EMT (Emergency Medical Techn in Spanish

What does an EMT do?

MedlinePlus explains that emergency medical services use specially trained people and specially equipped facilities, and that for some emergencies you need help where you are. Emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, do specific rescue jobs: they answer emergency calls and give basic medical care, and they usually take you to the ER for more care. The Spanish version of the same page adds that they drive ambulances.

EMT and paramedic

The two words are not interchangeable in MedlinePlus: it says that some EMTs are paramedics, and that paramedics have training to do medical procedures on site.

When the EMTs are called

MedlinePlus says that if you or someone you know needs emergency care, go to your hospital's emergency room, and that if you think the problem is life-threatening, call 911. Its article on recognizing medical emergencies says to call 911 or your local emergency number if the person's condition is life threatening, could become life threatening on the way to the hospital, if moving the person could cause further injury, or if the person needs the skills or equipment of paramedics.

What it means

Emergency medical technicians, or EMTs, do specific rescue jobs: they answer emergency calls and give basic medical care. MedlinePlus places them within emergency medical services, the services to use if you get very sick or badly hurt and need help right away, and explains that for some emergencies you need help where you are. Some EMTs are paramedics, who have training to do medical procedures on site, and they usually take you to the emergency room (ER) for more care. MedlinePlus says to call 911 if you think the problem is life-threatening, and its article on recognizing medical emergencies lists a person needing the skills or equipment of paramedics among the reasons to call 911. MedlinePlus en español writes técnicos médicos de urgencias.

EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) in Spanish

Spanish term: Técnico en emergencias médicas
Gender and article: masculine: el técnico en emergencias médicas (feminine: la técnica en emergencias médicas)
Pronunciation: TEK-nee-koh en eh-mehr-HEN-syahs MEH-dee-kahs

Other Spanish terms	Where it is used	Note
técnico médico de urgencias	General	The form MedlinePlus en español prints, in the plural: los técnicos médicos de urgencias.
EMT	General	English abbreviation that MedlinePlus en español keeps in its Spanish text, flagged with "por sus siglas en inglés".

The headword técnico en emergencias médicas is not printed in that exact form by any page cited here. MedlinePlus en español writes técnicos médicos de urgencias and then keeps the English abbreviation, EMT, por sus siglas en inglés, so both are given as variants. The same page is titled Servicios de emergencias médicas while its text says servicios médicos de urgencia and sala de urgencias, so emergencias and urgencias both appear. The Spanish dictionary enters técnico, ca as a noun of both genders (m. y f.) for a person who has the special knowledge of a science or art, which gives el técnico and la técnica.

Paramédico is not a synonym: MedlinePlus en español says that some EMTs are paramédicos, trained to carry out medical procedures at the scene. The dictionary enters paramédico, ca as an adjective for what is related to medicine without properly belonging to it, and labels the sense of working as an assistant in medical tasks, also used as a noun, for Chile and El Salvador.

Phrases for an appointment

What a patient or a clinician might say, in English and Spanish:

Who	English	Spanish
Clinician	We are emergency medical technicians. What happened?	Somos técnicos en emergencias médicas. ¿Qué pasó?
Patient	I fell, and I cannot get up.	Me caí y no puedo levantarme.
Clinician	Where does it hurt?	¿Dónde le duele?
Patient	My hip hurts a lot, and I feel dizzy.	Me duele mucho la cadera y siento mareo.
Clinician	Do you take any medicines, or are you allergic to anything?	¿Toma algún medicamento, o tiene alergia a algo?
Clinician	We are going to take you to the emergency room for more care.	Vamos a llevarle a la sala de urgencias para que reciba más atención.
Patient	Can my daughter ride with me in the ambulance?	¿Puede mi hija ir conmigo en la ambulancia?
Patient	Which hospital are you taking me to?	¿A qué hospital me llevan?

In 9 languages

Language	Term
English	EMT (Emergency Medical Technician)
Spanish (Español)	Técnico en emergencias médicas
Chinese (中文)	緊急醫療技術員
Korean (한국어)	응급 구조사
Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt)	Kỹ thuật viên y tế khẩn cấp
Filipino (Tagalog)	Emergency Medical Technician
Portuguese (Português)	Técnico em emergências médicas
Thai (ภาษาไทย)	เจ้าหน้าที่การแพทย์ฉุกเฉิน
Japanese (日本語)	救急救命士（基礎）

Where you'll see it

medical recordtriage note

Related terms

Your right to an interpreter in the United States

If English is not your primary language and you have difficulty communicating in English, you may need an interpreter or a translated document when you visit a doctor or dentist, go to the emergency room or pick up a prescription. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights states that two federal laws, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, require programs that receive its funding to provide language access services free of charge.

You can ask when you make the appointment or at the front desk: "I need an interpreter, please." «Necesito un intérprete, por favor.»

More terms: General care: tests, procedures and medicines

All terms in this area: General care: tests, procedures and medicines — Atención general: pruebas, procedimientos y medicamentos

Sources

This page is a language reference. It is not medical advice.