The National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians (NREMT) registers emergency medical service (EMS) providers at four levels:
First Responder - The entry level First Responders, are trained to provide basic emergency medical care because they tend to be the first persons to arrive at the scene of an incident. Many firefighters, police officers and other emergency workers have this level of training.
EMT-Basic - The EMT-Basic represents the first component of the emergency medical technician system. An EMT-B is trained to care for patients on accident scenes. The EMT-B has the emergency skills to assess a patient’s condition and manage respiratory, cardiac and trauma emergencies.
EMT-Intermediate - The EMT-Intermediate has more advanced training that allows administration of intravenous fluids, use of automated defibrillators to give lifesaving shocks to a stopped heart and use of basic airway techniques and equipment to assist patients experiencing respiratory emergencies.
EMT-Paramedic - The EMT-Paramedics provide the most extensive pre-hospital care. In addition to the procedures already described, Paramedics may administer drugs orally and intravenously, interpret electrocardiograms (EKGs), perform manual defibrillation and synchronized cardioversion, perform endotracheal intubations, and use complex equipment.
