Glossary
Paramedic Terms & Vocabulary
15 essential paramedic terms with plain-English definitions: the vocabulary you’ll hear in training and on day one.
Key paramedic vocabulary
These 15 terms come up constantly in paramedic training, on the job and in interviews. Knowing them helps you follow instructions, document accurately and sound prepared.
- 12-lead ECG
- A detailed tracing of the heart’s electrical activity from 12 views.
- ALS
- Advanced life support: care that includes medications, IVs and advanced airways.
- Capnography
- Monitoring exhaled carbon dioxide (EtCO2).
- Golden hour
- The concept that rapid treatment after major trauma improves survival.
- IO access
- Intraosseous access: placing a needle into bone to give fluids and medications.
- Length-based tape
- A tape, such as the Broselow tape, used to estimate pediatric weight and doses.
- Medical direction
- Physician oversight of EMS care, by protocol or radio.
- PCR
- Patient care report: the official record of care.
- Protocols
- Written treatment guidelines paramedics follow.
- ROSC
- Return of spontaneous circulation after cardiac arrest.
- Scope of practice
- The skills and medications a paramedic is allowed to use.
- STEMI
- A type of heart attack identified on a 12-lead ECG.
- Stroke scale
- A quick assessment, such as the Cincinnati scale, to identify stroke.
- Tension pneumothorax
- Air trapped in the chest that compresses the lungs and heart.
- Triage
- Sorting patients by severity, such as with the START system.
Practice these terms
Test yourself with the free Paramedic practice test: it includes vocabulary questions built from this list. For a complete course, see Paramedic training.
Browse terms from every career in our career glossary.