I feel driven as only a retired EMT could be that the term Paramedic should be applied to all emergency ambulance personnel. Your comment in Joan 2,“like a paramedic but not paid as well”, just about sums it up! The difference between an experienced Paramedic and technician in the UK is a three month sandwich course paid for by the London Ambulance Service. Why the Service adopted these differing terminologies has always baffled me. In so far as the paramedic has additional skills and knowledge commensurate to a sandwich course, it doesn’t amount to a great deal to the suspended patient. It’s a heart start and solid professional CPR that really counts when technically all is lost. I always found that at a trauma call it was I as the EMT that took overall responsibility in what is the control and management of an emergency situation! The Paramedic was always too busy spiking the patient and drawing up medication and drug infusions. I always regarded the introduction of these separate terminologies as a slap in the face and it’s about time they got back to a more correct formulation. Every month when I received my wage slip as you do today, I was paid for paramedic skills, so why cant they acknowledge that by utilising the Paramedic, Qualified Paramedic terminology. This would more clearly reflect the reality of ambulance service tasks and anyway a so called Emergency Medical Technician is only some-one still on the journey, to becoming a fully qualified Paramedic!