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DesertMedic66

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My manager told me I needed to ask >60 days in advance. I only asked 35 days in advance. I don't know the rules enough to challenge him. I am annoyed, but a month should be enough time for me to find coverage. If I don't find coverage, I am the type of person to show up even if I don't want to.

I don't feel like I have any good options job wise. I could talk about it all day. I am really screwed job wise.

- When I left the ambulance, I was a top step paramedic that got paid an additional $1/hour for being a field training officer. You got that $1/hour even if you didn't have a trainee. My pay was $102k annually and it would be $105k today if I was still with the company. Since I left, they will only match me up to step 3, which would be about $81k annually. I would have no seniority for shift bids so I'd work the worst areas and worst hours. It's also super busy.
- When I got hired onto flight, I was offered $78k annually working twice a week. Our schedule was different from everyone else. I ALWAYS worked Friday and Sunday, which resulted in slightly more hours and higher pay.
- Since I worked in California, I got paid overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12 hours. This would reset at midnight. Compared to someone working outside of California with the same pay rate, this is about a $15k annual pay difference.
- They closed my base and I was pretty much put into a position where I could only do travel. The closest base to me is 2 hours, but it is full staffed. My base that closed was 3 hours away.
- When they switched me to travel, I didn't know it immediately, but I lost my daily overtime and double time. My pay went from $78k annually to $63k annually. They were unwilling to renegotiate my pay because I'd be getting a $20k "bonus". I get $4k 3 months in, $4k 6 months in, $4k 1 year in, and $8k 1.5 years in. If I leave early, I am suppose to give this money back, but supposedly they haven't been going after this money. I think with my luck, they'd probably make an example of me.
- They realized they weren't paying market pay. They made a big deal about increasing everyone pay a lot around the same time they were doing this performance review/cost of living adjustment as well. You get up to a 3% increase, but it's based on your performance review. So they were going to increase everyone hourly pay to a competitive rate plus give up to 3% pay increase based on performance. I got a 7 cent raise. When I confronted them on it, they said that travelers already got paid market rate, but not regular flight paramedics so they brought them up to the level that travel paramedics make. I told them I was a regular flight paramedic forced into travel and my pay decreased going to travel! We went back and forth a couple of times, but they were unwilling to renegotiate my pay. The people that didn't screwed like me, that got to stay in California, they got huge pay increases. Then I asked about my 3% performance review thing. What happened to it? We didn't have a base lead at my base so they gave all these tasks to the travelers like me. They also asked for volunteers to do some extra things, and well, I volunteered thinking it would help with my performance review. I really wanted that 3%. They said travelers don't get it. This is the second time I've missed out on that 3% cost of living adjustment performance review thing. For the most part, my pay has only gone down with time at this company...
- At my current base, the new flight paramedic, no prior flight experience, gets paid $6/hour more than I do.
- I feel like I am blacklisted with the only other local flight company that's local to me. It doesn't sound like they have a travel position so I would have to move to get a flight job not with my company. I am unwilling to move.

I could keep trying for that flight company that I feel blacklisted at, but even if they did eventually offer me a job, would they be the same or better than my current company? I don't have a ton of confidence in them.
- After waiting a month to do a fly along with them, they canceled it the night before at 9 PM citing that they wanted to fly flight nurse candidates first. For months, I didn't hear back.
- I got my FP-C, reached out to their HR saying I wanted to update my applications, but they didn't reply back.
- I finally got hired at my current flight job and withdrew my apps. My current company closed the base I was at and I accepted the travel position. By then, Christmas morning... this flight company that I feel blacklisted at contacted me saying they wanted to interview me and asked if I was still interested. I said yes. They never schedule an interview with me. I reached out to them again saying I was still interested. The person who contacted me on Christmas morning didn't reply. I later got an automated message saying that a more qualified candidate was selected (I have flight experience in the area they were hiring in, got my FP-C and CCP-C plus a ton of other training and experience).

They have an open position in Merced, CA. I am accredited in Merced and have flight experience there. I can't bring myself to apply to them. First, I honestly don't believe they'll bother to interview me so it feels like a waste of my time to fill out an application there. I feel like I got a bad reputation I don't know about or maybe they can see I am not a good fit or something. Maybe they met me at the hospital and was like heeeeeck noooo. I dunno. If they were desperate (cause I am probably blacklisted so they'd have to be desperate to interview me) and end up interviewing me, which I don't think they would ever do, and offered me a job, their previous decisions like canceling my fly along at 9 PM after waiting a month and then offering me an interviewing Christmas morning, not interview me, and send me an automated message saying they found a more qualified candidate... Like... What is going to happen to me if I accept the job there? I don't have faith in them. I would feel less secure about my job than I already do. I also don't believe they'd be better than my current job. Nothing tells me they are better. They are just local to me and that's it.

