I really dont know where your getting your information but the Paramedic standard is a national standard set by the Department of Transportation, furthermore the national standard in the US come from DOT but Also the National Registry of Emergency Medical Technicians which if you hold that certification you can get a license in any state in the US via reciprocity licensing. Also those 2-3 classes to get to the medic level takes on average 2 years to complete. In total i did about 2600 academic/rotation/internship hours to get my medic about the same as your average two year nursing program... Ill leave it at that as Nurse vs Medic is a whole other topic that can become a sore subject/pissing match for both sides and both sides will say there right.

Yes its true that the term Licensed Paramedic is not set and can very from state to state (IE Texas a Licensed Paramedic means they have a associates degree in paramedicine or have a Bachelors in any subject matter) but the base skill set is still there. If you want to muddy the waters go look at CCEMTP, FpC and so on. Then looking at the definition of paramedic in its simplest means "before doctor" as a paramedics permission to perform there duties comes from delegated authority from a doctor (hence the term medical control, protocols, and standing orders).

Then what do you call the person ranked last in medical school....Doctor. 14 years of training is great but if its not in emergency medicine or trauma its not likely to be of much use during flight (IE patient having a MI who do you want doing patient care(starting a IV, pushing meds, etc) a proctologist with 30 years since there ER rotations or a Paramedic who does 911/inter-facility/Critical Care/Air Medical (rotar/fixed-wing) transports or any combo in-between day in day out. I would hope you would pick the medic.

PassatDoc I disagree with you on the BP and listening for heart and lung sounds. Yes there is a high amount of ambient noise in the cabin , but no worse then sirens running code3 down the highway and radios in the truck going off, or on a scene with a helicopter landing i still can hear with my littmann cardiology III to do my vital signs and assessment. I even have a original electronic stethoscopes from littmann that i won in a contest shortly after it was released, and use it but my go to is my Cardiology III which is typically around my neck at work where-as the electronic one is in my duty bag. Yes there is the palpation method but i leave that to a last resort before going to the 40/60/80 rule.

jbdk - a EMT (I assume your referring to a EMT-B or Basic, as EMT can cover the Basic, Intermediate(EMT-I), and Paramedic (EMT-P) levels) is going to be very limited in what they can do as the scope of practice is narrow so anything beyond some O's, snapping a Blood Sugar or Vital Signs is really going to be limited unless online medical control wants to do over the phone orders and do guidance or practice and procedure (In this day and age of liability and malpractice insurance not likely)

TWA884 - thats a pretty decent quick run-down of the difference in levels.

Mreed911 - another Texas medic (Herman or Harris Co ???), and a good run down on things in Texas. You are so right on protocols being a limiting factor in many areas, thank goodness there are Medical Directors out there that give us more latitude in our treatment, and go the extra step to sign off on what some might call non-traditional skill sets/procedures/therapies for a medic.

I have been on a couple of incidents on-board ironically all transcon flights, but only one divert (COPD/ Diabetic patient didn't tolerate a cabin pressurized to 8,000 Ft (FL 350) and after failing to respond to Oxygen and fluids, diverted and offloaded).

Come to think of it Ive never been questioned about my credentials (National, State, Card Courses (ACLS, CPR, and about a dozen others), but it wouldn't be that hard as copies of my certs are in my wallet and I have copies encrypted on my phone, or i would have them patch me in down to my medical control and have my Medical Director do the validation.