First Responder

NOTE: Emergency Medical Technician has many of the same duties of a Paramedic, but they are much younger. EMT's requirements are: Must be at least 20 and have an EMT certificate.

The Paramedic plays an extremely important role on board the station. Primarily tasked with reaching injured crew members far from medbay, every second counts and every action or inaction means the difference between life and death. It is heavily advised you play as Medical Doctor regularly and familiarly before attempting the job of paramedic. Paramedics are trained in the medical field, but are not doctors; so cannot perform surgeries or advanced diagnoses. They're trained in detecting and fixing, most of the time partially, symptoms found on the field; and in the art of triage.

Getting Set Up
A large part of the paramedic job is having all bases covered and prepared before an actual call; because once you get it, there is little to no time to fetch any missing medicine. A good paramedic must be able to stabilize a patient on the field, and reduce any damage to his body, whatever the type. A good paramedic must also be able to reach all corners of the station as soon as possible, regardless of its condition. This is why, it is advised that the following is always on hand: (For the purpose of this guide, medicines found at round-start without the need for a chemist will be listed as examples. Do not restrict yourself to these medicines if better versions are available). Medicines and tools below are mostly found in NanoMed vendors or medkits.


 * [[File:MedGlasses.png]] A Medical HUD to check records and patient physical condition on the go.
 * [[File:LGloves.png]] A pair of Latex Gloves to prevent spreading infection.
 * [[File:Sterilemask.png]] A Sterile Mask to avoid catching something.
 * [[File:Healthanalyzer.png]] A health analyzer
 * [[File:Syringes.png]] inaprovaline syringes to prevent further deterioration of a critical patient.
 * [[File:Syringes.png]] Spaceacillin syringes to slow progression of viruses and prevent wound infections.
 * [[File:Burnkit.png]]  Advanced Burn Kits to treat burns and prevent infections.
 * [[File:Traumakit.png]] Advanced Trauma Kits to treat brute damage and open wounds.
 * [[File:BreathMask.png]] A couple of breath masks for you to reach depressurized zones, and to give to patients having difficulty breathing.
 * [[File:OxygenTank.png]] A couple of oxygen tanks for you and/or a patient.
 * [[File:Medical_Hardsuit.png]] A Medical voidsuit ready. It is wise to store it in medical, to save the trip to E.V.A; or shall the trip be impossible.
 * [[File:Splint.png]] Splint to secure fractures before moving a patient.
 * [[File:Pills.gif]] Dylovene bottles or pills, to treat toxin damage.
 * [[File:Pills.gif]] Dexalin bottles or pills, to treat suffocation damage.
 * [[File:Rollerbed.png]] A Roller bed to transport patients unable to walk.
 * [[File:Body_Bag.png]] A body bag to transport dead patients to medbay.
 * An effective painkiller like Tramadol. Patients in shock and pain are more likely to faint, failing to communicate with you, which is detrimental.

Responding to an Emergency
Now that you're all prepped and ready, it's only a waiting game until your first emergency arises. Whether by monitoring suit sensors or a radio call, you'll have a name and a place. Rush to the place as soon as you can; making sure you're equipped with your voidsuit if the area is depressurized. Once on scene, you will need to stabilize your patient before moving him/her to medbay; depending on the state he is in.

Non-Critical Patient
If the call you've responded to is non-critical (The patient is fully conscious, stable, and/or health above 0); then all you need to do is diagnose the specific problem and administer the necessary medicine on the field. It is advised, however; to bring the patient back to the medbay for a more thorough check. Nonetheless, you will find yourself performing several of the steps found in the next section; but with much less urgency, which means less medicine used on the patient which can be treated in the medbay.

Critical Patients
Dealing with critical patients is a bit more tricky. More likely than not, you'll find critical patients (Health Below 0) are unconscious, or otherwise unable to communicate. This will make finding the exact cause of the problem unlikely in the field, which would require you transport the patient to the medical bay post-haste. But before that, a series of steps are required to make sure your patient doesn't die on the way. The steps are listed in order of importance.
 * Administer Inaprovaline to the critical patient, to make sure his situation doesn't worsen.
 * If the patient is bleeding, apply the trauma kit to the affected area as soon as possible to stop the bleeding.
 * If the patient is suffocating, a strap an oxygen tank to him and make sure he breathes out of it on the way to the medical ward.
 * If the patient has/had an open wound, it is advised you inject him with spaceallin or apply an advanced burn kit to kill any infection at the stem. This is a preemptive measure, and unnecessary unless you believe the patient is in such a dismal condition that you can't afford any more risks. You are unable to detect infections on the field, and need an advanced health scanner, found in medbay, to do so.
 * Treat any remaining burn, brute or toxin damage with the application of advanced kits or pills, to further improve the state of the patient.
 * Administer Tramadol if the patient is suffering from pain-causing symptoms, like fractures, burns or brute damage. Patients in shock are less communicative, which will hamper your efforts.
 * Finally, splint any fractures before strapping your patient to his roller bed and rolling him away.

While transporting the patient, make sure to orally ask him/her how he's feeling. Don't let the effort went into stabilizing the patient go to waste, throwing away the advantage of having a perfectly responsive patient.

On arrival, make sure you brief any doctor that will handle your patient on what you did to him/her, and whatever his symptoms were. Remember the ICly, doctors shouldn't give out treatment lightly, and failing to inform the doctor taking over of past steps might have him repeat the treatment, which might lead to an overdose.

What to Do When Out of Emergencies?
Paramedics, being non-doctors trained in the medical field, can assume other roles around the medbay to make MD's lives easier; and improve overall efficiency of the medical bay; basically acting as a glorified nurse.
 * Help move patients from one branch of the medbay to another.
 * Monitor the reception, monitor suit sensors.
 * Handle triage; stabilizing patients who were left waiting.
 * Check up on patients who were given a bed.
 * Distribute spacealline and help enforce quarantines in case of a viral breakout.

Traitoring
As a paramedic, you get all the perks Medical Doctors get when traitoring, from deliberate malpractice to using your medicines of good for plots of evil. But one added perk is that, as a Paramedic, you're usually the only medically trained person to first reach a dying patient outside the medbay walls. That can be used to your advantage, for frantically dragging off a bleeding body is part of your job, and in no way suspicious.

Roleplay Tips

 * Remember that paramedics are not MDs. Keep that in mind, and use it to give an interesting edge to your character. Think like a paramedic would; not a doctor. Asking questions a doctor would consider 'silly' is perfectly fine for you.
 * Paramedics are trained on urgency, speed and that every second counts; unlike the MDs who had to spend over a decade studying to start practicing. That contract between your coworkers and you can be used to enhance RP.