Washington Paramedic Jobs

[RickyP]

Hey everyone! My wife is an officer in the Navy and we will be moving to Whidbey Island in early Feb. I have read a lot about EMTs job opportunities but I was wondering about Paramedic jobs. I have several years experience in 911 and just recently got my Critical Care Paramedic Cert and have been doing that for about a year. I really wanted to get into the flight thing but I see that WA only hire RNs for their flight crews. Im not a FF so that is out, although I wouldn’t be opposed to a service putting me through fire school if thats what it took.

Any advice on the good, bad, and ugly service would be appreciated. If anyone could clue me on some pay figures that would be great too.

Thanks

RP

 

[lightsandsirens5]

Ah ha ha! Good luck on the medic job over on the west side.

I don't know a whole lot about over there. I'm from the Spokane area. Buy from what people tell me, open medic jobs are few and far between on that side. I believe anymore most EMS on the west side is fire based, but I could be wrong.

I can tell you this though, if KCMO has an opening, don't blink cause it might disappear. Just take it and then ask questions.

Good luck man. And what does your wife do in the Navy. My dad spent 30 years in, so I'm a Navy brat through and through.

 

[RickyP]

Thanks for the reply. My wife is a navigator on the P-3 Orion aircraft. It's an old school sub-hunter.

I have read a little about KCMO. Don't they require all new hires to go through their training program regardless of experience? I have heard its really long and pretty much like going through Medic school again. That would suck.

Well, I hope its not too hard to find a job.

Thanks for the input. I look forward to more if you got it.

FP

 

[MMiz]

Welcome to EMTLife!

I've moved your thread to the correct forum: EMS Employment.

 

[NomadicMedic]

As far as medic jobs in Western Washington, you may have a hard time finding anything. They are few and far between.

AMR and Rural Metro in Pierce County hire medics for some 911 and IFT. There's some confusion about who's got the contract for Tacoma, so I don't think either are hiring at the moment.

Olympic Ambulance in Sequim and Port Angeles hire medics for IFT and 911.

Whidbey General Hospital runs the EMS on the island. Don't know if they're hiring or not. My guess is no, as the turnover there is nonexistant.

And yes, the King County Medic One system requires you to attend Harborview's Medic School for a year, even if you've already been to medic school or been a medic for 10 years. No exceptions. Also, they just tested for this September's class so they will not be hiring again until next year.

I work on the other side of the mountains. The 4 hour drive over the pass sucks, but oh well.

 

[RickyP]

Holy cow! You drive 4hrs to get to work? Where do you live/work? The pay must be worth it huh? Any idea what those fore mentioned services pay? I don't mind commuting but I think 2hrs would be my max unless I found a great paying gig with a 24/72 schedule or something.

A little soapbox moment:

What is KCMOs problem? It sounds like they have a little chip on their shoulder. I can totally see going to an academy for a few weeks to learn protocol and do some skills testing, but to mandate all medics go back to school for a YEAR is a little much. Wa will be the 4th state I work in (we move a lot, my wife is in the navy) and I have been fortunate to be affiliated with some great programs. I have never heard of a year long academy to start working. It sounds like a case of "my service is better than yours".

Ok off soapbox

Thanks to all for the input. Keep it coming.

RP

 

[NomadicMedic]

I live in Tacoma and work on the East Side of the mountains. With snow in the pass it can take upwards of 4 hours to get to work. Not fun. At least we work 48s... so, there's that.

You can expect to make between 12 and 22 an hour, depending on the service.

And yeah, the money where I work is NOT worth it, but the amazing experience is. It's a VERY busy service and I'm a new medic. The more serious 911 experience I can get, the better.

As far as KCM1, don't be confused. It's not a "new hire academy", or simply learning new protocols... It's Medic School. To work as a paramedic in King County you MUST attend the Harborview/UW Paramedic program. The entry testing process is at the EMT level. It doesn't matter if you've been a medic forever. If you apply for a KCM1 job, you're tested as a basic and you're expected to take the FULL paramedic program again.

And yes, it IS a case of "KCM1 is the end all, be all" of emergency services. Just ask them, they'll tell you.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

KCM1 is however, one of the best agencies out there in terms of care given and quality of people working for them.

What agency do you work for on this side of the mountains?

