# Your experience with Bay Medic (Concord)



## indpndntrd (Aug 18, 2012)

Anyone here on emtlife have experience with Bay Medic in Concord (Bay Area)? I'd love to hear from a current/former emt there. Shifts types, working conditions, rigs, scheduling flexibility, probation....

I would like to put in an app with them. 

Thanks


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## trex69 (Aug 20, 2012)

Are they hiring?


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## AnthonyTheEmt (Aug 20, 2012)

Avoid them if you can find a job elsewhere. Back when I worked BLS, I would talk to some of their people and they all hated their jobs. Plus, they had a crew roll a rig a few years back and kill a patient. And that stigma has stuck with them.


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## indpndntrd (Aug 21, 2012)

Thanks for the info AnthonyTheEmt. None of the BLS companies seem to be hiring right now... (including BayMedic). I commute a lot throughout alameda county and have never seen one of their rigs.


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## Aprz (Aug 21, 2012)

I mainly see Baymedic in Contra Costa County. I've talked with some of their ex-employees, and they all hated it. In my opinion, take whatever job you can get. It's a very tough market out there.

Have you applied to...?
Patient Plus
Rural/Metro of Northern California
Royal Ambulance
Westmed Ambulance
Norcal Ambulance
ProTransport-1

Those are the ones I can think of in Alameda County, and they are the ones that seem to always hire regularly (except Patient Plus).

I would put your application everywhere. I hear rumor that AMR bailed on some IFT contracts in Santa Cruz, about to lose a contract with Valley Medical Center (VMC) in Santa Clara County, etc., so I am sure that one of these ambulance companies are gonna be hiring pretty soon if they get those contracts, but you also have to worry that some of these AMR employees with experience might be looking for jobs soon so be quick. Of course, this is rumor, but even without this rumor, I'd apply everywhere if you haven't already.


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## indpndntrd (Aug 21, 2012)

Wow, thanks for taking the time to include the actual links to each company's website. Yes, I applied to all of those companies. The companies that use an online app (ProT, Royal, PPlus) have my status "pending." The companies that use the traditional paper format have my app on file for the next 6 months. I just have to wait and see.


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## Aprz (Aug 21, 2012)

No problem. I'd take extra initiative by walking in and asking questions like if you could do a ride along, and if you could drop off a resume with somebody.

Have you done any of the FEMA courses? A lot of companies require them, and if you are willing to work in Santa Clara County, some are required.

ICS 100
ICS 200
NIMS 700

Those are usually the minimum requirement.

Additionally you'll be required to have SEMS prior to working, but it's usually done on your hire date or orientation. You could get SEMS, 100, and 700 in Santa Clara County as a combined course sit down classroom.

http://www.sccgov.org/sites/ems/Tra...ar/Pages/Training-and-Education-Calendar.aspx

Unfortunately, I don't think Santa Clara County EMS has been doing a good job updating their calendar. If you look in the drop down box menu, they had that class "ICS and SEMS" on 8/15 so you missed it already, but they usually have one like once a month so keep an eye out for when the next one.

Santa Clara County also offers:
ICS 300
ICS 400
Hospital Incident Command System (HICS)

Just keep an eye out for those classes.

Santa Clara County also requires:
IS 704
AWR 160
IS 3
and soon First Responder Operations - Hazmat (FRO), which you can take in classroom off that same calendar I posted the link of.

IS 703 and IS 230 are also good FEMA classes to add.

Westmed college occasionally offers cool classes to add to your resume like offered ITLS, Intro to Tactical Medicine, and Medical Spanish last month. Some of those classes were free or very cheap.

Showing up for CEs and extra classes makes you a familiar face. I've met supervisors from different companies through some CE classes, and I believe it has given me a chance to show them my enthusiasm for this field, my knowledge and skills, demonstrated my good behavior, kindness, etc.

