Emergency medical services training levels

US levels of EMS personnel training

Current Name	Former Name	Training Requirements	Authorized Skills
Emergency Medical Responder	First Responder	~60 hours	Basic first aid and airway management (including OPA and BVM) CPR and AED use Epi-pen
Emergency Medical Technician	EMT - Basic	~150-200 hours	Advanced first aid and airway management (including OPA/NPA and BVM) Assist patients in taking home meds Limited medication administration (ASA, NTG, IM Epinephrine, Nalaxone, oral glucose, etc per medical director) Oxygen administration Monitoring vitals
Advanced Emergency Medical Technician	EMT - Intermediate	~300-450 hours	Initiate IVs/IOs Limited IV medication administration (D10, Epi 1:10000 in Cardiac Arrest, Nitrous Oxide) Fluid Resuscitation Airway management (including Supraglottic airway but NOT endotracheal tube)
Paramedic	EMT - Paramedic	1000-2000 hours	Initiate IVs/IOs 30-40+ Medications (including narcotics, benzodiazepines) Cardiac monitoring and 12-lead ECG interpretation Ultrasound Manual defibrillation and cardioversion Transcutaneous pacing Advanced Airway including endotracheal tube, RSI/DSI Needle/Surgical cricothyrotomy Needle Chest Decompression and/or Finger Thoracostomy Chest tube monitoring

Note: there remains considerable variability among state laws related to EMS scope of practice as well as agency guidance and medical direction/protocols.

See Also

• Military emergency medicine

References

• National EMS Education Standards