 

[NomadicMedic]

KCM1 is however, one of the best agencies out there in terms of care given and quality of people working for them.

What agency do you work for on this side of the mountains?

I know most of the KCM1 medics and agree that many of them are kind and caring. And yes, they do provide excellent care in many cases.

However, from a few years of experience in King County, I do have some serious issues with what they deem an "ALS call", the frequent turfing of serious calls to BLS and the overall attitude toward BLS providers in general.

KCM1 may look great on the outside, but it's simply not a great system. Unless you work in King County, you'll never know.

And I'd rather not say where I work. (It's obviously NOT KCM1)

 

[RickyP]

So what about hospital jobs? I’ve lived in bigger cities that have paramedics acting as paramedics in the ER. Its not just a tech job of starting lines and cleaning beds. These medics have full scope rights such as tubing and running codes. Any opportunities like this anywhere?

Does anyone know of any other types of areas medics can work such as at industrial plants ect.?

Also, do the flight programs let EMS providers do "ride-a-longs" on the helos or learjet? There’s only a couple of flight programs for the state right?

 

[NomadicMedic]

Some of the MultiCare Hospitals in Tacoma (TG and Allenmore) have "ED Medics". There's been some issue with the Nurse's union about what they can and can't do and I've heard that the current medics can stay, but they will not be hiring any more. However, that may be pure BS, so I suggest checking with Allenmore or TG directly.

I know that Madigan, at JBLM, has medics in the ED as well. They also respond to ALS calls on base. Don't know if they are active duty or civillian.

Those are the only EDs I know of that hire medics to work as medics. All the rest will hire you, but you'll only do blood draws and clean rooms.

You can check on Shipyards and such in the way of industrial plants. I know Todd's in Seattle has a team of EMS, but I think it's just EMT-Bs.

Airlift Northwest is the HEMS/Fixed Wing provider here on the west side. You can check with them about ride alongs. I know they don't hire medics, only RNs.

Western Washington is not a great place to be looking for a job as a medic.

In fact, I'd call it downright bleak.

 

[Level1pedstech]

So what about hospital jobs? I’ve lived in bigger cities that have paramedics acting as paramedics in the ER. Its not just a tech job of starting lines and cleaning beds. These medics have full scope rights such as tubing and running codes. Any opportunities like this anywhere?

Does anyone know of any other types of areas medics can work such as at industrial plants ect.?

Also, do the flight programs let EMS providers do "ride-a-longs" on the helos or learjet? There’s only a couple of flight programs for the state right?

May I offer some things to think about before you decide against the non medic tech position. First you might be surprised to find that the pay is usually better in the ER than it is in most field positions including medic. Second with most techs working three twelves you will enjoy multiple days off between stretches which allows for a second job or time to enjoy whatever it is you enjoy. Third the networking you can do with other EMS people is always helpful and often can give you a big advantage when it comes to future plans if you decide to stay in the area.

If your working in a busy ER you might be glad that your not starting lines,trust me on this one. Do you really want to spend all your time stating lines even drawing labs all day gets old very fast and that's a tech skill in most ER's. As far as cleaning beds most hospitals have house keepers that clean the rooms. Of course a good tech is always willing to turn a room if its not a complete bio hazard if it keeps things moving. A good tech is also always willing to be first to jump in on the dirty work,this earns you trust and respect. With the trust and respect of your team you may find yourself involved in procedures that you would never be doing in the field at the medic level even with the most progressive of agencies. As far as tubing and running codes most tubing in the ER is done by an RT or MD and codes are run by either a rapid response team or an RN and MD. This depends on whether or not its a trauma center and of course all hospitals are a little different. You can work codes but you are limited to charting,doing compressions and assisting the higher level providers but never underestimate what might happen if it gets crazy,wink wink nod nod.

I happened to see that Swedish Hospital currently has multiple openings in Mill Creek and the Providence system seems to have openings quite often. You will find tech spots open frequently this is because most people are only around while they prepare for bigger and better things. Be prepared for competition there are usually over 200 applicants for each position and you would be surprised how many very well qualified people like yourself apply for these positions.

Just a little to think about before you make a decision,good luck and thank your wife for her service.

 

[RickyP]

Great point. I will definitely keep this in mind as it sounds like this will be the best place to start.

I understand that you must have affiliation to get a state license. Does a hospital count?

