IFT - Thread

[SR17]

I know there is a lot of information posted on this exact topic, but most seems to be of the negative ilk. For new EMT with not much if any expeirence this is where I am assuming they start out, is on a IFT ride?

The reason I ask is because I just got hired and really have no idea what the IFT side is like. With trying to keep the negative BS out of it, what are the goods about IFT and what can one expect, realistically? (not saying the "other" thread isnt realistic) Do IFT ever get to run 911 calls, or are they strictly all IF? What kind of calls can you expect?

If you can, give a general idea what kind of expeirence you get on a IFT ride, and if it is not to much to ask, how long is a new EMT typically on one before moving into 911.

 

[HotelCo]

I know there is a lot of information posted on this exact topic, but most seems to be of the negative ilk. For new EMT with not much if any expeirence this is where I am assuming they start out, is on a IFT ride?

The reason I ask is because I just got hired and really have no idea what the IFT side is like. With trying to keep the negative BS out of it, what are the goods about IFT and what can one expect, realistically? (not saying the "other" thread isnt realistic) Do IFT ever get to run 911 calls, or are they strictly all IF? What kind of calls can you expect?

If you can, give a general idea what kind of expeirence you get on a IFT ride, and if it is not to much to ask, how long is a new EMT typically on one before moving into 911.

What kind of calls? Granny has a UTI, Granny needs a ride to her doctors appointment, Granny is getting discharged from the hospital and needs a ride to the nursing home, Granny has been diagnosed with something, and needs a ride to the big hospital. Oh, and dialysis calls. Sorry, kid. IFT sucks.

.

 

[medicRob]

I know there is a lot of information posted on this exact topic, but most seems to be of the negative ilk. For new EMT with not much if any expeirence this is where I am assuming they start out, is on a IFT ride?

The reason I ask is because I just got hired and really have no idea what the IFT side is like. With trying to keep the negative BS out of it, what are the goods about IFT and what can one expect, realistically? (not saying the "other" thread isnt realistic) Do IFT ever get to run 911 calls, or are they strictly all IF? What kind of calls can you expect?

If you can, give a general idea what kind of expeirence you get on a IFT ride, and if it is not to much to ask, how long is a new EMT typically on one before moving into 911.

Your typical day in IFT will more than likely consist of everything from taking a patient to dialysis and back, transporting stable patients from various units of hospitals to larger facilities (usually Trauma IIs or Trauma I's) with a wider range of services and capabilities, and transporting patients between nursing homes and other convalescent facilities to hospitals for diagnostic tests, same-day procedures, etc.


There are some IFT facilities that are also contracted out to take 911 calls. Some of them act as responding units for general 911 calls, while others only respond under mutual aid agreements (when all county trucks are unavailable).

As far as new EMTs starting off on IFT, I have never known this to be the case. A new EMT will fare just as well on a 911 truck as an IFT truck, although the job market might be such that the only positions available are with an IFT company. Also, private companies tend to pay more (This isn't always the case, but the majority of private companies pay more than 911 services).

 

[SR17]

Your typical day in IFT will more than likely consist of everything from taking a patient to dialysis and back, transporting stable patients from various units of hospitals to larger facilities (usually Trauma IIs or Trauma I's) with a wider range of services and capabilities, and transporting patients between nursing homes and other convalescent facilities to hospitals for diagnostic tests, same-day procedures, etc.


There are some IFT facilities that are also contracted out to take 911 calls. Some of them act as responding units for general 911 calls, while others only respond under mutual aid agreements (when all county trucks are unavailable).

As far as new EMTs starting off on IFT, I have never known this to be the case. A new EMT will fare just as well on a 911 truck as an IFT truck, although the job market might be such that the only positions available are with an IFT company. Also, private companies tend to pay more (This isn't always the case, but the majority of private companies pay more than 911 services).

Good stuff, thanks Rob.

I actually dont know what I will be running since I got hired today and dont have orientation till the 28th, so I could be wrong on the IFT stuff. I would like to get the hands on expeirence as well, and I am assuming this is a way of getting that too?

