EMS dreams crushed!

[JBLS14]

Managers, supervisors, owners....etc. all driving beautiful cars, luxury homes, excellent cars. Thanks to the EMTS ($10.00) IM SICK OF IT!!!! why do emts still work for pennies. all the hard work, all night studying for NREMT, finals, quizzes, test ,paying for EMT school. all for nothing. this is a situation that needs to be stopped. we emts work hard 12hr shift, 24, 36, 72...5150 pts, this is crazy where so under paid.


WHEN IS THIS ALL GONNA CHANGE!!!

 

[TransportJockey]

Managers, supervisors, owners....etc. all driving beautiful cars, luxury homes, excellent cars. Thanks to the EMTS ($10.00) IM SICK OF IT!!!! why do emts still work for pennies. all the hard work, all night studying for NREMT, finals, quizzes, test ,paying for EMT school. all for nothing. this is a situation that needs to be stopped. we emts work hard 12hr shift, 24, 36, 72...5150 pts, this is crazy where so under paid.


WHEN IS THIS ALL GONNA CHANGE!!!

When there isn't a line of people willing to do your job for pennies for the 'experience' or to do something while biding their time to get into the fire dept. When there's actually some real education required for entry level providers (raising the bar to entry). When there's not people out there willing to do it for free. When EMS actually does something to earn themselves respect from other medical professionals...
Do I need to keep going?

 

[irishboxer384]

Well start up your own company if you're jealous of management?
Complaining about having to study?
Complaining about quizzes?
Paying for school?

Are you trolling or just not understand how life works?

 

[JPINFV]

Managers, supervisors, owners....etc. all driving beautiful cars, luxury homes, excellent cars. Thanks to the EMTS ($10.00) IM SICK OF IT!!!! why do emts still work for pennies. all the hard work, all night studying for NREMT, finals, quizzes, test ,paying for EMT school. all for nothing. this is a situation that needs to be stopped. we emts work hard 12hr shift, 24, 36, 72...5150 pts, this is crazy where so under paid.


WHEN IS THIS ALL GONNA CHANGE!!!

Because EMTs are replaceable because people buy the line of "saving lives" and "doing what doctors do at 65 MPH" and end up holding a job driving granny to dialysis and back three times a week. Why is there a long line? Because in the grand scheme of things, EMT training is short, simple, and easy. Full time and you can be licensed in under a month. Boost the education requirements (and, yes, EMT standards are a complete joke at this point) and you decrease supply, increase utility, and in the end increase reimbursement.

 

[Chewy20]

Managers, supervisors, owners....etc. all driving beautiful cars, luxury homes, excellent cars. Thanks to the EMTS ($10.00) IM SICK OF IT!!!! why do emts still work for pennies. all the hard work, all night studying for NREMT, finals, quizzes, test ,paying for EMT school. all for nothing. this is a situation that needs to be stopped. we emts work hard 12hr shift, 24, 36, 72...5150 pts, this is crazy where so under paid.


WHEN IS THIS ALL GONNA CHANGE!!!

Not every person in EMS makes pennies. You subject yourself to pennies by not going out of your little box to find jobs. Some people on here have moved cross country for a job that pays well. Sick of it? Go to school for longer than 120 hours and you will have a higher starting salary. I am a basic with no REAL education in medicine and I will admit it. It's a huge problem in American EMS that will hopefully decide to be like the rest of the world and raise the standards.

Also, I highly doubt you were told you were going to be making the big bucks in EMS before you started EMT school. Should of been one of your instructors first sentences.

Yes we do work hard, but think of all the crappy EMS services with zero standards regarding their employees. No offense to strictly IFT companies because its a job and I used to do it myself, but I or anyone else could have done that job without being certified as an EMT, so why do we deserve more than 10 bucks an hour? Because there are lights on top of the truck that have never been turned on?. Until companies have some standards and stop letting their employees look like dog sh** when they walk into a hospital who don't know their a** from their elbow things will never change. I think that's the first step of a long long list of ways EMS in this country needs to change.

 

[chriscemt]

Funny. I drive a nicer car than my boss, and I own a house and he rents an apartment.

There's more than your base pay rate that determines your financial stability.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Troll or not, I swear that "low pay" and "no respect" has got to be the most frequent topic of conversation across all EMS-related social media.

