Ambulance Drivers and Attendants, Except Emergency Medical Technicians

Overview

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Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed
Experience

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Education

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Job Training

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Examples

These occupations often involve using your knowledge and skills to help others. Examples include orderlies, counter and rental clerks, customer service representatives, security guards, upholsterers, tellers, and dental laboratory technicians.

Drive ambulance or assist ambulance driver in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons. Assist in lifting patients.

Yearly Salary

High: $41K
Median: $27K
Low: $20K

Demand

Career Demand by State Career Demand by State Legend

Core Tasks

  • Remove and replace soiled linens or equipment to maintain sanitary conditions.
  • Drive ambulances or assist ambulance drivers in transporting sick, injured, or convalescent persons.
  • Report facts concerning accidents or emergencies to hospital personnel or law enforcement officials.
  • Place patients on stretchers, and load stretchers into ambulances, usually with assistance from other attendants.
  • Accompany and assist emergency medical technicians on calls.
  • Replace supplies and disposable items on ambulances.
  • Clean and wash rigs, ambulances, or equipment.
  • Perform minor maintenance on emergency medical services vehicles, such as ambulances.
  • Earn and maintain appropriate certifications.
  • Administer first aid, such as bandaging, splinting, or administering oxygen.
  • Restrain or shackle violent patients.

Technology Skills

Technology
Example
Hot Technology
Electronic mail software
Microsoft Outlook
Helpdesk or call center software
Computer aided dispatch software
Map creation software
Mapping software
Office suite software
Microsoft Office software
Spreadsheet software
Microsoft Excel
Word processing software
Microsoft Word

Tools Used

Tool
Example
Communications Devices and Accessories
Multi-line telephone systems
Computer Equipment and Accessories
Personal computers
Medical apparel and textiles
Protective face shields
Medical facility products
Wheelchairs
Mobile medical services products
Patient stretchers
Motor vehicles
Ambulances
Orthopedic and prosthetic and sports medicine products
Rigid splints
Patient care and treatment products and supplies
Patient restraints
Patient exam and monitoring products
Mechanical stethoscopes
Personal safety and protection
Safety goggles
Respiratory and anesthesia and resuscitation products
Oxygen administration equipment

Top 10 Knowledge Required

Customer and Personal Service
79%
Importance

Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

English Language
78%
Importance

Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.

Public Safety and Security
75%
Importance

Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

Administration and Management
67%
Importance

Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

Law and Government
66%
Importance

Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Education and Training
65%
Importance

Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

Transportation
65%
Importance

Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

Medicine and Dentistry
62%
Importance

Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

Telecommunications
60%
Importance

Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

Administrative
58%
Importance

Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

Top 10 Skills

Critical Thinking
70%
Importance

Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.

Service Orientation
70%
Importance

Actively looking for ways to help people.

Active Listening
68%
Importance

Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.

Active Learning
63%
Importance

Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.

Reading Comprehension
63%
Importance

Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.

Social Perceptiveness
63%
Importance

Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.

Speaking
63%
Importance

Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Instructing
60%
Importance

Teaching others how to do something.

Judgment and Decision Making
60%
Importance

Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.

Monitoring
60%
Importance

Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.

Top 10 Abilities

Oral Comprehension
78%
Importance

The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.

Problem Sensitivity
78%
Importance

The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.

Oral Expression
75%
Importance

The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

Deductive Reasoning
65%
Importance

The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.

Near Vision
65%
Importance

The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).

Speech Recognition
65%
Importance

The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.

Arm-Hand Steadiness
63%
Importance

The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.

Far Vision
63%
Importance

The ability to see details at a distance.

Inductive Reasoning
63%
Importance

The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).

Information Ordering
63%
Importance

The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).

Top 10 Work Activities

Assisting and Caring for Others
89%
Importance

Providing personal assistance, medical attention, emotional support, or other personal care to others such as coworkers, customers, or patients.

Getting Information
86%
Importance

Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources.

Operating Vehicles, Mechanized Devices, or Equipment
86%
Importance

Running, maneuvering, navigating, or driving vehicles or mechanized equipment, such as forklifts, passenger vehicles, aircraft, or watercraft.

Documenting/Recording Information
85%
Importance

Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.

Performing for or Working Directly with the Public
85%
Importance

Performing for people or dealing directly with the public. This includes serving customers in restaurants and stores, and receiving clients or guests.

Inspecting Equipment, Structures, or Materials
82%
Importance

Inspecting equipment, structures, or materials to identify the cause of errors or other problems or defects.

Performing General Physical Activities
80%
Importance

Performing general physical activities includes doing activities that require considerable use of your arms and legs and moving your whole body, such as climbing, lifting, balancing, walking, stooping, and handling materials.

Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
78%
Importance

Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.

Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others
75%
Importance

Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.

Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge
74%
Importance

Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.

Detailed Work Activities

  • Maintain vehicles in good working condition.
  • Clean vehicles or vehicle components.
  • Drive passenger vehicles.
  • Provide first aid or rescue assistance in emergencies.
  • Maintain professional knowledge or certifications.
  • Stock medical or patient care supplies.
  • Notify others of emergencies, problems, or hazards.
  • Hold patients to ensure proper positioning or safety.

Education

Interests

Realistic
92%
Importance

Work involves designing, building, or repairing of equipment, materials, or structures, engaging in physical activity, or working outdoors. Realistic occupations are often associated with engineering, mechanics and electronics, construction, woodworking, transportation, machine operation, agriculture, animal services, physical or manual labor, athletics, or protective services.

Social
67%
Importance

Work involves helping, teaching, advising, assisting, or providing service to others. Social occupations are often associated with social, health care, personal service, teaching/education, or religious activities.

Conventional
52%
Importance

Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

Investigative
37%
Importance

Work involves studying and researching non-living objects, living organisms, disease or other forms of impairment, or human behavior. Investigative occupations are often associated with physical, life, medical, or social sciences, and can be found in the fields of humanities, mathematics/statistics, information technology, or health care service.

Enterprising
22%
Importance

Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.

Artistic
15%
Importance

Work involves creating original visual artwork, performances, written works, food, or music for a variety of media, or applying artistic principles to the design of various objects and materials. Artistic occupations are often associated with visual arts, applied arts and design, performing arts, music, creative writing, media, or culinary art.

Work Values

Relationships
81%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service.

Support
72%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer supportive management that stands behind employees. Corresponding needs are Company Policies, Supervision: Human Relations and Supervision: Technical.

Independence
48%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to work on their own and make decisions. Corresponding needs are Creativity, Responsibility and Autonomy.

Working Conditions
46%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions.

Achievement
43%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement.

Recognition
43%
Importance

Occupations that satisfy this work value offer advancement, potential for leadership, and are often considered prestigious. Corresponding needs are Advancement, Authority, Recognition and Social Status.