 

[looker]

Do IFT do 911? Sure if everything is going to hell everyone will be doing 911 contracted or not. All private companys be it small or big do IFT. Which means even if you were working for AMR you would still do IFT. It would be different type of it but you will still get them. Obviously with AMR you will also get 911 calls. Depending if company is contracted with a city as back up or another company you might get 911 calls it all depends on your employer.

Regarding what you will learn doing IFT, the biggest one will be writing your reports. Remember depends on how good you do paperwork will depends how much the company will get paid if anything at all.

 

[Handsome Robb]

From your other thread, I know that your company is a 911 and IFT provider in Colorado, not sure about AZ.

 

[JPINFV]

Ah, 911 vs IFT threads always makes me laugh. After all, IFT is filled with taking patients between SNF and dialysis only with calls straight through a 24 hour shift while units running 911 exists in a land full of unicorns who fart gum drops. The difference between taking Bob the urban outdoorsman with paranoid schizophrenia who just pooped himself and Doris, the lady in the local SNF who has dementia and just pooped herself is that you can normally get the staff to clean Doris up, Doris is less likely to attack you, and your company will get paid for transporting Doris. Bob? Not so much.

For EMTs in urban or suburban systems, it's even stupidier because you're either running an EMT/EMT unit where hell is close to freezing over before getting a critical call (since those should be going to paramedic units), or EMT/medic unit where you get to play ambulance driver for the paramedic. Sorry, that EMT isn't going to be in the back of a P/B unit with that cool chest pain. So, again, is there really that much difference between transporting Bob and Dorris?

Will IFTs run 911 calls? Answer: It depends. As mentioned earlier, if you work for a private company, you will do non-emergent IFT calls. Depending on the assignments, you might run more or less, but you will spend time doing IFTs, especially early on.

Some areas will have the contracted IFT company handle the emergency calls coming out of the contracted facilities. Often times, the SNFs will do everything possible to not call 911. Does it matter on your end if the CHF patient in acute pulmonary edema gets to you through direct call to the company dispatch center or through the 911 system?

Additionally, what other contracts does the IFT company have? Do they run specialty units, even if the EMT is just acting as a driver (such as a children's hospital unit where the transport staff is provided by the facility)? What about RN and/or RT led CCT calls?

 

[johnrsemt]

Learning from IFT

I worked IFT for almost 10 years: both as a Basic and Medic.

Even though I started out in EMS in a 911 fire based service: IFT is where I learned to be a better EMT, especially with Medical runs.
You don't have family members very often that can give you a history, (don't always count on the nurses to give you a helpful medical history, and the paper work doesn't help every time).

You get more critical patients in IFT: from Hospital to bigger hospital. or going home to die: they don't always make it home, and they don't always have a DNR.
You get longer transport times than on most 911 services: 158 miles of bagging a patient because the sending hospital didn't tell the dispatcher that he was tubed and on a vent.

You have time to really learn what the meds that a patient are on can do to them or for them, and sometimes that is how you learn what medical history the patient has: get an app for your I-Phone or PDA that gives you medications and lets you enter all the meds and will give you side effects from the combinations: can be very helpful.

Teaches you how to learn to work with other Medical Professionals: you need to be able to communicate and learn from the nurses (ED, hospital floor, doctors offices, dialysis, cancer centers, wound care facilities and ECF's).
And it gives you a chance to see many different sides of the Medical field: and it gives them a chance to meet you. I have been offered many jobs from facilities that had signs stating that they were NOT hiring: due to my professionalism and how I treated their staff and patients.

So please help your self: and stop thinking that working IFT is a bad thing.

 

[SR17]

I worked IFT for almost 10 years: both as a Basic and Medic.

Even though I started out in EMS in a 911 fire based service: IFT is where I learned to be a better EMT, especially with Medical runs.
You don't have family members very often that can give you a history, (don't always count on the nurses to give you a helpful medical history, and the paper work doesn't help every time).