If you're still looking for a job by April, consider joining Rock Medicine. They do volunteer standby at events and concerts like Shoreline Amphitheater in Mt. View, Oracle Arena, Regency in San Francisco, Bill Graham Civic Center in San Francisco, Warfield in San Francisco, Fox Theater in Oakland, etc. My first EMT job was at ProTransport-1, and when I interviewed with them, they seemed very happy that I had some experience and commended me during my interview for volunteering with Rock Medicine. I had other friends who interview with ProTransport-1, and although people told me "ProTransport-1 hires anybody with a pulse and card", I have many friends who did not get hired at ProTransport-1, and they didn't have any experience.

Other jobs I can think of that seem to popular that aren't ambulance is Great America, Gilroy Gardens, and West Coast EMS, although I don't have too much information on them right now.

I don't have links handy on me right now, but you can also do volunteer work at Stanford hospital in Palo Alto, Highland in Oakland, and Children's Hospital in Oakland too. I am sure other hospitals have open volunteer positions. Once again, a good way to make your face a familiar one to the ones who may possibly be interviewing you, looking at your applications, or have useful information on a company that you're interested in working for.

Waiting and seeing is the suckiest thing to do in my opinion. I have so much regrets not doing everything I could have to get an EMT job. I felt like I did everything I could have at the time, but now that I look back, there was more I could've done (e.g. companies that only took applications online, I didn't walk in and bug them) and I've seen people get hired for things like simply walking in and saying "I'm interested in working for ABC company. What's the culture like here? What is it like working here?" Don't make the same mistakes I did; it took me 13 months to get my first EMT job. Obviously try to use sound judgement still, I don't believe in calling everyday, but call at least once. Patient Plus, I think there is a guy name Jared Mullins listed on their website that you can call and send an e-mail to. Things like that are gonna make a huge difference and the wait time less.

One more thing! I can think of several people who have gotten a chance to interview at companies like Paramedic Plus and Rural/Metro, some had experience, some had zero experience, and they didn't get hired because they didn't know hospital locations, county's policies and protocols, or weren't familiar with things that are out of their scope, but may be things the company expects them to know working on an ALS rig e.g. "What to do document when you start an IV?" or "When would you use restraints?" Regardless of whether you agree with the policies and protocols, and whether you really need to know them, or just use sound logical, these companies will quiz you on it. For example, I hear Rural/Metro, their IFT division, tested people on their knowledge on protocols and hospital locations. I recommend driving to the hospitals to see where they are at, learn main roads, and look at multiple counties policies and protocols, test yourself on them.


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## nocoderob (Aug 21, 2012)

AMR in Contra Costa is taking emt apps this week. They just recently hired 15 and looking for 15 more supposedly.


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## EMT1A (Aug 21, 2012)

AnthonyTheEmt said:


> Avoid them if you can find a job elsewhere. Back when I worked BLS, I would talk to some of their people and they all hated their jobs. Plus, they had a crew roll a rig a few years back and kill a patient. And that stigma has stuck with them.



was there a newspaper article on that?


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## AnthonyTheEmt (Aug 21, 2012)

EMT1A said:


> was there a newspaper article on that?



It was a couple years ago in Palo Alto. You could probably google it


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## EMT1A (Aug 21, 2012)

http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=10514
http://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/show_story.php?id=12061
for anyone interested


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## indpndntrd (Aug 21, 2012)

nocoderob said:


> AMR in Contra Costa is taking emt apps this week. They just recently hired 15 and looking for 15 more supposedly.



Is it internal? I only found a posting for san rafael on their website. I submitted my app.


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## indpndntrd (Aug 21, 2012)

Aprz said:


> No problem. I'd take extra initiative by walking in and asking questions like if you could do a ride along, and if you could drop off a resume with somebody.
> 
> Have you done any of the FEMA courses? A lot of companies require them, and if you are willing to work in Santa Clara County, some are required.
> 
> ...



You're right, this part of the journey isn't so fun but I'll stay positive and keep trying. I used to volunteer at Highland, spending a little over a year in the SDU. Rock Medicine seems like a great opportunity. Never heard of them but I'm looking into it now.


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## nocoderob (Aug 21, 2012)

indpndntrd said:


> Is it internal? I only found a posting for san rafael on their website. I submitted my app.



Not as far as I know. My intern has applied and he is not an employee.


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