So... move? Go back to my ground job for slightly higher pay, but terrible hours and area, and probably run my arse off running calls back to back? Before my previous ground job, the previous one before that, I was terminated for failing my field training time. My paramedic field training officer told me "Have fun being an EMT", but they ended up just terminating me instead. It left a very bitter taste in my mouth and I don't feel like I'd be happy going to them, if they would even bother to have me. What do I do? Even if they don't give me the days off that I want, is it worth it to lose my job over it? I feel pretty screwed job wise, lol.
The only thing I will say about all of this is the the MOM does require all vacation time to be put in 60 days or more in advance. Over 60 days and it is automatically approved unless it falls on a holiday. Under 60 days and it 100% depends on your area manager and the staffing for your area.
 

CCCSD

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My manager told me I needed to ask >60 days in advance. I only asked 35 days in advance. I don't know the rules enough to challenge him. I am annoyed, but a month should be enough time for me to find coverage. If I don't find coverage, I am the type of person to show up even if I don't want to.

I don't feel like I have any good options job wise. I could talk about it all day. I am really screwed job wise.

- When I left the ambulance, I was a top step paramedic that got paid an additional $1/hour for being a field training officer. You got that $1/hour even if you didn't have a trainee. My pay was $102k annually and it would be $105k today if I was still with the company. Since I left, they will only match me up to step 3, which would be about $81k annually. I would have no seniority for shift bids so I'd work the worst areas and worst hours. It's also super busy.
- When I got hired onto flight, I was offered $78k annually working twice a week. Our schedule was different from everyone else. I ALWAYS worked Friday and Sunday, which resulted in slightly more hours and higher pay.
- Since I worked in California, I got paid overtime after 8 hours and double time after 12 hours. This would reset at midnight. Compared to someone working outside of California with the same pay rate, this is about a $15k annual pay difference.
- They closed my base and I was pretty much put into a position where I could only do travel. The closest base to me is 2 hours, but it is full staffed. My base that closed was 3 hours away.
- When they switched me to travel, I didn't know it immediately, but I lost my daily overtime and double time. My pay went from $78k annually to $63k annually. They were unwilling to renegotiate my pay because I'd be getting a $20k "bonus". I get $4k 3 months in, $4k 6 months in, $4k 1 year in, and $8k 1.5 years in. If I leave early, I am suppose to give this money back, but supposedly they haven't been going after this money. I think with my luck, they'd probably make an example of me.
- They realized they weren't paying market pay. They made a big deal about increasing everyone pay a lot around the same time they were doing this performance review/cost of living adjustment as well. You get up to a 3% increase, but it's based on your performance review. So they were going to increase everyone hourly pay to a competitive rate plus give up to 3% pay increase based on performance. I got a 7 cent raise. When I confronted them on it, they said that travelers already got paid market rate, but not regular flight paramedics so they brought them up to the level that travel paramedics make. I told them I was a regular flight paramedic forced into travel and my pay decreased going to travel! We went back and forth a couple of times, but they were unwilling to renegotiate my pay. The people that didn't screwed like me, that got to stay in California, they got huge pay increases. Then I asked about my 3% performance review thing. What happened to it? We didn't have a base lead at my base so they gave all these tasks to the travelers like me. They also asked for volunteers to do some extra things, and well, I volunteered thinking it would help with my performance review. I really wanted that 3%. They said travelers don't get it. This is the second time I've missed out on that 3% cost of living adjustment performance review thing. For the most part, my pay has only gone down with time at this company...
- At my current base, the new flight paramedic, no prior flight experience, gets paid $6/hour more than I do.
- I feel like I am blacklisted with the only other local flight company that's local to me. It doesn't sound like they have a travel position so I would have to move to get a flight job not with my company. I am unwilling to move.

I could keep trying for that flight company that I feel blacklisted at, but even if they did eventually offer me a job, would they be the same or better than my current company? I don't have a ton of confidence in them.
- After waiting a month to do a fly along with them, they canceled it the night before at 9 PM citing that they wanted to fly flight nurse candidates first. For months, I didn't hear back.
- I got my FP-C, reached out to their HR saying I wanted to update my applications, but they didn't reply back.
- I finally got hired at my current flight job and withdrew my apps. My current company closed the base I was at and I accepted the travel position. By then, Christmas morning... this flight company that I feel blacklisted at contacted me saying they wanted to interview me and asked if I was still interested. I said yes. They never schedule an interview with me. I reached out to them again saying I was still interested. The person who contacted me on Christmas morning didn't reply. I later got an automated message saying that a more qualified candidate was selected (I have flight experience in the area they were hiring in, got my FP-C and CCP-C plus a ton of other training and experience).

