Paramedics and emergency medical technicians are licensed professionals who care for sick and injured patients. They assess patients and help determine courses of treatment in collaboration with a team of health care professionals. Paramedics and EMTs provide medical assistance in response to situations, ranging from critical emergencies like cardiac arrests and mass casualty incidents, to basic calls like requests to transfer patients from the hospital to hospice care.

Though all paramedics and EMTs are licensed, there are distinct levels of credentials. Paramedics require more education than EMTs, and their responsibilities can include administering medication and monitoring heart function. EMTs deliver basic care to stabilize and transport patients, and advanced EMTs have the skills to respond to more complex patient cases.

Christopher Way, chief of an ambulance service in Idaho, has seen the field undergo significant changes. "The medicine has changed incredibly," Way says, citing differences in CPR administration in recent years, for instance.

Crews work with different systems than they did when Way started, like a mechanism that loads stretchers into ambulances. Ambulances and medical equipment are also safer, he adds.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects 5.4% employment growth for paramedics between 2022 and 2032. In that period, an estimated 5,300 jobs should open up.

Requirements to become a basic EMT, an advanced EMT and a paramedic vary. Here’s how to get started:

1. Earn a high school diploma. To begin a postsecondary program in emergency medical technician training, you usually need a high school diploma or its equivalent.
2. Get CPR-certified. CPR certification is also typically needed for entry to a program.
3. Enroll in an emergency medical technology program. Education requirements vary depending if you’re training to become a basic EMT or an advanced EMT.
4. Enter a paramedic program. You need to complete EMT training before entering a paramedic program. Programs are offered at community colleges, technical institutions and universities.
5. Become licensed. Though all states mandate that EMTs and paramedics be licensed, specific processes vary.

Training to become a basic EMT includes coursework coupled with hands-on experience in an ambulance or emergency facility setting. An advanced EMT will complete additional training, which comes to nearly 400 hours of instruction. Students will learn additional skills such as handling intravenous fluids and using airway devices.

You should make sure your state-approved EMT courses meet national EMS education standards. And in some states, you’ll need to pass a state exam.

If you want to become a paramedic, you need to be EMT-certified first to enter a paramedic training program. You might also need an associate degree. Make sure your paramedic program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Allied Health Education Programs.

Once you’ve completed a paramedic program, you’re eligible to earn certification. In many states, this means passing the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians examination is required to become a paramedic. But some states have their own exams.

Way became an EMT as a junior in high school, and he maintains his paramedic license today. That requires 72 hours of continuing education every two years in "a very outlined program," he says.