PARAMEDIC

General Description

An employee in this class performs professional advanced life support work in operating an approved mobile medical unit, rescuing victims and performing pre-hospital advanced life support including the administration of life sustaining treatment to patients on-site and while enroute to hospital. Work involves responding to the scene of an emergent and non-emergent call, applying necessary medical treatment to the sick or injured persons, and transporting persons to a medical facility.

The employee serves as a member of an ambulance crew and is responsible for the medical care administered to the patient. This position is differentiated from an Emergency Medical Technician of other certification levels by the additional requirements but not limited to performing defibrillation and Cardioversion, the application of 12-lead ECG and manual interpretation, using continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), decompression of a tension pneumothorax by use of a needle decompression needle, perfuming cricothyrotomy for relief of upper airway obstructions, and performing gastric suctioning.

The employee is also responsible for maintaining supplies, performing janitorial duties at the stations, and performing miscellaneous office duties. Work is subject to both inside and outside environmental conditions, extremes in temperatures, noises, and vibrations, hazards associated with emergency medical work including exposures to fumes, odors, dust, gases, poor ventilations, and oils. Because of the nature of work, the employee is exposed to human blood and is subject to the OSHA requirements on Blood Borne pathogens. The employee is exposed to normal hazards of emergency rescue work, including risk of exposure to infectious diseases. Employees report to a shift supervisor and are evaluated through conferences, observations, discussion of procedures at emergency scenes, and public feedback.

Duties and Responsibilities

The functions listed below are those that represent most of the time spent working in this class. Management may assign additional functions related to the type of work of the class as necessary.

Essential Functions:

Responds to emergency calls as a Paramedic on an Advanced Life support unit, performs necessary rescue work in accordance with established protocols for Basic and Advanced Life Support; administers necessary emergency medical care requiring the use of suction units, immobilization equipment, intravenous infusions, syringes and medications, Cardiac monitoring/defibrillator/pacer, and performance of intubation/advanced airway management.

Responds to non-emergency calls, such as requests to transport patients from hospitals to their homes or from local medical facility to a specialized medical center. Participates in a continuous training program to improve competence in medical technical work and in ambulance service and operation; Studies Street and road patterns and networks of the county in order that future runs may be made with minimum difficulty and delay.

Additional Duties:

Inspects and test ambulances and their equipment, maintaining proper inventory of equipment and supplies; cleans and sanitizes ambulance and equipment daily; ensures that they are in proper and good working order; makes routine adjustments and makes reports of minor defects for specialized attention.

Maintain cleanliness and performs minor maintenance of Emergency Medical Services facilities and stations.

Aids members of volunteer emergency medical service organizations in County, as requested.

Performs other related work as required or requested.