Ok, EMSA are these guys a good company?

[1979nd]

REMSA will hire you without medic experience.

If you've got EMT experience you can go straight to a medic FTO no questions asked. If you have none they may make you work as an I for ~6 months before letting you promote to medic but I've heard they've hired plenty of brand new people with no experience as medics. Without any experience it's a steep leaning curve but definitely doable. It's the scene management they fail people on most of the time rather than clinical stuff.

They're understaffed pretty bad right now from what I hear.

Riggs Ambulance in Merced is a cool company.

MedicWest or AMR LV are both good operations as well.

...you don't say.... ? hmmm
Does REMSA do a academy or is it just orientation then a 5 call???

 

[Handsome Robb]

...you don't say.... ? hmmm
Does REMSA do a academy or is it just orientation then a 5 call???

I don't know what a 5 call is.

You do a 3 day orientation, a 5 day classroom academy and then 6 weeks with a field training officer. It's called a TAP (Temporary Authorized Paramedic). It consists of the 6 week FTO time, 3 protocol tests, a med math test, two practice scenarios and two testing scenarios (one pedi, one adult).

The system there is too high volume and complex to just throw you too the wolves. Biggest thing they do ambulance alternative transports or "ATAs" (ETOH recovery, psych hospital, urgent cares, all triaged at the medic's discretion for the most part).

 

[Amberlamps916]

It's really getting annoying how nobody ever mentions AMR-Victorville. We exist out there people and we are part of ICEMA, which has amazing protocols. Our two trauma centers are Loma Linda and Arrowhead Regional....two of the best hospitals in the nation.

 

[RocketMedic]

yup, I did some reg work out in TX for an old job I had... I remember see houses that out there went for 80-100k that out in Cali go for at least a million if not more. California housing is nut. but only if you have ever left CA you would know that. Born and raised, b4 I ventured out I just thought that's how much houses went for.
got them protocols, thanx for the email. gonna print them up today and start going over them ASAP.
Do you have any tips for a new guy to get down before entering the EMSA system???

sip the kool aid, smile and nod, do exactly what youre shown in academy. Tulsa has a good staff. Just toe the party line fo FTO, dont be afraid to ask for a change if you and your first one dont get along. Joshua Choate is a great guy.

 

[RocketMedic]

It's really getting annoying how nobody ever mentions AMR-Victorville. We exist out there people and we are part of ICEMA, which has amazing protocols. Our two trauma centers are Loma Linda and Arrowhead Regional....two of the best hospitals in the nation.

I totally gave AMR a shoutout, AMR Mojave.

 

[Amberlamps916]

I totally gave AMR a shoutout, AMR Mojave.

I stand corrected

 

[1979nd]

I don't know what a 5 call is.

You do a 3 day orientation, a 5 day classroom academy and then 6 weeks with a field training officer. It's called a TAP (Temporary Authorized Paramedic). It consists of the 6 week FTO time, 3 protocol tests, a med math test, two practice scenarios and two testing scenarios (one pedi, one adult).

The system there is too high volume and complex to just throw you too the wolves. Biggest thing they do ambulance alternative transports or "ATAs" (ETOH recovery, psych hospital, urgent cares, all triaged at the medic's discretion for the most part).

Cool,
Yeah a "5 call" is when a company kinda throws you to the wolves, i guess. You do a orientation then FTO time but you gotta do "5 or 10" different ALS calls on your own to prove you can run on your own, kinda thing.

I just applied. But like I said before. I'm really on a time crunch. I work tomorrow, I do a srt8 48 Fri/Sat. and if I am to take the EMSA spot I gotta be there June 3... that being said I got to give my 2 weeks tomorrow. Then some how figure out how the hell to get out to Tulsa. and all that... madness. frak

 

[Handsome Robb]

Unfortunately it's not a quick process.

Fair warning, the entrance test is a tough one.

