paramedic
noun
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The History of Paramedic
In ground warfare, wounded troops must usually be transported from the front lines back to field hospitals, and trained paramedical personnel—that is, nondoctors, usually known as medics or corpsmen—were first widely used in such situations. It took many decades for the wartime model to be applied effectively to ordinary peacetime medicine. With advances in medical technology (such as defibrillators, for restarting a heart after a heart attack), paramedics became an essential part of emergency medicine, and today hundreds of thousands of people owe their lives to paramedics. Paraprofessionals who work only in hospitals and clinics usually go by other titles.
Examples of paramedic in a Sentence
Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 31 Mar. 2024
To assist with the procedure and with setting up the ECMO machine, flight paramedics and nurses — already familiar with ECMO — were recruited to train for the program.
—Helen Ouyang, New York Times, 27 Mar. 2024
These mobile teams, typically helmed by paramedics like Blaire, connect people who have overdosed with services aimed at stabilizing them long-term.
—Lauren Peace, CNN, 27 Mar. 2024
While the human drama plays out on the screen, Ollie, Gene and every other paramedic are fighting their own internal demons.
—Kaely Monahan, The Arizona Republic, 27 Mar. 2024
El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office deputies and paramedics responded to the area and began to render aid to the 18-year-old victim.
—Brian Brant, Peoplemag, 25 Mar. 2024
Oakland Fire Department and the paramedics responded to assist the victims who were transported to a hospital and are listed in stable condition.
—Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 24 Mar. 2024
The staff members included Fire Chief Brian Fels, two deputy chiefs, three lieutenants and nine firefighters, some of whom are also paramedics.
—The Enquirer, 23 Mar. 2024
Deputies offered support from a distance while calling paramedics to the site, the department said in a news release, but then Hijaz moved toward them and did not comply with warnings to stop.
—Jireh Deng, Los Angeles Times, 22 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'paramedic.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near paramedic
Cite this Entry
“Paramedic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/paramedic. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
paramedic
noun
from para- "alongside of, associated with in a secondary or assisting role" and medic "a person trained in or studying medical work"; para- derived from Greek para "beside, alongside of" and medic from Latin medicus "physician"
Medical Definition
paramedic
noun
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