WAKE EMS

NomadicMedic

NomadicMedic

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Does anyone here work for Wake EMS? I'd be interested in finding out more about it...
 
I too am curious. When I first got my p card I was strongly open to relocating to NC just for this service. It was equivalent to say, Wilco EMS. Then again, so was ATCEMS at that time.

Is it still as cutting edge and proactive as say, 10 or so years ago?

Have there been any major changes protcol-wise aside from what is available on paper?

To any wake county (or NC paramedics in general who have working knowledge) are some of their pros and cons?

How successful has the CP program been? I know they pride themselves on this via their website.

Thanks again, everyone.
 
I don't know anything about Wake EMS, but I do know that you guys really don't want to move to NC.

The sun is almost always in your eyes, and you rarely get to wear your winter clothes. The craft beer and BBQ is so plentiful and good that it's really hard not to over-indulge. Every weekend you have to make a decision - do I drive to the beach, or the mountains? And the Raleigh / Durham area? Nothing at all to do there. Lousy hospitals and EMS services. The cost of housing and taxes are only 50% lower than most of the rest of the east coast. The gulf coast and DC are both only a handful of hours away, so there's just more opportunity to waste money that you have to resist. Just a rotten place to live. Stay away.
 
Remi said:
I don't know anything about Wake EMS, but I do know that you guys really don't want to move to NC.

The sun is almost always in your eyes, and you rarely get to wear your winter clothes. The craft beer and BBQ is so plentiful and good that it's really hard not to over-indulge. Every weekend you have to make a decision - do I drive to the beach, or the mountains? And the Raleigh / Durham area? Nothing at all to do there. Lousy hospitals and EMS services. The cost of housing and taxes are only 50% lower than most of the rest of the east coast. The gulf coast and DC are both only a handful of hours away, so there's just more opportunity to waste money that you have to resist. Just a rotten place to live. Stay away.
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Tell me how you really feel...jk.

I appreciate your honesty, Remi.
 
Remi said:
I don't know anything about Wake EMS, but I do know that you guys really don't want to move to NC.

The sun is almost always in your eyes, and you rarely get to wear your winter clothes. The craft beer and BBQ is so plentiful and good that it's really hard not to over-indulge. Every weekend you have to make a decision - do I drive to the beach, or the mountains? And the Raleigh / Durham area? Nothing at all to do there. Lousy hospitals and EMS services. The cost of housing and taxes are only 50% lower than most of the rest of the east coast. The gulf coast and DC are both only a handful of hours away, so there's just more opportunity to waste money that you have to resist. Just a rotten place to live. Stay away.
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And to think, when I ETS'd out of Fort Bragg back in 2012 if I had a steady relationship I might have decided to stay there, and now be dealing with these horrors instead of having come back home living with my folks in the sunny paradise of Los Angeles..
 
Just to make sure my sarcasm wasn't lost in the internet translation.......the Carolinas are a great place to live. :)

And being from Charlotte and WNC, I know very little about Wake EMS, but all that I have heard is very positive.
 
They’re not in the continuous recruitment mode like many other agencies, but instead hire a few times a year. I spoke to the HR department the other day and it's a service where I'll apply as soon as the application window opens again.

Seems like most of the Carolina agencies have a similar PAT and entrance exam. I know Durham EMS and Medic in Charlotte use a very similar test.
 
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DEmedic said:
They’re not in the continuous recruitment mode like many other agencies, but instead hire a few times a year. I spoke to the HR department the other day and it's a service where I'll apply as soon as the application window opens again.

Seems like most of the Carolina agencies have a similar PAT and entrance exam. I know Durham EMS and Medic in Charlotte use a very similar test.
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Let us know how it goes when you do, good luck!
 
Remi said:
I don't know anything about Wake EMS, but I do know that you guys really don't want to move to NC.

The sun is almost always in your eyes, and you rarely get to wear your winter clothes. The craft beer and BBQ is so plentiful and good that it's really hard not to over-indulge. Every weekend you have to make a decision - do I drive to the beach, or the mountains? And the Raleigh / Durham area? Nothing at all to do there. Lousy hospitals and EMS services. The cost of housing and taxes are only 50% lower than most of the rest of the east coast. The gulf coast and DC are both only a handful of hours away, so there's just more opportunity to waste money that you have to resist. Just a rotten place to live. Stay away.
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I will admit, when i looked at moving last, i narrowed it down to tje gulf coasy of tx, nc, or Denver. Im wondering if i made the right choice now lol

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
TransportJockey said:
I will admit, when i looked at moving last, i narrowed it down to tje gulf coasy of tx, nc, or Denver. Im wondering if i made the right choice now lol

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
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There are lots of cool places to live, and no place is perfect. If I could be anywhere it'd probably be WA or OR, maybe CO or UT / northern AZ. But my family is all on the east coast, and my kids are old enough that it would be tough to move them......and I think if you are going to be on the east coast it's pretty tough to beat NC. I also like VT and NH, but my wife would never move back to the northeast. So NC it is.
 