They have an open position in Merced, CA. I am accredited in Merced and have flight experience there. I can't bring myself to apply to them. First, I honestly don't believe they'll bother to interview me so it feels like a waste of my time to fill out an application there. I feel like I got a bad reputation I don't know about or maybe they can see I am not a good fit or something. Maybe they met me at the hospital and was like heeeeeck noooo. I dunno. If they were desperate (cause I am probably blacklisted so they'd have to be desperate to interview me) and end up interviewing me, which I don't think they would ever do, and offered me a job, their previous decisions like canceling my fly along at 9 PM after waiting a month and then offering me an interviewing Christmas morning, not interview me, and send me an automated message saying they found a more qualified candidate... Like... What is going to happen to me if I accept the job there? I don't have faith in them. I would feel less secure about my job than I already do. I also don't believe they'd be better than my current job. Nothing tells me they are better. They are just local to me and that's it.

So... move? Go back to my ground job for slightly higher pay, but terrible hours and area, and probably run my arse off running calls back to back? Before my previous ground job, the previous one before that, I was terminated for failing my field training time. My paramedic field training officer told me "Have fun being an EMT", but they ended up just terminating me instead. It left a very bitter taste in my mouth and I don't feel like I'd be happy going to them, if they would even bother to have me. What do I do? Even if they don't give me the days off that I want, is it worth it to lose my job over it? I feel pretty screwed job wise, lol.
So what I glean from this long tale of woe is: your attitude is part of the problem. Everywhere you’ve worked you’ve had issues.
 

Aprz

The New Beach Medic
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So what I glean from this long tale of woe is: your attitude is part of the problem. Everywhere you’ve worked you’ve had issues.
The places I've mentioned is less than half of the places I've worked. I think it's just a big wall of text so maybe you got confused or misunderstood. I always like writing Harry Potter novel length posts, lol. I was complaining about my pay at my current company, but don't have a problem hanging out with my co-workers. I think my management likes me, but are throwing the book at me with trying to get time off. They also have little to no say about my pay since I am traveler. Then I complained about how there is a local flight company that I've been eyeballing, but that I don't trust them. They didn't come through for me when my first flight base closed and they seemed pretty sketchy even though they are a legitimate company. I was being sarcastic about my reputation. Then I talked about going back to my old ambulance job or one in the adjacent county. I was eyeballing the adjacent county when they were offering a $60k bonus. I failed field training at that one 7 years ago for being clinically weak. 7 years ago is a long time I feel like. I hated that place so much that I was already applying and interviewing at other jobs in the middle of it. I had no intentions of staying at that company 7 years ago. Considering I am a travel flight paramedic who has practiced with a significantly greater scope than those paramedics do, I have no doubt that I could get hired there if I really wanted to go back there... Like I said, I was eyeballing them when they had a $60k bonus, but the culture there was baaaad. Total cowboy medicine there at least 7 years ago. They'd do things like dopamine wide open, titrate to effect type of things. I am so used to doing drips that I probably could do the med math and mix the drip quicker than they could "open wide open, titrate to effect". For the record, they got rid of their dopamine drip and replaced it with push dose epi.... I think they did that because there paramedics couldn't do med math more so than push dose epi being a better choice in general. The next ambulance company I went to, I was happy there for 5+ years, but if I went back to them, I wouldn't be paid as high. Being a travel paramedic, California EMS no longer seems appealing to me either, but I don't want to move either, lol.
 
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IsraelEMS

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Staying hot refers to the helicopter being left running and the blades still spinning.

Some crews will open up the ambulance doors and even start bringing the patient out to meet the helicopter as soon as we land. Please don’t do that. Leave the ambulance doors shut and leave the patient inside. We will come to you. It’s much easier to assess and do any initial treatments inside the back of the ambulance.
Thank you for the explination!

Also approach from the uphill side.
Interesting. Why?
 

IsraelEMS

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I obviously know nothing about helecopters so please excuse me if these sound like stupid questions but a) if the helecopter is off what difference does uphill or down hill make? b)I though you needed a flat place to land so why would there be an uphill/downhill?