Anyone have anything to say about Skagit county or Olympic ambulance? 911 or IFT?

I am also thinking about Rual/Metro. I hear they do CCT but I didnt know if they really do that regularly or is it mostly regular old IFT.

Thank you everyone for the input.

 

[NomadicMedic]

In most cases the hospital will not provide affiliation, as they're not EMS agencies.

I'll send you a PM about the other questions you asked.

 

[RickyP]

Ok, well if a hospital won’t give me affiliation for Wa cert, is there another way to get it? I have NR but its been a while since I took the test.

 

[kingcountysucks]

Advantages for KCM1 medics include not having to fight with ALS first responders, about 14-field tubes/year, first full year pay around $70,000, liberal decision-making, and thinking you are the best in world. But EMS systems should be designed around caring for patients.

There was recently a study from Suburban King County showing ALS did not transport 30% of patients with life-threatening conditions (excluding trauma and cardiac arrest). There are no written guidelines about transferring care to BLS. The general philosophy with critical patients is if there is nothing the medic can do for you he or she very likely will turf you to BLS. Again it's all up to the given medic in charge.

Eight of the medics have been with M1 over 28 years. That's just not good for patient care.

KCM1 doesn't have CPAP, a supraglottic airway device, an IO-device, or adequate analgesia.

It's documentation system sucks. Medics have to fill out both paper and electronic forms. The electronic system was built custom and won't be compatible with new equipment.

South King County's Utstein (a controlled cardiac arrest benchmark) rate is exactly the same as Wake County, 1% lower than Boston's, and 2% higher than Austin-Travis County. However the rate is about 10% higher than systems with ALS first response.

BLS is a nightmare. BLS first response tells the BLS transport crews what to do even those the transport crews are ones getting yelled at by the docs and nurses. The quality of BLS varies significantly from department to department.

In 2004 there was a study looking at having the fire service take over KCM1. There will be another such study in a few years. For a variety of reasons it’s unlikely to be taken over soon.

The best system out there is Wake County. Every critical patient gets ALS and some of them get an advanced paramedic with greater exposure to critical calls.

 

[NomadicMedic]

I'd like to see the South King County study you mentioned... I've been turfed critical patients by medics (before I was a medic myself) more times than I can count.

 

[Level1pedstech]

Ok, well if a hospital won’t give me affiliation for Wa cert, is there another way to get it? I have NR but its been a while since I took the test.

There are plenty of fire departments that would gladly trade you the affiliation you need to be certified for some of your time. A person with your credentials is always in demand by departments that need help with their EMS programs. Problem is that most are volunteer but if you want to be certified in WA you may have no other choice at least until you secure paid employment with an agency which may be difficult without a WA DOH certification. Neat way of doing things but its the WA way and more than one of us has had to do the dance over the years. The agency affiliation requirement makes it a whole different ball game up here and sometimes it calls for doing things we might not have considered before.

Something to think about before you get turned off about the whole volunteer idea. You would be coming into most departments with a huge advantage and with plenty of cards to put down on the table. This could put you in a very good position and for a little of your time I think you would see a huge payback.

Many of the smaller departments here in WA have medics that oversee the day to day operations of their EMS programs. There are departments that have no providers on the roster above the basic level with many just being first responders. As you can imagine the need for person with your level of experience is great and passing on your wealth of knowledge is always greatly appreciated by the junior providers and of course the people they serve.

You may be able to put in as little as day a month just helping out while you pull a duty shift or if your free you might find you want to be around more. If you really were interested in taking on a challenge you might go as far as taking on a bigger role and find a position as a clinical officer or director of EMS for a small department. This could even become a part time paid position that would leave you time to explore other options. You could add some nice accomplishments to your resume and have the affiliation you need. Just a little something to ponder while you investigate your other options.

 

[NomadicMedic]

This is true, but you'll be volunteering as a basic or an EMT-I. There is one volunteer department that may let you work as a medic (or at least get a Washington cert, which is a step in the right direction) PM me if you're interested.

 

[RickyP]

Hey everyone. I hope you all had a great holiday.

As far as volunteering....I am not opposed to the idea at all. Its actually how I got my first 911 job in Houston. I would need something to pay the bills as well but it sounds worth looking into.

Any ideas what departments would be willing to let me volunteer in the Island, Skagit, Sno county area?