EMT or EMT-Basic?

[Caduceus]

I recently read an article online and it raised a few questions for me. Are we not using the EMT-Basic, and EMT-Intermediate anymore AT ALL? (They've been replaced I thought with simply EMT and AEMT.) I was wondering if this was something that is exclusive to the US, or even if its been adopted by the entire United States.

That'll be all!

[paramedicmike]

Depends what State you're in.

[Caduceus]

Washington state?

[MariB]

I am an EMT, not an EMT basic. By the end of this year all Iowa EMTs will be don't with the B in their title

[scubanurse]

Google is your friend.

http://www.doh.wa.gov/LicensesPermitsandCertificates/ProfessionsNewReneworUpdate/EMSEducationandCertification/EMSProviderCertificationandRecertification/InitialEMSCertification.aspx

[Caduceus]

@Mari Yeah I am seeing that more and more often now, but when I talk to some paramedics they say EMT-B and when I talk to others they say EMT.

Thanks Scuba.

[island emt]

because for the past 30 years a Basic EMT was the entry level provider that could work on an ambulance

There were also LAA's [ licensed ambulance attendant ] FR [first responder] EMR [emergency medical responders], which were all lower in the license level than Basic.

Then Came EMT-I which had I-85 & I-99 levels and is now referred to As Advanced EMT.

In some areas there were also CC[Cardiac Care] or[ Critical Care] EMTCC licenses, mostly in New England .

Then you got to the top of the food chain with EMT- Paramedic which is now Paramedic.

There is also the critical care transport Paramedic

And the Community medicine Paramedic.

[ERDoc]

Just to add what others have said, the letter after EMT will vary from state to state and will have an interesting history. IIRC, in NYS before the early 90s it was just EMT. Once AEDs came out, not everyone was trained in them so we had EMT-B and EMT-D (defibrillation). Once the AED became standard of care later in the 90s and everyone was trained to use them, the letters were dropped and we were just EMTs. We had intermediate levels which were called AEMT 2, 3 and 4 but became EMT-I, EMT-CC and EMT-P. I'm sure things are different now, but I do not know the specifics.

[Caduceus]

It's really confusing reading EMS books set in. . .earlier times because the ranking so scattered. Thanks for the clarity guys. And that's kind of cool about the EMT-D ERdoc!

[ERDoc]

Just to make it a little more confusing, for a brief period of time, we had EMT-DI, which was an EMT-D who was certified to intubate. This was stopped because it was shown to have no benefit on outcomes so they went back to EMT-D.