Emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, are heroes who make the world better. To become a life-saver, you need to attain a license, use your EMT skills, or complete a postsecondary education program. But the process doesn’t end here. As a newbie or professional, you must create a successful CV highlighting your skills and accomplishments.
Here are the things you do as an EMT:
- Take vital signs
- Assess the patient’s condition
- Provide basic life support and first aid
- Help in the patient’s transportation to the hospital
- Constantly improve professional qualifications in the medical field.
If you like helping others and seek a job where no two days are the same, keep reading to see what EMT skills you have and determine whether this career suits you.
EMT skills definition
To be a good EMT, you must have a wide range of skills, from soft ones (like compassion and communication) to hard or technical ones (like properly administering oxygen).
Some require special training, while others can be intrinsic or naturally learned. However, each one is imperative to perform life-saving procedures properly.
Compassion
Like many other professions in healthcare, being a successful EMT requires a high level of compassion and understanding. Even if your primary responsibility as an EMT is to provide physical treatment, you may also offer emotional support to patients, particularly those in distress due to a catastrophic medical condition.
Additionally, you may help patients and their loved ones process the gravity of a condition or the implications of a treatment plan.
Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is a non-technical skill all paramedics must have. It’s about the ability to comprehend your own emotions and thus read, interpret, and respond correctly to others’ feelings.
This skill includes characteristics like:
- Patient experience
- Improved teamwork
- Compassion
- Empathy.
How do you acquire teamwork and patient experience if you’re empathetic and compassionate? By enrolling in an EMT program, passing the practical and written tests, crafting a CV, and working as an EMT. In the EMT training, you’ll find experienced and successful instructors and paramedics, so be ready to gain first-hand knowledge of true-life emergencies.
Situational Awareness
Without appropriate situational awareness, paramedics, the public, and their patients may be at risk, which is why it’s among the crucial non-technical skills for paramedics. It refers to the continuous assessment of a scene’s environmental elements and requires always being aware of the surroundings and using every sense.
It’s easy to have tunnel vision about the issue described by the patient. However, what makes you an excellent medic is your ability to stay situationally aware with keen observational skills as the call changes or continues.
Listening Skills
As an EMT, you should listen to your patients’ concerns and respond to their questions, making them feel at ease, confident, and assured. This way, you benefit from improved active listening skills.
You should also listen to and follow your superiors’ and colleagues’ instructions. This skill is precious for identifying the needs of people in your care.
Being a good listener helps you in the following ways:
- Increase your understanding and knowledge of various topics
- Avoid missing critical information
- Identify and solve problems
- Build trust and connections.
Ask open-ended questions, use short verbal affirmations, paraphrase, and recall previously shared information to show interest in someone’s difficulty.
Problem-solving Skills
In this field, you may encounter many challenging situations that need a quick and precise reaction. However, you can only benefit from staying calm under pressure, a lesson you can apply in every aspect of life.
You may be routinely held accountable for identifying issues and creating clear action plans for yourself and others. On-the-job training can significantly enhance this aptitude.
Assuming you admit that problem-solving skills are life-saving and the thing you admire the most in EMTs, have you searched for EMT classes near me recently to figure out if you should enroll in a program anytime soon?
Here’s how you improve your problem-solving skills in EMT training:
- Observe how others solve problems
- Find opportunities to solve problems
- Gain in-depth knowledge of your field.
Demonstrating EMT Skills At Work
As an EMT, you might routinely find yourself in a wide range of challenging and stressful situations. Maintaining composure and confidence will help you analyze essential details and respond calmly. In this line of work, a lapse of judgment or an inappropriate course of action might have consequences.
Other two ways of showing your valuable competencies are:
- By looking after yourself. You may sometimes feel emotionally or physically tired because you work in a fast-paced environment, sometimes at unconventional hours or on extended schedules. Nutritious diets, sufficient rent between shifts and regular exercise can mitigate the chance of burnout and help you take care of yourself to keep performing your job.
- By facilitating teamwork. Working as part of a group to assist those in need involves communication and coordination. Encourage your colleagues when they need a boost of confidence, and appreciate them when they excel in their duties. In medicine, like in any other industry, mutual help is crucial; it’s only that here, it is vital.
Highlighting EMT Skills
It’s important to highlight your EMT skills throughout the application and interview process. Here’s how to spotlight your capabilities:
- During an interview. Interpersonal communication is essential in this job. Demonstrate active listening and keep eye contact with members during the discussion. You must prove that you’re attentive and present during the interview, and remember that the questions can vary, ranging from skill-specific to ethics based.
- On a cover letter. EMTs often keep track of their interactions with patients. The ability to write concisely and coherently is a plus. Furthermore, you can also elaborate on aspects like devotion and motivation.
- On a resume. You may highlight your most relevant skills in a separate CV section. Prior experience is welcome, and if you’re a newbie, you can place the “skills” section at the front of the document.
All things considered, are you into healthcare work? And would you make a good EMT?