Abstract

Emergency Medical Services (EMS) are young and developing. These agencies provide pre-hospital care to individuals in communities across the United States. Despite their prevalence, research on EMS and its history is lacking. This study tracks the evolution of EMS in the United States by outlining its history, investigating major events during its life span, identifying major positive or negative influencing factors on its evolution, and conducting a survey to analyze the thoughts of the modern provider. The outline of the evolution of EMS exemplifies the evolution of the provider, which leads to the primary question. Are EMS providers clinicians? The survey is used as a tool to compare the beginnings of EMS professionals to the modern provider to answer this question. The survey concluded that EMS providers are clinicians and are continuing to grow. Not only that, but a major influencing factor that either aids or harms the growth of EMS is a lack of community education on the profession. Without community support agencies face EMS abuse, lack of support, and continuous underfunding. So, to conclude, this study explores the history of EMS in comparison to the modern provider in order to identify that EMS providers are clinicians and to inform communities on the roles of these agencies in their everyday lives.

Semester/Year of Award

Spring 2025

Mentor

David T. Fifer

Mentor Department Affiliation

Safety, Security, and Emergency Management

Access Options

Open Access Thesis

Document Type

Bachelor Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Scholars

Degree Level

Bachelors

Department

Safety, Security, and Emergency Management

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