@Remi, you and are are a lot a like. I'd move back to Washington in a minute, but finding a great medic job is tough. NH and VT are also on my list, but... again, finding a decent job is tough. NC sounds like it would be great.
 
I might have to send the HR department an email too asking when they will be hiring. I have always thought about Wake EMS and I did enjoy my time in NC when I was there for a week. Was muggy but I think I could survive for a good career.
 
What would you like to know? I work in the Wake County EMS system, but not for Wake EMS
 
Any, and everything I asked in my post would be of great help, thanks.
 
If you're considering NC, MEDIC Mecklenburg EMS is also another place to consider. Wake and MEDIC are always competing for performance numbers.
 
Medic is hiring currently too. Is 15-18 and hour starting liveable for the area? I'm trying to find good information on cost of living.
 
FireWA1 said:
Medic is hiring currently too. Is 15-18 and hour starting liveable for the area? I'm trying to find good information on cost of living.
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$15/hr? Eh, probably not. $18 would probably be OK if you don't mind living outside the city and having a commute to work, and if you can expect to move into the $20+ per hour range in a reasonable time frame. Charlotte has exploded the last few years and real estate costs have gone up considerably. I assume rent has, too. It used to be a dirt-cheap metro area to live in, and I think it is still very reasonable compared to other medium-large metros, but it is no longer *cheap*. Of course this all depends on your personal lifestyle, spending habits, expectations, etc.

Right across the state line in York County, SC you can have a not-too-bad commute to Charlotte (traffic has gotten much worse lately, too, but still isn't too horrible by elsewhere standards) and the cost of living is a little lower. Also York County has the best school districts in SC, if that matters to you.

PM me or start another thread and I can give you more detailed info; I don't want to hijack DE's thread about Wake. Also there are several MEDIC employees on this forum who can tell you all about that system. I left MedCenter Air a few years ago when I started CRNA school and I still know plenty of people there, so I can talk to you about them if you are interested.

Charlotte is a pretty cool city with quite a bit going on, and the rapid growth has been good in a lot of ways, but it has brought with it the expected challenges (traffic, rising prices, etc.).
 
VentMonkey said:
Is it still as cutting edge and proactive as say, 10 or so years ago?
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depends on your definition of cutting edge. Wake Paramedics are pretty independent, and they do base all they do on evidence based medicine. And they are always looking to make improvements, if it improves patient care.
VentMonkey said:
Have there been any major changes protcol-wise aside from what is available on paper?
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no, their protocols are pretty transparent, and they tend to post the updated copies on their website. Their medical director is heavily involved in the system, and updates them as needed.
VentMonkey said:
To any wake county (or NC paramedics in general who have working knowledge) are some of their pros and cons?
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pro: almost all units are assigned to a physical stations, with very few street corner postings. they tend to have nice equipment, and when there is a major call (cardiac arrest, penetrating trauma, major MVA, fire, etc), they send more than just one EMS resource to the scene.

Con: they do relocations quite often, and if you can't adjust to the wake EMS way of doing things, you will have a very short career. There is the right way, the wrong way and the Wake EMS way, which might not be right, but it's how they want it done.
VentMonkey said:
How successful has the CP program been? I know they pride themselves on this via their website.
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pretty successful. gives paramedics something to do besides be on an ambulance. and allows them to proactively prevent calls from occurring, especially with frequent fliers.
 
I would look at Wake, Durham, & Orange County EMS, all have similar protocols (and I think Wake pays the best). Durham is going through some internal staffing issues, and depending on who you ask either the place sucks or the sucky people are being phased out. Orange County is much smaller than both of them, but I think they pay better than Durham. All 3 will pay you more for experience. Wake and Orange put you in a station, not in a street corner like Durham or Charlotte.

The other thing to keep in mind is if you do more to the Raleigh area, you have your choice of 6 or 8 agencies to work for, all within an hours drive of Raleigh. Orange does 24/72 for their 24 hour trucks (which is the best schedule in my opinion, Wake does mostly 12s with the occasional 24 on 24 off 24 on, 24 one 72 off (I think I have that right), but they are moving those to 12s, and Durham does almost entirely 12s. In Durham you will run your *** off, and wake will be steady too. All are running their own 4 to 6 week EMS academy to acclimate you to their way of doing thing. But if you don't like one county agency, you can move to a different county agency and take your PTO and retirement time with you.

The cost of housing is relatively low, new EMTs can start at $11-$13 an hour, while paramedics are usually $15 or more, but each agency has their own salary scale depending on your experience. If you want to get an idea of pricing, I currently rent a 2 Bedroom 2.5 bathroom townhouse for less than $1000 a month, and I live within the city limits. And was able to afford it when I was working FT on the ambulance.

Is it a utopia? absolutely not. Like all EMS systems, there are internal issues, staffing issues, and not enough EMS resources for the call volume. And there are very smart people working there, and idiots who don't belong on an ambulance. But it could be a heck of a lot worse, and I know, because I have worked in heck of a lot worse.

I moved to NC after 30+ years in the north east, and, outside of the lack of a good bagel joint or a decent slice of pizza, I don't regret it one bit.
 
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