I cannot think of another group that complains so much.

 

[MedicRx]

Troll or not, I swear that "low pay" and "no respect" has got to be the most frequent topic of conversation across all EMS-related social media.

I cannot think of another group that complains so much.

Ha I can... Try the nurses... Although our issues are largely self-inflicted. Seriously, the barrier to entry for this profession is ridiculously low.

 

[Angel]

cosmetologists go to school longer than EMTs do. that should tell you something (1500 hours vs 120) and even people were complaining about the 120hr requirement increasing.
We do it to ourselves.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Ha I can... Try the nurses... Although our issues are largely self-inflicted. Seriously, the barrier to entry for this profession is ridiculously low.

I am a nurse and I can tell you the "woe is me, I'm so underpaid" thing in that community can't even begin to hold a candle to what you see among EMT's and paramedics.

 

[Chewy20]

Everyone will moan and groan about their jobs no matter what, what ticks me off is that 90% (at least) of EMS "professionals" give the other 10% a bad name, and those 90% are the ones thinking they deserve more money. Do I deserve more money? Not at all until I get more education under me. Thankfully I am paid decently for working 2 days a week. I think it is hilarious when an EMT/Medic gets all pissy when a doc doesn't give two craps about what you are saying to them. The only reason they do that is because they are used to seeing morons walk through the door. We did it to ourselves. So I want you to reply here and tell me what DREAM in EMS you are referring to, because as of now you are part of that 90% that moans and does nothing to fix it.

I may have woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning but grow a pair and do what you need to do or find a different job. Myself and others have worked hard to get to where we are now, and all those 90% do is make it seem pointless.

I also bet you are right around 18 years old. That new needy generation that thinks they deserve the world without working for it. K I'm done. Need a beer.

 

[JBLS14]

ATTENTION: I'm just here trying to get a response from a topic i hear every single damn day!!!!! from every EMT! by posting this thread in the way it was posted i got some real honest answers, Sorry for getting you guys a bit tick off......now where MY beer

 

[JPINFV]

You did get a response... you just don't like the answer.

 

[triemal04]

Troll or not, I swear that "low pay" and "no respect" has got to be the most frequent topic of conversation across all EMS-related social media.

I cannot think of another group that complains so much.

CRNA's?

Admit it....you laughed.

 

[JPINFV]

Hahaha... the advanced practice nursing forum over at Allnurses.com probably has the most whining about wages and respect.

However, the most neurotic posts on the internet has to be the pre-allo section of Student Doctor Network.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Managers, supervisors, owners....etc. all driving beautiful cars, luxury homes, excellent cars. Thanks to the EMTS ($10.00) IM SICK OF IT!!!! why do emts still work for pennies. all the hard work, all night studying for NREMT, finals, quizzes, test ,paying for EMT school. all for nothing. this is a situation that needs to be stopped. we emts work hard 12hr shift, 24, 36, 72...5150 pts, this is crazy where so under paid.


WHEN IS THIS ALL GONNA CHANGE!!!

All of the people you listed probably deserve good pay because of what they did to get there. As an EMT all you did was take a class (usually 1 semester). Managers generally have a degree and a lot of experience (in my area at least). Supervisors started as EMTs or Medics for many years and have shown leadership abilities (may have a degree and usually have extra certs). Owners once again IMO deserve high pay considering they own the company.

Look at McDonalds, they have the same thing set up.

 

[JPINFV]

All of the people you listed probably deserve good pay because of what they did to get there. As an EMT all you did was take a class (usually 1 semester). Managers generally have a degree and a lot of experience (in my area at least). Supervisors started as EMTs or Medics for many years and have shown leadership abilities (may have a degree and usually have extra certs). Owners once again IMO deserve high pay considering they own the company.

Look at McDonalds, they have the same thing set up.

...and then there's In-N-Out...

 

[FF-EMT Diver]

We do complain more that any profession I know of.

We don't act like professionals.

I'm happy with my pay, I have new vehicles, house, money in the bank, a retirement account on track to retire comfortable, I vacation approx 4x a year and that all on a mediocre salary. I am frugal.

My dream is to be the best provider my patient has had when the need someone, to be at the top of the tier and when I can't be that I'll step to the side. I literally still study my butt off and have climbed the ladder because of that.

