What is an EMT?
An Emergency Medical Technician - Basic (EMT-B) is trained in practical emergency medical knowledge and skills that can be deployed within a rapid time frame. Patient treatment guidelines are described in protocols following both national guidelines and local medical policies. The goal of EMT intervention is to rapidly evaluate a patient's condition and to maintain a patient's airway, breathing and circulation by CPR and defibrillation. In addition, EMT-B intervention aims to control external bleeding, prevent shock, and prevent further injury or disability by immobilizing potential spinal or other bone fractures, while expediting the safe and timely transport of the patient to a hospital emergency department for definitive medical care.
EMT-B courses generally cover 120+ hours of didactic and practical education. An EMT-B must have completed an eligible EMT class, be sponsored by an accredited agency, and complete annual refreshers known as Continuing Basic Training (CBT) to stay certified. In addition, all EMT-Bs must maintain a professional level CPR certification.
There is an EMT-B class sponsored by King County Emergency Medical Services (KC EMS) held twice a year that KCSARA members are eligible to apply for. There is no tuition for this class, but personal supplies must be provided for by the student. As the demand for this training has sharply increased over the past few years, and there are more and more agencies competing for these seats, the spaces made available to KC SAR has been on the decline. During the spring and summer of 2010 KC EMS will be re-evaluating how they will do EMS training in the future, and KCSO will keep SAR units and SAR personnel updated on any changes to the current process. Currently the fastest and most sure method of obtaining your EMT-B certification is to take the course through one of the community colleges. Please see the http://kcsara.org/ems/Other_EMT_Classes link for more information on other class options.
Last updated on February 12, 2010.