What is the difference between a medic and a para-medic?

My (perhaps imperfect) understanding of the difference between the words is:

Paramedic is a word for the highest level of trained Emergency Medical Technician in the USA, and they are sometimes also referred to as medics.

The word medic is also used in the context of US Army soldiers trained to conduct battlefield first aid. They’re trained as soldiers and in battlefield first aid and so on.

So it’s not really like there are medics in competition with paramedics for better training, though I think paramedics have more diverse training than army medics, but maybe slightly less specialization in war wounds (certainly less training in causing them).

I thought paramedics are more about mobility, meaning they are equipped with an ambulance to facilitate the rapid provision of emergency medical aid and equipment to those requiring it, and the speedy transport of those afflicted to hospitals for care. I think of medics as being limited to equipment and medication they can carry or improvise, and without responsibilty for transporting patients. I have this strong tendency to associate the term “medic” with military medical personnel.

In England a doctor is called a medic. A paramedic in either country does not have full medical training but is equipped to handle emergencies.

Yeah, taking time today to look at a dictionary:

“medic” is a really generic word for just about any medical professional, and often a soldier.

“paramedic” is often more specific and refers to a non-doctor who works with doctors, and often “a specially trained medical technician licensed to provide a wide range of emergency services (such as defibrillation and the intravenous administration of drugs) before or during transportation to a hospital”

Of course, there’s the classic 1970’s TV show Emergency which was all about the work of paramedics and frequently talked about what they were and what their training was, and showed them doing all sorts of things including dangerous climbing operations to rescue people.

A paramedic is more involved with the psychic aspects of an injury: Did a spirit enter into the body? Was poltergeist activity responsible for the accident? That kind of thing. A medic treats the actual injuries to the person.

that’s funny “paranormal medic”

Yes, but how well trained are they? Outside of Hogwarts, have you ever heard of a place that offers a degree?