Advanced Care Paramedic

The NAIT Advanced Care Paramedic program prepares graduates for a rewarding and challenging career in providing emergency medical services to the sick and injured. Advanced Care Paramedics are members of the inter-professional health care team, working collaboratively with other emergency medical personnel, physicians, nurses, and other health professionals. They primarily provide care of patients at emergency scenes in the pre hospital care setting, but can also have roles in emergency departments and other settings within an acute care hospital setting. They are responsible for assessing a patient's condition to determine the extent of his or her injury or illness and immediate care needs, and providing treatment that includes advanced life support procedures, airway management, medication administration, tending to traumatic injuries, intravenous catheterization, bandaging, splinting, suturing child birth, mental health crisis interventions, and more. Patient care often includes initial stabilization of the patient and transport via ambulance to health care facilities for further treatment. Demands of the job and practicum training as a student include standing, reaching, walking, crouching, bending, and lifting of heavy equipment, as well as exposure to stressful emergency situations where patients are critically ill or injured, and quick decisions must be made in managing the patient and delegating roles to first responders. There are also risks for exposure to chemicals, bodily fluids, needle sticks, moving traffic, weather conditions. The NAIT Advanced Care Paramedic program utilizes facilities at NAIT, active treatment hospitals, and ambulance services to train and prepare students for graduation and employment.