J.B. Hours and level of training. The curriculum for EMTs was developed by the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration in response to the unusual number of highway deaths in the '60s and '70s. The paramedic is essentially the next level. The EMT basically can take care of your emergencies, stabilize you and transport you to the hospital. A paramedic initiates treatments, at times aggressively, to prevent reoccurrence of cardiac arrhythmias or rhythms.
Paramedic programs are available through community technical colleges, universities and hospitals.
The majority of them are now becoming two-year programs. Originally it was just a matter of 500 hours of training. They'd have to be an EMT first and have a certain level of experience to be chosen for the program, but essentially that is correct. An EMT course is about 120 hours of training, which includes direct classroom training, practical training and clinical rotations where they go into the hospitals to observe. Specialties are starting to develop.