Other options

[medicsontheball]

I see a lot of threads and posts from people either looking for jobs on an ambulance and not very happy about their prospects, or people that currently work IFT and are not happy with their jobs.

Question: Why isn't anyone looking at other options in EMS? There are plenty of them. There are companies like us, Medics on the Ball, that exist all over the country. We provide EMS to special events. There is ski patrol, Wilderness EMT....there is so many other options where you actually get to be an EMT.

You will get a lot more actual EMS experience working for a company like this than you ever will working for an IFT company.

You get to put your skills to use. Splinting, concussions, respiratory distress. Heck, we have even had full cardiac arrest and grand mal's at some of the events we have worked. When will you get to see, let alone treat anything like that on an IFT rig?

You actually are the FIRST responder. You are already on scene. It is your judgement, your decision being relied on for treatment. Do you call ALS or not? It is up to you, no one else.

Like I said, it is just a question, point of interest for me.

Looking forward to seeing your responses.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Some of the reasons are (Not saying this about your company):
The pay at some of these companies can be horrible.
There can be zero benefits (health, vision, dental, 401K).
They can be far away from where we live.
There are several companies that can be very sketchy.
A decent amount of those type companies require us to supply our own gear (mix that with an already low pay).
A decent amount of these companies will hire all new staff so no one has experience.
Companies may not offer any type of CEs for us to recert.
A lot of companies will place EMTs/Medics at events with the bare minimum equipment.

These are just some of the things that I have personally seen working for both an event medical company and a 911 ambulance company that covers a lot of events.

 

[BASICallyEMT]

Some of the reasons are (Not saying this about your company):
The pay at some of these companies can be horrible.
There can be zero benefits (health, vision, dental, 401K).
They can be far away from where we live.
There are several companies that can be very sketchy.
A decent amount of those type companies require us to supply our own gear (mix that with an already low pay).
A decent amount of these companies will hire all new staff so no one has experience.
Companies may not offer any type of CEs for us to recert.
A lot of companies will place EMTs/Medics at events with the bare minimum equipment.

These are just some of the things that I have personally seen working for both an event medical company and a 911 ambulance company that covers a lot of events.

Great answer lol

 

[medicsontheball]

Some of the reasons are (Not saying this about your company):
The pay at some of these companies can be horrible.
There can be zero benefits (health, vision, dental, 401K).
They can be far away from where we live.
There are several companies that can be very sketchy.
A decent amount of those type companies require us to supply our own gear (mix that with an already low pay).
A decent amount of these companies will hire all new staff so no one has experience.
Companies may not offer any type of CEs for us to recert.
A lot of companies will place EMTs/Medics at events with the bare minimum equipment.

These are just some of the things that I have personally seen working for both an event medical company and a 911 ambulance company that covers a lot of events.

Fair enough...you make some valid points. I appreciate the input.

I would imagine that it is like any other company though. If I can address your points here...

The pay at some of these companies can be horrible. - I cant speak for others, but we pay better than any IFT company in the area.
There can be zero benefits (health, vision, dental, 401K). - True, However, it is important to realize that for many of these type of companies, you are per diem. While this doesnt lend itself to benefits, it does help with school schedules or an additional part time job schedules. It is a trade off to be sure.
They can be far away from where we live. - Not knowing where you live other than "middle of nowhere, CA" I would imagine everything is far from where you live But seriously, most our events are local to where our staff live.
There are several companies that can be very sketchy. - True, but same with ambulance companies. Case in point, all the companies currently being raided by the FBI?
A decent amount of those type companies require us to supply our own gear (mix that with an already low pay). - that is true, and it can be tough to accommodate that.
A decent amount of these companies will hire all new staff so no one has experience. - again, very true. We dont. While we do hire "newbies" they are placed with FTO's until ready to work alone.
Companies may not offer any type of CEs for us to recert. - We offer free CPR renewal
A lot of companies will place EMTs/Medics at events with the bare minimum equipment. - Again, true. we don't. Trauma (BLS), Airway, AED..all a part of our gear.

Listen, you have clearly looked into this type of work and this was not intended for me to promote my company. But the while the points you make are valid, several can be attributed to any part of EMS you work for. And just like any career field, the key is finding the "good companies" to work for. We are out there..You just have to look.

Thanks again for your reply. It was educated and intelligent. I honestly expected to get blasted from people.

 

[John E]

The overwhelming majority of private ambulance companies in California are guilty of the very same things listed by DesertEMT66.


When was the last time a kids sports EMS provider was raided by the FBI?

 

[BASICallyEMT]

It seems like you are trying to promote to me...

 

[medicsontheball]

It seems like you are trying to promote to me...

You're right. What I meant was, the original question was not posed to promote. But I wanted to point out that not all companies fall under the negative aspects that were pointed out, we just happen to be one of them. Hard to make that point without some promotion.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Fair enough...you make some valid points. I appreciate the input.

I would imagine that it is like any other company though. If I can address your points here...

The pay at some of these companies can be horrible. - I cant speak for others, but we pay better than any IFT company in the area.
There can be zero benefits (health, vision, dental, 401K). - True, However, it is important to realize that for many of these type of companies, you are per diem. While this doesnt lend itself to benefits, it does help with school schedules or an additional part time job schedules. It is a trade off to be sure.
They can be far away from where we live. - Not knowing where you live other than "middle of nowhere, CA" I would imagine everything is far from where you live But seriously, most our events are local to where our staff live.
There are several companies that can be very sketchy. - True, but same with ambulance companies. Case in point, all the companies currently being raided by the FBI?
A decent amount of those type companies require us to supply our own gear (mix that with an already low pay). - that is true, and it can be tough to accommodate that.
A decent amount of these companies will hire all new staff so no one has experience. - again, very true. We dont. While we do hire "newbies" they are placed with FTO's until ready to work alone.
Companies may not offer any type of CEs for us to recert. - We offer free CPR renewal
A lot of companies will place EMTs/Medics at events with the bare minimum equipment. - Again, true. we don't. Trauma (BLS), Airway, AED..all a part of our gear.

Listen, you have clearly looked into this type of work and this was not intended for me to promote my company. But the while the points you make are valid, several can be attributed to any part of EMS you work for. And just like any career field, the key is finding the "good companies" to work for. We are out there..You just have to look.

Thanks again for your reply. It was educated and intelligent. I honestly expected to get blasted from people.

No need to get blasted for asking a simple question. All of the things I listed are common problems with the majority of EMS. Some of the things are just isolated to the non-traditional EMS (such as wilderness and event medical). Heck I would love to do event medical full time and 911 part time but thats not really an option.

Another issue is that not a lot of places do advertising so people who do not live in the immediate neighborhood are aware. You either have to know someone who is currently working in a non-traditional EMS role or be a master of Google search.

Your screen name is also the name of your company so IMO I don't care if you advertise or not haha.