Emergency Medical Technician (EMT)

EMERGENCY MEDICAL TECHNICIAN (EMT) -  Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and ambulance technician are terms used in some countries to denote a health care provider of emergency medical services.   EMTs are clinicians, trained to respond quickly to emergency situations regarding medical issues, traumatic injuries and accident scenes.  Under the British system and those that are influenced by it, they are referred to as ambulance technicians (often shortened to techs), while in the American system and its influenced countries, they are referred to as emergency medical technicians.

EMTs are most commonly found working in ambulances, but should not be confused with "ambulance drivers" or "ambulance attendants" – ambulance staff who in the past were not trained in emergency care or driving.   EMTs are often employed by private ambulance services, governments, and hospitals, but are also often employed by fire departments (and seen on fire apparatus), in police departments (and seen on police vehicles), and there are many firefighter/EMTs and police officer/EMTs.   EMTs operate under a limited scope of practice.  EMTs are normally supervised by a medical director, who is a physician.