Also, if you turn it off to come take the pt, how long does it take to turn it on again so you can leave?
 

DesertMedic66

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I obviously know nothing about helecopters so please excuse me if these sound like stupid questions but a) if the helecopter is off what difference does uphill or down hill make? b)I though you needed a flat place to land so why would there be an uphill/downhill?

Also, if you turn it off to come take the pt, how long does it take to turn it on again so you can leave?
If the helicopter is off it usually doesn’t matter where you approach it from.

While yes the helicopter itself needs a flat place to land it doesn’t always mean the terrain around it is flat. Sometimes when we land we will actually be uneven.

For starting up it all depends on the pilot and the specific aircraft. Some have two engines the need to be started while others only have one. For my twin engine we can usually be lifting in 3 minutes.
 

IsraelEMS

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Got it. Thank you.

My only expreiance with a helecopter was taking a pt from the landing place to the hospital about 20 years ago. They landed and brought the pt to us. Now we have landing places right on the hospital grounds so that is no longer an issue.

We will call in a helecopter for certain things but I usually work in the cities and not out near the dead sea and other than that it never really comes up in my region. South of me in the negev desert it is more comon but still doesn't happen a lot here.

Do most helecopters take only 1 pt or can some take more?
 

DesertMedic66

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Got it. Thank you.

My only expreiance with a helecopter was taking a pt from the landing place to the hospital about 20 years ago. They landed and brought the pt to us. Now we have landing places right on the hospital grounds so that is no longer an issue.

We will call in a helecopter for certain things but I usually work in the cities and not out near the dead sea and other than that it never really comes up in my region. South of me in the negev desert it is more comon but still doesn't happen a lot here.

Do most helecopters take only 1 pt or can some take more?
Most of the time it’s only a single patient especially if that patient is critical. However some are able to take more. For example where I am we have a regulation by the EMS agency that all helicopters must be able to carry 2 patients.
 

IsraelEMS

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Most of the time it’s only a single patient especially if that patient is critical. However some are able to take more. For example where I am we have a regulation by the EMS agency that all helicopters must be able to carry 2 patients.
That makes sense. I'm just thinking about things that we would call for, namely drowning (the dead sea is far from any hospital), trauma/enviornmental and MVA. While drowning and trauma are often (although not always) only 1 pt, a serious car accident can have several pts. I am going to have to ask how many pts our helecopters can carry.
 

Seirende

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Ketamine hypersalivation is definitely a thing. I kind of want to measure my saliva output after one of my daily doses.
 

M3dicalR3dn3ck

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On the topic of jobs (thanks for starting my brain and mouth up @Aprz 😂) I'm gonna be looking at new places to leave Mercy for. There's many wonderful places around here that do primarily 911 (or at least equal amounts 911/IFT), are hurting for warm bodies with a pulse and a patch, and pay a livable wage without needing call volume bonuses or excessive overtime. Oh and 96 hours a week is easier in two 48 hour shifts than 4/12s and a 48. Oh yeah and reliable equipment is always good
 

CALEMT

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Most of the time it’s only a single patient especially if that patient is critical. However some are able to take more. For example where I am we have a regulation by the EMS agency that all helicopters must be able to carry 2 patients.

Thats a piece of info that I did not know. Unfortunately, I don't get to work much with you guys. Does Reach also have that mandate?
 

DesertMedic66

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Thats a piece of info that I did not know. Unfortunately, I don't get to work much with you guys. Does Reach also have that mandate?
Any Air Ambulance provider in Riverside county have the same regulation. Policy 5201.

It only applies to the bases in Riverside county. So those resources coming from other counties or other states do not have to follow that policy.
 

PotatoMedic

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Any Air Ambulance provider in Riverside county have the same regulation. Policy 5201.

It only applies to the bases in Riverside county. So those resources coming from other counties or other states do not have to follow that policy.
I say they should mandate a Chinook.
 

Akulahawk

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What’s interesting is there are several companies out there who are building tiltrotors and are targeting them for civilian HEMS.
For certain locations/missions, they can be ideal. Most urban areas? No. Rural? Absolutely. The one thing I worry about with them is weight. Helipads/heliports do often have weight restrictions... hopefully the upcoming tiltrotors aren't too heavy.
 

Jim37F

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How sad. Was with the family at Disneyland yesterday, and apparently during the fireworks, someone jumped off the parking structure 😔

We were wondering why all the trams were not running (but were staying in the Grand Califinian hotel, my folks had use-or-lose Disney Vacation Club points) and then saw the story later on the news...
 
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