Key Traits of Becoming a Certified EMT
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As many other parts in the medical field, becoming an EMT (emergency medical technician) requires someone to have important abilities. Whether you are thinking to become an EMT or not, you might wonder if you have what it takes.
How do you know if you have a professional skill to become an EMT? This is actually a good question to ask yourself. It’s good to know how other people see you. Although your role as an EMT is to solve problems and provide care, it’s important to learn the most important skills so you can do your job well, and don’t create more chaos.
Calm, Professional, and Kind
This is the picture of a good EMT – it must be someone who has patience, identifies easily an injury, while keeping the patient stable and relaxed. An EMT must also communicate with patients, their families, friends, and so on. they must use a compassionate and calm manner. Both EMTs and paramedics need to learn how to take a leadership role that is peaceful and empathetic, rather than loud and angry. If you’re reading this and thinking about becoming an EMT, you’re already taking the first step towards this profession.
There’s nothing easy in becoming an emergency medical technician. You will first need to spend hours and hours training, and pass a state national test. After obtaining an EMT certification, either by physically attending classes in person or doing an aemt course online. you will find yourself in the situation of making life-and-death decisions every day. It is a very demanding job and essential to people’s wellbeing, so that’s why it’s not for everyone. Thus, there are a number of qualities an EMT must have, including:
1. First, you must have guts
As weird as it might sound, an EMT must be a brave person who knows how to handle tough situations. Anyone who works in the medical field and doesn’t have an iron stomach, they won’t last long. EMTs see things that normally would make a person’s stomach feel sick. Guts, blood, broken members, are just a few of the things that an EMT might see on a daily basis at work.
2. Team player
No EMT will ever work on their own. They usually have a team riding with them, as they connect with other medical services from the hospital when they receive an emergency call. EMTs can also work with paramedics when patients need more help. They might stabilize, give CPR, or administer medication. Also, it is required for all EMTs to provide good communication with the patients until they get to the hospital. There, the nurses and doctors will know exactly that status of the patient and what to do further. Working in stressful situations is also a requirement for EMTs to get the work done. Otherwise, this job cannot be done effectively.
3. Competency
Of course, any EMT must have a base level of knowledge so they can get through their training and pass the exam. The thing is that the information can be remembered so you can easily pass the test, but it’s another thing to remember it while you work in stressful situation. To guarantee your competency as a licensed EMT, you have to choose the best Emergency Medical Responder Course that’s available to you.
4. Physically strength
A good EMT doesn’t only have a good mental strength, but also a physical strength too. They don’t have to be athletes, but they must be able be able to lift heavy patients, when the situation calls for it. It’s essential for them to have a great physical condition, as this job requires many movements like pushing, bending, kneeling, pulling, etc. So, if you’re considering becoming an EMT, make sure to prepare ahead and stay in shape even if you have limited free time.
5. Good assessment skills
Regarding what we’ve mentioned above, EMTs must remain calm and remember what they must do in emergencies. They must be able to make quick decisions in a short period of time. Simply put: anyone who has the necessary time can make excellent decisions. But as an EMT, you only have a few minutes until making a decision, while focusing on keeping patients’ alive. When emergencies occur, all paramedics and EMTs must move fast to solve the problem.
6. Friendly
An EMT’s work is to solve much in a quite short amount of time. Along with all of this, they must also be friendly enough with the people around them. it is another requirement and personality trait an EMT must possess. In emergency situation, patients are likely to overreact, be frightened, confused, shocked, depending on the situation. Along with the treatment, an EMT must remember to be friendly and calm with patients. What they could also do is to reassure that their voice is down and calm. Indeed, it can be difficult for EMTs to use friendly faces when they’re working under pressure, but it’s absolutely necessary that they focus on kindness, and avoid chaos. But a good EMT will definitely manage to make it happen and a good Pharmacy technician course online makes it more convenient.
7. Adaptable
This job would be a lot easier if EMTs only new where the emergency is taken place. It is a random job, and somehow, an EMT’s personality must follow it. It means that they must change their decision in a rush sometimes. One moment they are at a scene of an accident, and the other moment they must be somewhere else. But a great EMT can changeover with no issues.
Don’t forget about diplomacy – Not all patients might be unconscious at the scene of an accident. Some of them might be mentally ill, drunk, under the influence of drugs, etc. Patients might also get aggressive, so an EMT must also be able to control the situation with diplomacy, while remaining focused on keeping the patient safe, so they don’t get hurt.
If you believe that you are capable enough to become an EMT, don’t hesitate on checking out all of the requirements needed.
