Monroe Community College
Rochester, New York

MCC Paramedic Student Education

You are an EMS Professional, and as such, you must act and speak like any other professional. The following is a guideline that should be followed throughout the Paramedic Program and into your Paramedic practice. You should also politely and tactfully educate your fellow EMTs to do the same. If a patient is around your age or younger, use their first name to address them. If the patient is older use Mr./Mrs./Ms. and their last name unless they grant you permission to use their first name. If the name is unknown, use Sir or Ma'am to address the patient. Miss is also an acceptable alternative to Ma'am. Children generally don't mind if you use terms of endearment but you should probably use the child's first name. There are times when the parents of a child are angered by the use of terms used only by the closest members of the family. The following are terms of endearment that should not be used to address the adult patient. (* = Those terms abused most often.)

	Babe
	Baby
	Bub
  * 	Buddy
	Cutie
	Dad
  *	Darling
	Doll
	Grandma
	Grandpa
  *	Honey
  *	Hun
	Oldman
	Oldtimer
	Pa
	Pops
  *	Sweetheart
  *	Sweetie

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URL: http://www.monroecc.edu/depts/pstc/parasen1.htm