Washington State Reciprocity

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EMTMoore86

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Hello all, I am new to this forum so I hope this is the correct place to post. Anyways, my question is regarding my Washington State Reciprocity. I recently moved to WA from CA where I am certified as an EMT there. Before moving, I called the state of WA to inquire what all I needed to do to obtain my EMT cert in the state of Washington. After doing everything that they told me and submitting all of my paperwork, I am finally in the WA department of health's system, but my status has been "pending" for quite some time now. No one has contacted me saying that I need to do anything further, but I was just curious as to whether anyone else has gone through this process and about how long it takes? This is the only thing that is keeping me from getting a job and it's just a little frustrating. Thanks in advance for any help!
 
EMTMoore86 said:
Hello all, I am new to this forum so I hope this is the correct place to post. Anyways, my question is regarding my Washington State Reciprocity. I recently moved to WA from CA where I am certified as an EMT there. Before moving, I called the state of WA to inquire what all I needed to do to obtain my EMT cert in the state of Washington. After doing everything that they told me and submitting all of my paperwork, I am finally in the WA department of health's system, but my status has been "pending" for quite some time now. No one has contacted me saying that I need to do anything further, but I was just curious as to whether anyone else has gone through this process and about how long it takes? This is the only thing that is keeping me from getting a job and it's just a little frustrating. Thanks in advance for any help!
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I may be wrong ..... But I thought you had to be employed in wa before you could get your state card.
 
Yeah, I was a little confused about that as well, but when I talked to someone they didn't say anything about it. There was a page regarding it in the reciprocity packet, but they told me I could keep it blank and send it in.
 
Define "some time". I have a couple friends in WA and I've heard horror stories about how long it takes. From what they say average is 3 to 4 months
 
Wow, 3-4 months? That's insane. So far mine has been almost a month. I'm going crazy not being on an ambulance!
 
It took 3 months for me to get mine, and I had my nremt and was on a vollie fd at the time.
 
That's crazy to me. It doesn't seem like there was that much paperwork to review.
 
From what I understand... you need your nremt, and you need a sponsoring agency (AMR, trimed, rural metro, fire department, search and rescue, ect.) before you can get your state cert. and for that. the sponsoring agency and you fill out some simple paperwork and you wait for ever before your state cert comes and then you can work for your sponsoring agency!
 
Yes. No state certification UNTIL you're employed with an EMS agency. Once that happens, it's 6 to 8 weeks for a card.
 
n7lxi said:
Yes. No state certification UNTIL you're employed with an EMS agency. Once that happens, it's 6 to 8 weeks for a card.
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Do doctors and nurses also not receive a license until they are employed?
 
Level1pedstech said:
A volunteer position with an approved agency will also work.
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Finding one can be difficult. For example, King County Search & Rescue now requires a year of service before allowing EMS affiliation, as many people were just using them to get the card.
 
n7lxi said:
Finding one can be difficult. For example, King County Search & Rescue now requires a year of service before allowing EMS affiliation, as many people were just using them to get the card.
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East Pierce was going to be my recomendation since its close for the OP but I see they now have a residency requirement. There are a few departments south of Olympia that used to have no residency requirement and at least one would let volunteers come in for 24's,I think its now called West Thurston regional fire authority (Rohester,Grand Mound).

Further down I-5 you have Cowlitz County district 5 (Kalama). They used to be a combination department that had an all medical volunteer division with no residency requirement.

Even further down I-5 you have Clark County Fire Rescue,great combination department with no residency requirement that has 12's and 24's available.

People need to remember that a commute in for a 24 hour shift once or twice a month might be what it takes to get and keep agency affiliation these days.
 
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To the OP, don't let the lack of the state card keep you from applying for every job out there. If you haven't already, my recommendation is hit up TriMed, AMR and rural metro. I'm sure TriMed would be interested, seeing as you already have experience, as would AMR and rural metro, if they have any openings. The hiring folks at all of those places understand that it takes a while to get your card.
 
OT... but does anyone know if any Washington state AMR s run 911? Thinking about transferring that way too...
 
Yep. Seattle/King County is BLS only, but they run 911 ALS all over the rest of the state.
 
n7lxi said:
Yep. Seattle/King County is BLS only, but they run 911 ALS all over the rest of the state.
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Seriously tempting on doing an in house transfer somewhere for a while
 
AMR in the Tri-Cities (Richland/Kennewick/Pasco), Yakima, Moses Lake, and several other areas run 911. There's more to the state than Seattle/Tacoma. :P
 
There is a lot more, but most people think Seattle when they think Washington. I enjoyed running 911 in Yakima. Lot of trauma and really sick people.
 
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