Arthur Hsieh - EMT Exam For Dummies with Online Practice

Art Hsieh, MA, NREMT-P, has been in the EMS profession since 1982 and has worked as a volunteer, line medic, educator, and chief officer in private, third-service, and fire-based EMS. He has directed both primary and EMS continuing education programs, and currently he is the Paramedic Program Director for the Public Safety Training Center at Santa Rosa Junior College in California. A past president of the National Association of EMS Educators, Art is a published textbook author and editorial columnist, and he has presented at conferences across the United States and internationally.

The EMS family is filled with the most caring, compassionate people that I have the privilege of calling friends. Many have been my teachers and mentors. I have learned much from them and can only hope to continue to pay it forward. I am honored to be part of this family, and dedicate this work to them.

Even more important is my own family. Their love and sacrifice have allowed me to serve my profession in ways few EMS providers can imagine. To my wife, Veronica, no words can convey my deepest gratitude for your love and friendship. Thank you.

To paraphrase the saying, it takes a village to raise the village Dummy.

I was surprised and honored when I was asked to create a Dummies book for the EMT exam. This venerable series of how-to books is well known for breaking down complex information into easier-to-understand concepts and manageable chunks. However, when I started writing the content for this book, I felt like I was the dummy!

Fortunately, the good folks at John Wiley & Sons provided me the confidence to complete this book. Erin Calligan Mooney, acquisitions editor, paved the way to get me onboard with the project. Senior project editor Georgette Beattys expert editing, much-too-kind words, and gentle nudging of maintaining deadlines made the project much more straightforward and helped to calm my ever-present stress. Copy editor Christy Pingleton provided the extra pair of eyes in making sure what I wrote would make sense to the reader. My technical reviewer, colleague, and friend Lori Gallian had the thankless task of keeping me on the straight and narrow when keeping the facts straight. Kathryn Borns artistic hand created the perfect set of simple but effective illustrations to highlight some of the key points in the text.

EMS is a small profession; those who teach others to save lives, smaller still. Im blessed to call many of them my colleagues and close friends. Their willingness to share their mistakes and successes has helped shape my teaching practice and continues to influence it to this day.

Publishers Acknowledgments

Acquisitions Editor: Erin Calligan Mooney

Senior Project Editor: Georgette Beatty

Copy Editor: Christine Pingleton

Technical Editor: Lori Gallian

Art Coordinator: Alicia B. South

Project Coordinator: Sheree Montgomery

Illustrator: Kathryn Born, MA

Cover Image: iStock.com/lauradyoung

Chapter 1

In This Chapter

Knowing what an EMT does

Becoming a certified EMT

Renewing your EMT certification

Welcome to the world of emergency medical services, or EMS! This is a noble profession. The training is challenging, the work unpredictable, and you wont become rich performing the job. But you will have the privilege of helping people when they need it the most when doing the right thing at the right time may very well save a life. Even in instances when the job isnt that dramatic, the simple care, comfort, and words of reassurance you provide may be all someone needs to feel better.

This chapter gives you the basics on what EMTs do, how to become one, and how to maintain your certification.

An emergency medical technician, or EMT, provides a basic level of emergency and non-urgent patient care. Some EMTs are paid for their work, while others volunteer their time, especially in more rural parts of the United States. In most states, the EMT is the minimum level of training required to provide ambulance transportation or care for the patient in the ambulance. The following sections explain what EMTs do, where they work, and the value of EMT training.