 

[RocketMedic]

Cool,
Yeah a "5 call" is when a company kinda throws you to the wolves, i guess. You do a orientation then FTO time but you gotta do "5 or 10" different ALS calls on your own to prove you can run on your own, kinda thing.

I just applied. But like I said before. I'm really on a time crunch. I work tomorrow, I do a srt8 48 Fri/Sat. and if I am to take the EMSA spot I gotta be there June 3... that being said I got to give my 2 weeks tomorrow. Then some how figure out how the hell to get out to Tulsa. and all that... madness. frak

Its a 2-day drive from California. Family?

 

[1979nd]

Its a 2-day drive from California. Family?

Yup, my lady and my dog. But she and my pooch are going to come out after I settle in a bit. Like after I get through the academy and know where to live and all that.
I don't want any distractions and she's gotta wrap things up here.

 

[RocketMedic]

You can claim relocation in pieces if you want. If you're going to work in Tulsa, live in Jenks, Bixby, Sand Springs, Broken Arrow or Owasso. Tulsa has good and bad areas. North Tulsa is like Downtown Oakland.

 

[Eli]

My wife and I worked at EMSA a little over 10 years ago, not long after PP took over from AMR. I have a great friend who moved to the midwest from the LA area. Based on his experiences Oklahoma would be a bit of a culture shock... just a bit.

The pays sounds low, but the cost of living is also low. I went there from KC. I loved OKC. The people are nice, the ghetto factor is low, & did I mention the people are nice. Unfortunately for me, Oklahoma didn't love me. I was horribly allergic to something there and spent a lot of time wheezing and sputtering. (I'm not an asthmatic person). The worst I could say about the life in that area was there weren't any Quik Trip's and there's not a lot of eye candy in the lady dept. [ No biggie if you're already married. ] Expect y'all and all-y'all to become part of your vocabulary. And the shift that starts at 17:00 is NOT the 1700 car. It's the 1700 truck.

Work-wise, both their protocols and KC's were born from the same authors. Over time where KC's evolved to say "consider", OKC's said thou shalt. They were much more regimented but not to an extreme. I had a lot of field experience and still got a lot out of their academy. I learned to some things better than I had been doing.

Listening to Rocket it sounds as though things haven't changed too much.


Best of luck!

 

[RocketMedic]

My wife and I worked at EMSA a little over 10 years ago, not long after PP took over from AMR. I have a great friend who moved to the midwest from the LA area. Based on his experiences Oklahoma would be a bit of a culture shock... just a bit.

The pays sounds low, but the cost of living is also low. I went there from KC. I loved OKC. The people are nice, the ghetto factor is low, & did I mention the people are nice. Unfortunately for me, Oklahoma didn't love me. I was horribly allergic to something there and spent a lot of time wheezing and sputtering. (I'm not an asthmatic person). The worst I could say about the life in that area was there weren't any Quik Trip's and there's not a lot of eye candy in the lady dept. [ No biggie if you're already married. ] Expect y'all and all-y'all to become part of your vocabulary. And the shift that starts at 17:00 is NOT the 1700 car. It's the 1700 truck.

Work-wise, both their protocols and KC's were born from the same authors. Over time where KC's evolved to say "consider", OKC's said thou shalt. They were much more regimented but not to an extreme. I had a lot of field experience and still got a lot out of their academy. I learned to some things better than I had been doing.

Listening to Rocket it sounds as though things haven't changed too much.


Best of luck!

"Do what?" and every. single. person. here. abbreviates. my. name. to. Robby. Its really freaking annoying! (Ex used to do it, seems like all white girls have the same tone of voice. Probably a regional thing).

 

[Mellowdnb]

Ask yourself "Can this company/service support my hobbies?" "Can this state support my hobbies?"

No matter what service you work for there will always be things you don't like. There will always be people who don't see eye to eye with you.

I left because I was depressed in OKC. Why?

I realized I am, and always will be, a nature lover at heart. I feel at peace around snow capped Mountains, red canyons, desert landscapes, pine and ponderosa forests.
None of that was in OKC. What drew me to OKC was 911 experience.

