average per year)
- California ($48,280 average per year)
To increase your earning potential in this job role, EMS1 suggests pursuing further training and earning more credentials, as well as researching average salaries in your area and negotiating with your employer.
Paramedic Job Growth
If you’re looking for how to become a paramedic, you’ll be pleased to know that the future is bright for this line of work, as the BLS sees an 11% (which they define as ‘faster than average’) growth in job numbers from 2020 to 2030.
Top 3 Most Popular Job Paths
Paramedic
Pursuing the path to the paramedic level means going all the way.
Reaching this level requires the most amount of learning and training hours. On the job, paramedics are skilled at administering a more comprehensive range of emergency treatments like using intravenous (IV) medications and stitching wounds.
Advanced EMT
One level below the paramedic is the Advanced Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) path. This path requires fewer hours to become qualified and certified. Still, it involves having EMT abilities plus a few advanced ones, as well.
These include using complex airway medical devices and administering some medications.
EMT
The most basic job path related to this line of work is the Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). At this level, you’ll be trained to deal with trauma, using some field medical equipment, and responding to some cardiac emergencies.
This job path is popular for many because it requires the least amount of education and training hours (150 hours to complete an EMT course) before you can pursue certification and start working.
In any case, many people start as EMTs before progressing to Advanced EMT and then Paramedic roles later on.
Professional Associations
National Association of State EMS Officials (NASEMSO)
National Association of Emergency Medical Technicians (NAEMT)
National EMS Management Association (NEMSMA)
American Ambulance Association
State-Level EMS Associations, like:
Top Colleges and Universities
University of Washington (Seattle Campus)
University of California Los Angeles (UCLA)
Final Thoughts
By the end of this article, you should know how to become a paramedic and everything that this career path requires.
Learning how to become a paramedic is the easy part. Becoming a paramedic requires training and education, but is a rewarding position for those interested in helping people in need!