new hire academy

[samsbgm]

I just started working at a new company and was just wondering how other places do their new hire academies. The company I worked for before didn't have one or even testing to be hired. This new company I work for there was a test to get an interview. We had a 3 week academy that was very intense. 8-12 weeks in field instruction. They have fto's that are referred to as head hunters. It's pretty normal to be berated for up to an hour after your shift. There is also a 50% fail rate. Is every academy out there this hard on new emt's? Eventually I would like to move to a different company but I don't think I ever want this experience again.

How long was your academy/field instruction? What did it entail? What city did you do this in?

 

[NomadicMedic]

Berated for up to an hour after your shift?

And people put up with this?

 

[COmedic17]

.
They encourage and allow people of higher seniority to berate anyone, none the less new hires that they are mentoring?

They are supposed to be examples to others. They are there to help you, not to hurt you. I'm going to venture out and say if they treat their own that poorly, they probably don't have the best attitude towards patients either.

I would start filling out applications and get out of there asap. There's a difference between being strict and being unnecessarily aggressive.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Sounds like an average fire academy here

 

[NomadicMedic]

I agree with the test prior to an interview, I believe in a stringent interview process, I believe in a long and detailed FTO.… I don't believe in beating up paramedic candidates.

I worked with an FTO who took great pleasure in making paramedic candidates cry. Where's the joy in that?

It sounds like you're in an awful place. I'd get out of there as quick as I could.

 

[COmedic17]

Sounds like an average fire academy here

Doing all the "grunt" work is typically unpleasant and is a typical fire academy... But berating someone? That's unecessary.
I would never tolerate being treated sub human.

 

[samsbgm]

Berated for up to an hour after your shift?

And people put up with this?

It's really the only company to work for by me. All of there 250 current employees have put up with this training. Not all of the fto's are the head hunters but you will have to be trained by Atleast one of them. They can end your career pretty fast if you decide not to put up with them. I work in a system where you run 10-18 calls in a 12 hour shift so they want strong people. After the academy it's a whole new world. Just curious about how other training programs are run.

 

[akflightmedic]

I work in a system where you run 10-18 calls in a 12 hour shift so they want strong people. After the academy it's a whole new world.

Sounds like you are already drinking and liking the Kool-aid. What is taking place is abnormal and hostile. Additionally, if I was kept after or if I ever kept my employees after work for an hour to berate them...you better believe they will be getting paid. So I hope you are taking that extra hour of pay every shift with that extra dose of BS you are getting.

Beating up individuals mentally does not create a strong people. This is not the Marines. This is a profession. As an employer, it is my responsibility to encourage, to empower and to facilitate each employee to be the best they can be. Despite those philosophies, some will fail and fall out. That is normal. Thinning the ranks can be done with a very positive and supportive work environment. For the majority of employees, if you fail, it is because I as an employer/boss/leader have failed.

And an academy with a 50% wash out rate...either they have a ton of applicants from an over saturated candidate pool or there is a ton of overtime going on which could be part of the motivation for the headhunters to chase off the new talent.

You have said all the other 250 people have endured the same. You are wrong. I assure you if you trace it back you will find this to be most inaccurate. You are falling on the Its always been done this way" fallacy. Do not buy into this BS mentality.

Either way, what you have written is NOT normal and should NOT be tolerated. But of course...you will accept it as it is your only job in the area, you want to be an EMT and save paramedics (or lives), and nothing will ever really change.

 

[COmedic17]

I work in a system where you run 10-18 calls in a 12 hour shift so they want strong people. After the academy it's a whole new world. Just curious about how other training programs are run.

Thats a BS excuse.
Most large city EMS providers run large amounts of calls per shift, but the mentality of being hostile to the new hires isn't acceptable.

And frankly if you allow them to treat you like that, then that's your fault, not theirs. Grow a pair.

 

[samsbgm]

I just want to know how other training academies are run. What kind of training do they do? How intense are these programs? I was trying to say that my academy is very intense. I wanted to know how they compare. I understand this is not a great way to be treated But it is what it is.

 

[DesertMedic66]

We don't have an Academy. You do a written and a skills test. If you pass those then you go into the interview. Once you are hired you do 2 weeks of classroom orientation and EVOC. After that you start your FTO process which is normally 15 shifts for the EMT level.

 

[COmedic17]

But it is what it is.

Your making excuses for their treatment towards you. Everyone has said that's not normal In the least.
If you allow them to treat you like such, guess what? They will treat you the SAME way after you clear your academy. You will treated that way for the duration of your employment. Why? Because they know you will tolerate it. And they know they can without any repercussions.

Your digging your own grave.

 

[Chewy20]

I just want to know how other training academies are run. What kind of training do they do? How intense are these programs? I was trying to say that my academy is very intense. I wanted to know how they compare. I understand this is not a great way to be treated But it is what it is.

