Occupation Profile

Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics

(SOC Code : 29-2041)

in California

Assess injuries, administer emergency medical care, and extricate trapped individuals. Transport injured or sick persons to medical facilities.

Employers are usually looking for candidates with Post secondary vocational training .

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Occupational Wages

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Area	Year	Period	Hourly Mean	Hourly by Percentile
				25th	Median	75th
California	2012	1st Qtr	$17.78	$11.96	$15.19	$21.17

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Occupational Projections of Employment (also called "Outlook" or "Demand")

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Area	Estimated Year-Projected Year	Employment		Employment Change		Annual Avg Openings
		Estimated	Projected	Number	Percent
California	2010 - 2020	15,900	22,600	6,700	42.1	990

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Job Openings from JobCentral National Labor Exchange

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Within miles of Zip Code.

Possible Licenses Required and Issuing Authority

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License Title

License Authority

Emergency Medical Tech, Advanced EMT Cert., & Paramedic License

Emergency Medical Services Authority
Emergency Medical Services Personnel Division
Paramedic Program
www.emsa.ca.gov

About Licenses

Industries Employing This Occupation (click on Industry Title to View Employers List)

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Industry Title

Number of Employers in State of California

Percent of Total
Employment for Occupation in State of California

Other Ambulatory Health Care Services

7,050

79.6%

General Medical and Surgical Hospitals

1,393

9.5%

About Staffing Patterns

Training Programs (click on title for more information)

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Program Title

Emergency Medical Technology/Technician (EMT Paramedic)

About Training & Apprenticeships

About This Occupation (from O*NET - The Occupation Information Network)

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Top Tasks (Specific duties and responsibilities of this job.)

Administer first aid treatment or life support care to sick or injured persons in prehospital settings.

Perform emergency diagnostic and treatment procedures, such as stomach suction, airway management, or heart monitoring, during ambulance ride.

Observe, record, and report to physician the patient`s condition or injury, the treatment provided, and reactions to drugs or treatment.

Immobilize patient for placement on stretcher and ambulance transport, using backboard or other spinal immobilization device.

Maintain vehicles and medical and communication equipment and replenish first aid equipment and supplies.

Assess nature and extent of illness or injury to establish and prioritize medical procedures.

Communicate with dispatchers or treatment center personnel to provide information about situation, to arrange reception of victims, or to receive instructions for further treatment.

Comfort and reassure patients.

Operate equipment, such as electrocardiograms (EKGs), external defibrillators, or bag valve mask resuscitators, in advanced life support environments.

Decontaminate ambulance interior following treatment of patient with infectious disease and report case to proper authorities.

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Top Skills used in this Job

Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.

Service Orientation - Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others` reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others` actions.

Science - Using scientific rules and methods to solve problems.

Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Monitoring - Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

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Top Abilities (Attributes of the person that influence performance in this job.)

Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

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Top Work Values (Aspects of this job that create satisfaction.)

Relationships - Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment.

Support - Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees.

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Top Interests (The types of activities someone in this job would like.)

Social - Social occupations frequently involve working with, communicating with, and teaching people. These occupations often involve helping or providing service to others.

Investigative - Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally.

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Alternate Titles

EMTs; Fire Fighter First Responders; Firefighters and EMTs; Firefighters and Paramedics; Flight Paramedics