I am now the training officer for my agency and I am using the weight of that to influence my peers to change their attitude and concept.

If you attempt to make a difference however small you will have an affect. Good luck!

 

[CentralCalEMT]

It is because you work in IFT in Southern California. The environment down there taints the way that EMTs see the world and it is sad. That attitude is pervasive down there. Nobody seems to care at most companies. Owners do not care about their employee. Employees do not care about the company or the equipment. Dialysis centers and hospitals view the EMTs as "ambulance drivers." Those ambulance companies are businesses plain and simple. All they care about is the bottom line. Why do you think with dozens of companies in LA County only several will even bid on 911 contracts? They exist solely to make the owner money, just like any other for profit business. The sad truth is, most of those companies are not even close to being real EMS. Those companies work pre scheduled calls from dialysis centers and hospitals discharging the patients. They run wait and return calls to doctors appointments. While those are no doubt important aspects of keeping the healthcare system running, it is not EMS. In LA County, you get on scene and are an IFT company and it is an actual emergency, you are supposed to call 911 and let them handle it and not even use your skills. Let that sink in....an AMBULANCE calling 911 for another ambulance since you are not part of the 911 system.

With conditions like that, think of the type of the type of people that the "shady" companies attract. A lot of the employees are either one of two types. Both types are willing to make $10 an hour and there is an endless supply of them. These types of people do not deserve more than $10. #1. People who want a paycheck, that do not give a darn about EMS, and are happy being glorified medical transport drivers. They like the job because you can sleep between calls, and relax. This type often has their shirt untucked, boots unzipped, and does not appear professional. Do those people deserve more money OR........#2. The wanna be firefighter types. You get people who think that running granny to dialysis 3 times a week is somehow going to get them into that dream fire job. The type that wear fire department shirts under their uniforms and post selfies in the unit with #savinglives on their Instagram because they want the opposite sex to think they are something they are not. You can find them in bars on their days off bragging about their job and making up war stories because all they do is IFT. Most of those people do not give a darn about the job either because it is but a "stepping stone" to their glorious fire career. Those type of people also do not deserve more than $10 an hour. People who actually care about their job in LA County are a dwindling few. From some of your other threads it seems like you fall into the category of people who still care about their job, but you should realize you are in the minority.

There are better places.

I moved several hours north to be a paramedic. I make significantly less money than an IFT paramedic down south, but I get to use my skills. When you get to do actual EMS, it makes it all worth it. It was the best move I could have made. I love my job as do all the paramedics I work with. Most of our EMTs also love their job and are treated well. Our ambulances are always clean and stocked because we care. We have MDTs, portable radios, and every paramedic is issued his own computer for PCRs and med bag. We keep our equipment up. The pervasive bad attitudes from down south are not present up here. We are genuinely part of our community and they love us. We are present at all the community parades, football games, carnivals, do school presentations and basically are ingrained in the fabric of the city we serve. Our companies care about us much more. I have a 401K, generous PTO, 100% employer paid Blue Shield PPO with vision and dental included, a responsive HR representative, paid CEs (including ACLS, PALS, etc), good work schedule, and ambulances that are only several years old. Our owner drives a Toyota and lives in a 3 bedroom house. If you go to other states, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, etc the working conditions get even better. But then again, people who just view EMS as a entry level job or are wanna be firefighters who view EMS as below them do not survive long in our systems with those attitudes.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Hahaha... the advanced practice nursing forum over at Allnurses.com probably has the most whining about wages and respect.

Everyone complains. There's also plenty written on KevinMD and other places about how bad doctors have it now in comparison to the good-ole-days when the nurses would stand at attention when a MD walked onto the floor and no one ever dared question you about anything.

I haven't looked at allnurses for years. I don't doubt there's plenty of *****ing on there, nurses do a lot of that. SDN has some interesting stuff but I never go there......my kind just isn't welcome.

The thing is, on here and other EMS forums and FB pages, it seems that at any given time there is at least one active thread specifically devoted to how bad EMS folks have it, in addition to the frequent comments to that effect peppering almost every thread. I don't see anything like that anywhere else. And it's not just online, I've seen it in the field for years.....far worse than what I've ever seen in hospitals.