Clevelend TN

[rugrat]

Hey guys,


So I will be moving from MSP to Clevelend, TN in a month. I have goals for the medical field. I would really love to do EMS work and as of yet in MSP that has not been a possibility. :sad:

I am going to be working on pre-med and possibly after that PA school or Med school. I would still love to throw paramedic school in there somewhere too and possibly be a paramedic for a few years. (what I am planning to do it may benefit me having experience as a paramedic too)

Anyways I don't know if it is a lost cause trying to get a job at an EMS department as I won't be around most likely after 4 years or so. I also know EMS departments do not like people who are studying for other things.
However I would much rather be working in EMS than in a hospital

A couple of questions is most of TN still EMT-IV? So if it is are there IV cert programs? If I have my NREMT (and MN license) do I still need to get TN specific cert to work?

Also is there anyone on here who works Bradley county EMS, Southeast Ambulance (in Cleveland), Rural Metro Corp, or Terracon. I would consider even working somewhat nearby at Puckett EMS, Hamilton County EMS, or angel EMS.

Any leads would be very appreciated. I am very grateful for all the advice and knowledge I have gained from this website.. As well as the laughs

Thanks,
Rugrat

 

[medic2100]

As a Chattanooga Medic I will give you some pointers. In the State of TN they are no longer licensing EMT-IV's. It is EMT, AEMT, and Paramedic. As a EMT basic you would be able to apply for EMT however I do not believe you can actually work on an ambulance with just EMT. You have to be AEMT or higher. As far as services go let me give you some general run downs.

In Cleveland the only 911 service is Bradley County EMS. Great protocols, however very hard to get hired.

You mentioned Southeast Ambulance. They are a BLS service that runs a whole lot of dialysis, doctors appointments, ect. They say they run facility emergency, but if you consider two EMT's effectively running a CPR good quality patient care then sure. They also have wheelchair transport.

I'm not sure what Terracon is, I've worked in Chattanooga for four years now and I haven't ever heard of them.

Rural Metro is in Polk County. They are the primary 911 provider.

You have AMR to the north in McMinn County that runs everything out of that county, it was recently changed from AMR 911/rural metro IFT but rural metro lost their contracts.

If you wanted to travel some Puckett EMS is a good service to work for. They are the primary 911 service provider in Marion and Sequatchie Co. TN and Dade County, GA. They have the large Erlanger Health Systems contract and quite a few facilities. They also have an expanding MedVan program that does medicaid transport, ambulatory, wheelchair, and non medical stretcher transport. They also share East Ridge TN with 3 other services.

Angel EMS is the primary 911 provider for Catoosa Co. GA. They also run some convo calls. They have wheelchair van transport also. Shares East Ridge.

Memorial EMS is a small hospital based service at CHI Memorial. They do mostly discharges from the hospital and IFT. They also share East Ridge.

Lifeguard EMS is a larger service that has the Parkridge Health Contract, they also have several nursing homes. They share East Ridge 911 also.

You mentioned the fact that you weren't sure if people would hire you due to the fact that you won't be around in 4 years. This is EMS, people come and go all the time. It's okay. I assume your studying at Lee U. Oh and also, all of these require you to be 21 to be on the truck. I think you can work on the wheelchair vans under 21 but its for insurance reasons.

Hope this helps!

 

[rugrat]

Thanks so much for the info!
This helps a lot, I did not think I would be able to find someone in the area!

I called a few places a few days ago. I am starting work on reciprocity with TN and I am little confused as to IV.

The service I talked to mainly (SouthEast) said they wanted IV? Should I just try to go for AEMT? While I am at it? I am not sure how long courses are for that. Maybe I could just take an IV course? Basically I am looking at getting a job as soon as possible for two main reasons
1). Hoping to get married sometime in the next year or two and it would be good to have a decent job!
2). I am leaning towards PA school and I want to try to get into Duke and they want a lot of patient hours (which is why most people do not get in).

I got my EMT just a little under a year ago and besides a little bit of volunteering in Central America I have not been able to do much. There are a few companies here in the area Minneapolis, but they are huge and as you can guess prefer paramedics (I don't blame them). I interviewed a few times with the one company here that hires basics for 911 and they liked me, but they did not want someone who was currently a university student. I think one of my problems here in MN has been I have zero friends who are EMT's, ER techs, or Paramedics... or anything related. I need to work on networking!

I have been to a couple of different colleges so I am not just out of highschool, but still am youngin' and not 21. So I know that will make getting a job, hard but I would be fine working in an ER or any job which would give expedience really.

To be honest (ashamedly so) to my knowledge I have never been in an ambulance in my life (I know I should probably have got injured more growing up )The EMT school I was in only did hospital clinicals and since getting my cert. I have only done volunteering with hospitals, I really love medical stuff though. In fact every time I have done it I would totally be down to doing it for free (don't let the companies know and I am guessing that will pass haha). I just love being able to help people. I have been working in restaurants for many years and my favorite part is customer service. At the end of day a great steak doesn't matter though, but someone's life does. If I could I am really hoping to get out of the restaurant business which will mean decreased pay most likely, but something I really enjoy.

@medic2100
I would really love to go on some ride alongs. So if you or any friends are allowed to take people let me know! I can buy lunch or something.

As far as getting a job goes I do not mind driving a little farther. If there is anywhere you would recommend for a 19y/o with an EMT-B (I will try to get an AEMT as soon as I can) anywhere within an hour of Cleveland. (Oh and I will be going to Lee)

I will work on getting older, my AEMT, and Tenn. license.

I will try and checkout puckett and some of the other companies..
Now is great time to get one of those 21+ fake ID's right? :rofl:
(I never do things for the normal reason anyways)

Thanks for the help and input!
Rugrat

 

[azbrewcrew]

Rugrat, do you mind me asking where in the Minneapolis area you applied/interviewed at? Im looking at possibly moving back up that way but dont have too much info about the area as its been 13 years. You can PM me if you feel more comfortable doing that. Thanks!

 

[rugrat]

PM'ed