Hey TreySpooner65,
I was a Paramedic at AMR Las Vegas (recently relocated to Santa Clara County EMS) I worked out there for two years and had a blast! The private ambulance crews are in general nice and accepting, there is a little bit of the "good-old-boy" club when it comes to Paramedic field training and who you go through for your FTO time, BUT thats for a later topic...
Here is what I know first hand: AMR is contracted with Clark County (as well as Medic West) they respond with all three fire departments in Clark County those being Clark County Fire, Las Vegas City Fire Rescue, and North Las Vegas Fire. Who you respond with depends on what jurisdiction you are in. Also AMR/MW will mutual aid for each other so depending on who you end up working for you will sometimes run calls in the other company's zone (not really another company but a sister company as both AMR/MW are owned by EMSC) Transports are to one of 11 local hospitals, three are designated trauma centers, UMC Trauma is Level 1, Sunrise Trauma is Level 2 and St. Rose Sienna is a Level 3. All 911 providers in the county are ALS equipped, and AMR / MW split the county as NVRob mentioned above. He was also right about the ALS 911 unit staffing, the minimum per the county is 1 EMT-I and 1 Paramedic, EMT-B's can not run 911 calls with a Paramedic, EXCEPT if the Paramedic is an FTO or a Supervisor then they can make an exception, but it is extremely rare. Both AMR/MW have standby and inter-facility divisions that co-mingle with the 911 division, MW is usually hiring EMTs and AMR is usually hiring Paramedics, but your application is valid at both companies. I applied at MW initially and they turned my application over to AMR and they hired me.
What you have to look forward to if you choose to apply, (before I left I participated in new hire testing). As an EMT you will be run through a background check in addition to a few tests, a written cognitive knowledge test, two psychomotor skills tests modeled after the NREMT skills test, you had to pass this to get your EMT (medical/trauma scenarios), a physical agility test, and a drug test. Be professional and dress for an interview, T-shirts and shorts are frowned upon. Know your protocols and know your scope of practice. Always remember your ABCs, and don't be afraid to be agressive in your treatment.
Should you successfully complete all the testing you will be given an offer letter with starting wage, fulltime or parttime status and union info. When I left in October 2011 the starting wage for an EMT-B with no experience was in the $9/hr range. Keep in mind there is daily overtime, and OT after 40hrs in a week. You will then be assigned a preceptor usually a Paramedic but there are a few EMT-I's that precept as well. You will have 10 shifts to prove your competency and knowledge. During your training time you will treat patients, learn code3 operation, radio communications, mapping, and hospital destinations/routing/door codes. This is also the time you will want to learn the county as best as you can. Buying a GPS is a GREAT investment, I found I no longer needed it after about 3 months full time. Once you are released you will be cleared to pick up special events or inter-facility ILS shifts (you and an EMT-I partner). After you have been a FT employee for 6 months in good standing with no discipline and a satisfactory attendance record AMR will pay for your EMT-I school, but will require a 1 year work commitment after successful completion of the class and EMT-I internship. From there you can get a Paramedic school sponsorship through AMR...
Cost of living is cheap, I pay close to $0.50/gal more in gas here in Norcal then I did in Vegas. I am not sure where you were looking to live, but I lived two places during my two years there. I started out in Henderson (just south of Las Vegas) it was a 22 minute drive to work without traffic, and could be as long as 55 minutes depending on the time of year, the ever present construction, and the ridiculous amount of traffic generated by conventions and the like. I payed $375/month in Henderson to rent a room with utilities included back in 2009, I ended paying $400/month, and moved to Summerlin in mid 2011 and paid the same rent till I left in October, but cut my commute down to 8 minutes, totally worth it
You can rent an apartment in good parts of town for 1b/1b $600 range.
I hope I have helped shed some light on the EMS system in Las Vegas, If you have more questions feel free to PM me and I can answer the best I can. Should you get hired with AMR and have any questions I know A LOT of people out there and can help you out.
