Nursing and Allied Health Video Collection

What is it like to be an emergency medical technician? In this Career Q&A video interview, Jeff Broyles talks about his career path, what he does on the job, and the keys to success working as an emergency medical technician. He also offers candid advice on breaking into the profession as well as insight into the industry’s biggest challenges and how the field may change in the next ten years.

With the growth of America’s urban populations has come an increased demand for medical first responders—most notably, the emergency medical technician. This program guides students through the duties of the EMT-Basic and EMT-Paramedic, the skills and personality traits both require, and the financial and personal advantages that these positions offer. Featuring interviews with veterans of the profession, the program describes the 110-hour class and national or state registry exam an aspiring EMT must complete, along with specific functions—for EMT-Bs, supporting an ambulance team in the field and during patient transport, maintaining vitals and airwave access, controlling bleeding, basic splinting, and applying a cervical collar; and for EMT-Paramedics, traction splinting, patient status assessment, and other functions that prepare patients for emergency room care. Both the Hollywood-style excitement and the routine aspects of EMT life are emphasized, in addition to the best high school courses and volunteer opportunities in which a would-be EMT should get involved.

How critical is the need for an integrated approach to rapid response and one that includes every member of the public safety community? Find out how Hillsboro, OR Police, Fire, and EMS made this approach a reality, and see the effect it has had on their emergency response times and level and effectiveness. It’s called the Rapid Response Treatment Model and it’s working, not only for a potential rapid response to an active shooter, but also for much, much more. The training, though designed specifically for an active shooter scenario, can be used for any critical incident or calamity where Police, Fire, and EMS are all on the scene, such as a plane crash or natural disaster. Simply put, the key to this training model is using teamwork to speed up response times and consequently, save lives.

Pierre Thomas and ABC affiliates report on the opioid addiction epidemic that kills at least 91 Americans every day. Watch a DEA drug bust, EMS revive individuals who overdose, and the impact of addiction on a family on this episode of Nightline.