Paramedic

A paramedic is a healthcare professional trained to assess and treat urgent illness or injury, often at an incident scene and during transport to hospital.

Primary survey: A rapid initial assessment that identifies and addresses immediate threats to life. Paramedics use it to prioritize airway, breathing, circulation, and other urgent threats.
Emergency medical services: Organized services that respond to medical emergencies and provide care and transport. Paramedics work within these systems, whose staffing and authority vary by region.
Cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Emergency chest compressions and, when indicated, rescue breaths used to support circulation and breathing. Paramedics perform and coordinate resuscitation when a patient has cardiac arrest.
Emergency physician: A physician trained to diagnose and treat acute illness and injury in an emergency department. Physicians provide hospital-based care with resources and responsibilities distinct from paramedic practice.
Triage: The sorting of patients by urgency when needs exceed immediately available care. It helps paramedics prioritize patients at scenes with multiple casualties.
Emergency medical technician: An emergency responder trained to provide prehospital assessment and treatment, usually with a narrower scope than a paramedic. The distinction clarifies differences in training and permitted interventions.
Trauma care: The assessment and treatment of injuries caused by physical forces. Paramedics manage immediate threats such as severe bleeding and impaired breathing.
Nurse: A licensed healthcare professional who assesses health needs and provides or coordinates patient care. Nursing and paramedicine share clinical skills but differ in typical settings and training pathways.
Advanced life support: Advanced emergency interventions that can include cardiac monitoring, medications, and management of the airway. It describes the expanded interventions available to paramedics in many systems.
Clinical assessment: The systematic gathering and interpretation of information about a person's health. It guides paramedics' decisions when diagnosis must begin outside a clinic.

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LifeguardCompared with: Paramedics provide broader medical treatment; lifeguards focus on aquatic hazards and immediate response.