Question

[emt786]

Hi Everyone!

I'm new here, but have already found a lot of great threads. I recently passed my EMT class and skills test. I will be taking the national registry soon.

My question is regarding the type of jobs EMT-Bs can get. It seems from my research that it is mostly transport. I was hoping to get something more hands on. I know they want you to get familiar with things, but is it like this everywhere?

Also, I'm in North California and was wondering which companies I should look into.

Thanks!

 

[Airwaygoddess]

Well, first and foremost welcome to the tribe!! as far as jobs go the good news is there are many folks here that can tell you about the various ambulance services out there. Besides the ambulance, one can gain a lot of hands on training in a Emergency room as a tech. Check out what is around your area now and start doing the research as far as requirements. Good luck!

 

[emtwacker710]

well, welcome to the site, this is kinda hard for me to answer, as in my area we have ambulances that have one EMT-D and an ALS tek so one takes BLS calls while the other drives and vice versa, I'm not sure how other states do it, but all I can say for you is try finding some valid EMS websites because I know a lot of them have job listings and that may help you out...hope you find something!

 

[EMTBandit]

Congratulations on passing. What kind of jobs you can get really depends on your area. In my area there is a mix between transport companies, paid EMS, and Volunteer EMS in the surrounding towns/cities. If you just want to get paid for being an EMT than getting hired at a transport company isn't too bad. Around here they are back up for a few of the volunteer communities and do regular transports. If you want this as a career, try looking into any EMS agencies who hire to do 911 calls or Fire Departments who have EMS. Joining one of your local volunteer squads is always a good way to hit the ground running to see how 911 calls are handled before you jump into a paid system.

 

[daedalus]

You can look into my company, Priority One Medical Transport. They run in North California. They run 911 in Stockton and do critical care transport and BLS in many counties.

www.priorityonemedical.com

ER tech is very hands on and I encourage you to look into it.

Goodluck.

 

[KEVD18]

some jobs you might be able to get:

as far as street ems jobs go, you have municipal, contract private 911 contractors and private transport companies

municipal- usually come with good benefits, good schedule, actually an all around decent job to have. however, lots of civil service jobs come with requirments, like residency, education, previous experience etc.

contract 911- a private service contracted by a municipality to rpovide 911 service. some consider it the best of both worlds. town 911 job, but withou all the rules and what not. downside is that these shifts are desireable and can be tough to get. usually these companies also have a transport division and the new guy might have to spend some time, maybe a lot of time, working his way up in the company until a dedicated 911 shift opens up. benefits are at the discretion of the company and can vary widely.

private transport- the workhorses of the ems community. these are the companies that do the transports for dialysis treatments, dr office visits, day surgery etc et al. this is where most people start. its a good way to gain experience in conducting pt interviews, assesments, vital signs, pt transfers, paperwork, vehicle operations; basically all the parts of the job you want to be second nature when you do get on a 911 truck. the downside, they pay usually isnt great, same with the benefits. the work usually isnt very exciting. but its usually not terribly hard to find one of these jobs.