what is your company like?

[Aerin-Sol]

I've been in EMS for a few months and am struck by the difference between the business structure of the IFT company I work for now and the old customer service company that I worked for before, and am wondering if most EMS companies are structured the same why.

At the call center, I had a very clear chain of command. I knew who my supervisor was, who the other supervisors in our department were in case my sup wasn't available, and who was supervising our department. At the ambulance compaby I don't think I even have a supervisor; if I do I certainly don't know about it. I am aware of "street supervisors" and "dispatch supervisors" but have no idea who is specifically in charge of me.

At the call center, 3-5 of our calls were recorded and reviewed each month. I could discuss these reviews with my supervisor. At the ambulance company the only QA is a person who makes sure our billing forms are filled out correctly. I have worked 6 months and gotten 0 feedback. Yes, I have training, and I review my book every month to keep up with trauma stuff, but it would be nice to have some objective criticism. I've heard the 911 service here has QA; how does that work? Is it for 911 companies only?

At the call center the HR department spoke to us for several hours and we could go to their office or email them if we needed them. At the ambulance company we met an HR rep to fill out tax forms and that is the only contact I have had with them since. I have no idea how to file a complaint about anything, or even really what is considered appropriate/inappropriate. I am really tired of hearing homophobic speech all the time, but I think it is just the company culture.

I understand that one of the perks of EMS is being free of the micro-management that comes with a typical office job, and I enjoy that, but I also feel a bit lost at this company.

 

[TacoMEDIC]

IFT companies are kind of notorious for having a lack of a chain of command. Especially smaller companies. Some try, but it always seems that upper management goes directly to field personnel and vice versa.

My experience is that 911 companies are much better.

My advise would be to ask any manager. Maybe he/she could give you some answers specific to your companies operation.

 

[TransportJockey]

I've worked for three services now plus a hospital, along with varied time in customer service (automotive, retail, serving) so I've seen a little bit of a lot even though I'm still a youngin.

My current service seems pretty good so far. It's a very small service, with only about 15 people on the payrolls total. Very tight knit group with a very set chain of command (chief, assistant chief, then everyone else. No one pushed certs over someones head so it's kinda nice...), although we only have 2 EMT-Bs and hopefully we won't have that in a few more months. The majority of us are EMT-Is and 3 of them are EMT-Ps (chief, assistant chief, and one other PT person.
I'm the youngest person at our service, but that doesn't seem to matter to anyone either. As long as I can do my job there's no problems.
As for QA... our ePCR system has what's called a peer review function. At any time any member of our service can go in and look at all the months reports. They're privatized so pt info does'nt show up, but they can see everything we did. That I think helps keep everyone honest and doing their best, as they don't wanna get shown to be an idiot in front of everyone.
It's a municipal service, so we tend to have good rigs and equipment. And we're a rural service so we have pretty good protocols that address that and a great medical director.

The only thing I dislike is it's a small town service. So small town politics are a part of everything.