I saw an elitist attitude at EMSA OKC. People would treat the FFs with little respect. They would talk crap about them behind there back. I never was one who believed in the Hospital VS EMS attitude. I saw a lot of that at EMSA OKC. Team work is something I strongly believe in. I didn't see that there.

The pay is so so. 15.00 and hour with overtime. In order to receive the sign on bonus, you need to sign a 2 year contract. If you leave or get laid off you have to pay it all back. I didn't sign it. Why? I didn't want to feel like I was stuck there if I signed it.

I moved to Arizona and I love it. I can snowboard, ski, hike, rock climb, trail run or relax on the Lake Havasu beach. I'm close to Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Some of the most beautiful skies are in that region. Lots of people have a laid back attitude and are nature lovers.

 

[RocketMedic]

Ask yourself "Can this company/service support my hobbies?" "Can this state support my hobbies?"

No matter what service you work for there will always be things you don't like. There will always be people who don't see eye to eye with you.

I left because I was depressed in OKC. Why?

I realized I am, and always will be, a nature lover at heart. I feel at peace around snow capped Mountains, red canyons, desert landscapes, pine and ponderosa forests.
None of that was in OKC. What drew me to OKC was 911 experience.

I saw an elitist attitude at EMSA OKC. People would treat the FFs with little respect. They would talk crap about them behind there back. I never was one who believed in the Hospital VS EMS attitude. I saw a lot of that at EMSA OKC. Team work is something I strongly believe in. I didn't see that there.

The pay is so so. 15.00 and hour with overtime. In order to receive the sign on bonus, you need to sign a 2 year contract. If you leave or get laid off you have to pay it all back. I didn't sign it. Why? I didn't want to feel like I was stuck there if I signed it.

I moved to Arizona and I love it. I can snowboard, ski, hike, rock climb, trail run or relax on the Lake Havasu beach. I'm close to Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Some of the most beautiful skies are in that region. Lots of people have a laid back attitude and are nature lovers.

I also miss the desert, but Im having fun here.

 

[RocketMedic]

Ask yourself "Can this company/service support my hobbies?" "Can this state support my hobbies?"

No matter what service you work for there will always be things you don't like. There will always be people who don't see eye to eye with you.

I left because I was depressed in OKC. Why?

I realized I am, and always will be, a nature lover at heart. I feel at peace around snow capped Mountains, red canyons, desert landscapes, pine and ponderosa forests.
None of that was in OKC. What drew me to OKC was 911 experience.

I saw an elitist attitude at EMSA OKC. People would treat the FFs with little respect. They would talk crap about them behind there back. I never was one who believed in the Hospital VS EMS attitude. I saw a lot of that at EMSA OKC. Team work is something I strongly believe in. I didn't see that there.

The pay is so so. 15.00 and hour with overtime. In order to receive the sign on bonus, you need to sign a 2 year contract. If you leave or get laid off you have to pay it all back. I didn't sign it. Why? I didn't want to feel like I was stuck there if I signed it.

I moved to Arizona and I love it. I can snowboard, ski, hike, rock climb, trail run or relax on the Lake Havasu beach. I'm close to Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico and Utah. Some of the most beautiful skies are in that region. Lots of people have a laid back attitude and are nature lovers.

Where did you move to?

 

[RocketMedic]

Update: Paramedics Plus, as of 1 November, will no longer be the personnel contractor, that will shift to American Medical Response.

 

[MMiz]

Update: Paramedics Plus, as of 1 November, will no longer be the personnel contractor, that will shift to American Medical Response.

Here is a good article on the subject.

 

[AceThunderstone]

Update: Paramedics Plus, as of 1 November, will no longer be the personnel contractor, that will shift to American Medical Response.

Not looking forward to it.

 

[RocketMedic]

Per the Town Hall meeting with AMR, they're going to look at hiring again soon.

1979, how are you liking Tulsa?