Our academy was six weeks followed by 12-18 weeks of FTO time. I guess you can say our academy was intense, did PT every morning, it was run "para-military", so if we messed up for stupid stuff we would do pushups, had to march in cadence blah blah. Did everything from swiftwater rescue training to forced entries. I would say it was more of a learning curve, some struggled more than others.

Our FTOs will get on us if we are doing something wrong, feels like they are coming at you, but they just want to make sure youre doing things right. My mess ups have been corrected after the first or second time, and I attribute that to them for not candy coating crap.

Curious as to what they "berate" you with for an hour after work each day.

 

[DrParasite]

in my opinion, most EMS jobs have a 3 or 4 day orientation, followed by some FTO time, which can range from a complete joke to a useful process.

most careers some things much differently. academy is between 4 and 6 weeks, where you are introduced to all aspects of the organizations; in reality, it is done to ensure that all new hires are on the same level when they are put onto the truck for FTO time, which can last between 2 months and 9 months, depending on your level of training. It's tough, and when I went through my first academy, we had a 25% drop rate for one reason or another.

One thing you should always remember: your FTO is not, and should not be, your friend. you want someone who will be honest about what you are doing wrong, documenting appropriately, so you know what you need to work on. Should your FTO be berating you on a regular basis? no; however if you do something serious that deserves a beratement, accept it, learn from it, and don't make that mistake again.

I come from a big city system. We ran 12-18 calls in 12 hours, and if you screwed up, you heard about it, and hopefully you learned from your mistake and didn't make it again. Think of it this way: would you rather get screamed at by your FTO from screwing up, or brought into the bosses office and asked to hand in your ID? Yes, you need to be strong, yes, you need to adjust to the system, and yes, they are expecting you to act and function in the way the agency wants you to.

But at the end of the day, your FTOs should want you to succeed and complete the training process. But if your FTOs are making it their goal of making their new recruits cry, than your organization needs to reevaluate their entire FTO process.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

I would never work for someone who takes pleasure in making subordinates cry. FTO time can be a rude awakening, and some people can't handle it and break down, but that is NOT the goal. Being berated? No thanks. If I need some remediation we can do it in a professional manner like every other workplace setting. This is a job not the flippin military.

50% fail rate? Something is wrong with the system. This many people should not be getting through the initial hire process and then washing out. Again, this isn't SEAL training.

Yes, your academy sounds more intense than normal. But it doesn't need to be that way. You have some d bags running the show, and for some reason 250 people accepted it as a badge of honor, reinforcing the d baggyness. I have a low threshold for this kind of crap and if I were in this position I would either a)not let them push me around (whatever that means) or b)seek employment elsewhere.

The problem is if you are willing to put up with this crap you are willing to put up with all kinds of crap later like being heldover unnecessarily, denied PTO, stagnant wages etc. Plenty of systems run 10-18 calls in 12 hours, its not a big deal. As @akflightmedic said you are already drinking the kool aid.

For perspective: My new hire "academy" was 2 weeks classroom stuff where I got out on time and was yelled at 0 times. Followed by 3-5 days EVOC/Operations where I got out on time or early and was yelled at 0 times. Followed by 1 week BLS FTO and 1 week ALS FTO where I was held over and yelled at 0 times. I made plenty of mistakes during my FTO time and was corrected and educated in a calm professional manner.

 

[Jim37F]

10-18 calls in 12hrs sounds more like they need to double the amount of trucks on the road available...the exact opposite of pretending they're some sort of über awesome delta-seal force 6 and wash out half their applicants.

If they're putting up that many calls regularly than that tells me your transport times are probably only 10-15 minutes regularly. Sounds like the kinda place where patients will benefit as much from a pair of EMTs doing scoop and runs as they are from a medic doing a full workup...in other words where a less-than-stellar medic can get by simply loading and going and getting to the hospital by the time they're getting the second set of vitals.

Even in Basic training, the military doesn't spend hours berating people for now reason after training is done. It accomplishes nothing to actually train the person. Sure they'll stop and berate you then and there but then the Drill Sergeant will ensure you're doing the task correctly and that doesn't get done by simply yelling at the trainee for an hour.

Unless we simply have it wrong, but from your description it sounds like your FTOs are trying to emulate R. Lee Ermy in Full Metal Jacket...which is a highly Hollywood-ized over dramatic version of what actually goes on in Basic training.

 

[RocketMedic]

Your academy sounds very familiar.

 

[COmedic17]

there have been SOME days We run 20+ calls in a 24 hr shift but I have never seen new hires treated poorly.


I don't think the amount of calls per shift dictates the right to be an *******.

 

[samsbgm]

I was just trying to describe the academy not cry about it. I actually like the company I work for. It's just tough. From all the information I'm getting from other people it seems like I'll have an easy time transferring to another company.

 

[RocketMedic]

You sound like EMSA's academy.