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An advanced emergency medical technician (AEMT) is a provider of emergency medical services in the United States. A transition to this level of training from the emergency medical technician-intermediate, which have somewhat less training,[1] began in 2013 and has been implemented by most states[citation needed]. AEMTs are not intended to deliver definitive medical care in most cases, but rather to augment prehospital critical care and provide rapid on-scene treatment. AEMTs are usually employed in ambulance services, working in conjunction with EMTs and paramedics; however they are also commonly found in fire departments and law enforcement agencies as non-transporting first responders. Ambulances operating at the AEMT level of care are commonplace in rural areas, and occasionally found in larger cities as part of a tiered-response system, but are overall much less common than EMT- and paramedic-level ambulances. The AEMT provides a low-cost, high-benefit option to provide advanced-level care when the paramedic level of care is not feasible. The AEMT is authorized to provide limited advanced life support, which is beyond the scope of an EMT.
- ^ American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (2011). Advanced Emergency Care and Transportation of the Sick and Injured (Second ed.). Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 5. ISBN 978-1449600815.