Just got a joba offer with Rural Metro in Aurora CO. Moving to the state from a rural system where I ran 50% with fire and the other 50% was ambo only. Just looking for some general feed back of what to expect. Should I keep looking for a better medic slot or is it a decent system where a medic patch is recognized and respected.
Rural Metro Aurora
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sir.shocksalot
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It's not a bad place to work...
If you are moving here to be a fire medic, Rural/Metro isn't a bad place to sit and wait for a job to open. The supervisors treat you okay, people are generally friendly (it takes them a few weeks to warm up to new people), and their equipment is probably the best out of the privates.
However, don't expect much/any respect for being a paramedic. Aurora is 100% ALS FD response, and they run the show. There are some good fire medics at AFD, however there is an overpowering amount of really really bad ones. The worst part is that you can't correct them, you will either get yelled at or fired. It's actually almost funny how bad some of the AFD paramedics are, the best thing to do is to sit back and watch the disaster unfold. Oh and document the crap out of it ("per AFD" is the buzzword in every rural/metro report).
So while AFD might be awful, Rural/Metro as a general rule is pretty good. But if you want to actually practice as a paramedic, you need to look elsewhere. And expect a big difference in call volume and distance, transport times range from 1 minute to 20 minutes, and call volume can be as high as 16-20 calls on a 24 hour shift (usually about 10 calls a shift depending on the unit). This is all in an urban ghetto area, so expect drunks, druggies, shootings and stabbings along with your usual frequent flyers. If you can't stomach AFD, the best thing to do is go for a GT (transfer) car, or any of the Littleton/Castle Rock cars. They are slow and you don't really run 911 (in Littleton you transport the calls that Littleton Fire doesn't think are good enough for their ambulance) but they will help you keep your sanity while you look for another job or go to school.
If you are moving here to be a fire medic, Rural/Metro isn't a bad place to sit and wait for a job to open. The supervisors treat you okay, people are generally friendly (it takes them a few weeks to warm up to new people), and their equipment is probably the best out of the privates.
However, don't expect much/any respect for being a paramedic. Aurora is 100% ALS FD response, and they run the show. There are some good fire medics at AFD, however there is an overpowering amount of really really bad ones. The worst part is that you can't correct them, you will either get yelled at or fired. It's actually almost funny how bad some of the AFD paramedics are, the best thing to do is to sit back and watch the disaster unfold. Oh and document the crap out of it ("per AFD" is the buzzword in every rural/metro report).
So while AFD might be awful, Rural/Metro as a general rule is pretty good. But if you want to actually practice as a paramedic, you need to look elsewhere. And expect a big difference in call volume and distance, transport times range from 1 minute to 20 minutes, and call volume can be as high as 16-20 calls on a 24 hour shift (usually about 10 calls a shift depending on the unit). This is all in an urban ghetto area, so expect drunks, druggies, shootings and stabbings along with your usual frequent flyers. If you can't stomach AFD, the best thing to do is go for a GT (transfer) car, or any of the Littleton/Castle Rock cars. They are slow and you don't really run 911 (in Littleton you transport the calls that Littleton Fire doesn't think are good enough for their ambulance) but they will help you keep your sanity while you look for another job or go to school.
LucidResq
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As said, keep your eyes open for other openings.
AMR in Colorado Springs, Thompson Valley EMS, Denver Health, Poudre Valley, etc are among the better places to work as a medic in the metro area. They are competitive though, and you may need to put in a few years somewhere like Rural before having a shot.
The best thing about Rural is that it is, for the most part, high-volume 911 experience. They just lost the contract in Boulder that Pridemark held for years (they bought out Pridemark) to AMR and it should be interesting to see how that pans out.
AMR in Colorado Springs, Thompson Valley EMS, Denver Health, Poudre Valley, etc are among the better places to work as a medic in the metro area. They are competitive though, and you may need to put in a few years somewhere like Rural before having a shot.
The best thing about Rural is that it is, for the most part, high-volume 911 experience. They just lost the contract in Boulder that Pridemark held for years (they bought out Pridemark) to AMR and it should be interesting to see how that pans out.
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Thank You
I appreciate the reponses. I am used to long transport times and no assistance has been kind of nice but I am ready for a better system. We have one local hospital that was from the rural areas about 20min plus. Fire sounds like the typical city fire where they think there patch is better than ours. I will definatley use this as a stepping stone to get into the system. Any other insights would be great from anyone out there.
I appreciate the reponses. I am used to long transport times and no assistance has been kind of nice but I am ready for a better system. We have one local hospital that was from the rural areas about 20min plus. Fire sounds like the typical city fire where they think there patch is better than ours. I will definatley use this as a stepping stone to get into the system. Any other insights would be great from anyone out there.