You get more critical patients in IFT: from Hospital to bigger hospital. or going home to die: they don't always make it home, and they don't always have a DNR.
You get longer transport times than on most 911 services: 158 miles of bagging a patient because the sending hospital didn't tell the dispatcher that he was tubed and on a vent.

You have time to really learn what the meds that a patient are on can do to them or for them, and sometimes that is how you learn what medical history the patient has: get an app for your I-Phone or PDA that gives you medications and lets you enter all the meds and will give you side effects from the combinations: can be very helpful.

Teaches you how to learn to work with other Medical Professionals: you need to be able to communicate and learn from the nurses (ED, hospital floor, doctors offices, dialysis, cancer centers, wound care facilities and ECF's).
And it gives you a chance to see many different sides of the Medical field: and it gives them a chance to meet you. I have been offered many jobs from facilities that had signs stating that they were NOT hiring: due to my professionalism and how I treated their staff and patients.

So please help your self: and stop thinking that working IFT is a bad thing.

Pretty much sums up exactly what I was looking for. I do appreciate the responses gang. Not a fan of all the *****ing about the IF stuff and for someone to shed a little bit of light on it being a learning process makes it worth while.

I am excited to start, and excited to learn about the different medical stuff. thanks for the response, John.

 

[HotelCo]

So please help your self: and stop thinking that working IFT is a bad thing.

To me, working IFT is a bad thing. I'm sorry, but I didn't put myself through school, and dig myself into educational debt in order to transport UTIs and Dialysis patients to their treatment. I want something more.

This is me, maybe some people love the (generally) low pressure atmosphere of IFT.

.

 

[usalsfyre]

Normal, run of the mill IFTs are the bane of most EMT-B's existence to hear them tell it. What many of them don't realize is it's the only reason they get a paycheck. That said, there is very little that is interesting about them.

Now, hospital to hospital IFTs can be an entirely different kettle of fish and in many ways more interesting than 911 call, especially if there has been suboptimal management at the sending facility.

 

[medicRob]

Normal, run of the mill IFTs are the bane of most EMT-B's existence to hear them tell it. What many of them don't realize is it's the only reason they get a paycheck. That said, there is very little that is interesting about them.

Now, hospital to hospital IFTs can be an entirely different kettle of fish and in many ways more interesting than 911 call, especially if there has been suboptimal management at the sending facility.

Personally, I enjoy critical care ground transport between facilities where I deal with a patient on several drips including Levo and a vent requiring complex medical management. Those patients really allow me to put my ICU experience to work. I think when you take on the role of critical care transport specialist you start to see that titles such as ALS and BLS are just titles and that every patient in trauma is dealing with something medical in some way or another, regardless as to whether or not the cause was traumatic in nature.

 

[Aerin-Sol]

ITF is great for learning when you're new, especially if you're not confident, but people complain about it because 90% of your patients really just need a taxi or a wheelchair van, not an ambulance, but don't let that stop you from practicing assessments/vitals/etc with them.

 

[bigbaldguy]

I'm a new EMT but I did all my ride time (48 hours) for my class on an AMR IFT truck. Speaking strictly from a brand new EMT-B point of view it was pretty boring and very depressing. Keep in mind I was just a student so I didn't get to do much on calls. I'm now with a 911 service and I find the whole "vibe" much better. The one nice thing about the IFT is that as a new guy I was able to take my time doing things without feeling like I was holding anything up (putting on leads, getting vitals ect..). I met some great people at AMR though some were pretty badly burned out and some weren't.

 

[looker]

ITF is great for learning when you're new, especially if you're not confident, but people complain about it because 90% of your patients really just need a taxi or a wheelchair van, not an ambulance, but don't let that stop you from practicing assessments/vitals/etc with them.

Here is the thing about wheelchair van and insurance. It's not covered unless you have medicaid and even then you must qualified for it. Private insurance do not cover wc, medicare do not cover it. On the other hand an ambulance is covered by everyone. So if you have a 70 year old that got only medicare and need transportation to dialysis 3 times a week guess what he/she going to use? That is right an ambulance because this person can't afford anything else and doctor will give this person prescription for it as well.