# NorCal Ambulance



## ohsmash (Dec 18, 2011)

I was wondering if anyone can tell me about Norcal ambulance... specifically, what are they like to work for, and what is their interview process like?


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## Aprz (Dec 19, 2011)

I do not work for them, but they are IFT like most ambulance companies in the bay area so they do non emergency calls from one facility to another usually. I only know (not very well) one guy who has been working at NorCal since near the beginning of time, and he's a bit dramatic from the limited amount of conversations I've had with him "I don't even polish my boots anymore because I am tired of cleaning the blood off of 'em", nice guy though. I see their rigs at John George Pavilion and Sutter Summit Pavilion so I think I can safely assume they do 5150 calls, and do discharges out of Sutter Summit Pavilion. They also have a CCT rig, and the guy I was talking about used to drive it, so I think it's safe to say they do CCT also. Oddly I believe last time I saw it (a dodge sprinter), I saw only 2 EMTs on it, and I didn't see any nurse (and this was at John George Pavilion, they wouldn't take a patient who cannot walk, or requires any special attention other than psych, or so I thought...) so I am not sure what's the deal is with that. They also have an ambulance dedicated to St. Rose Hospital, another CCT rig Type III ambulance (E450), and you'll see them often while driving down Tennyson in Hayward.

A friend of mine went through their interview process about a year ago, and didn't get hired. He said that there were three stations: he had to do a one on one interview, he didn't tell me the questions, but I assume the questions were similar to regular jobs with some EMT scenarios here and there MAYBE, he had to demonstrate his patient assessment/CPR skill (or airway management, I cannot recall which way it was) where you and your partner arrive at a SNF to pick-up a patient, upon your arrival, you find out that the patient hasn't been breathing (and I think he didn't have a pulse either), he said they had a mannequin on a bed for that, and then he had to do a map test. On the map test, they marked where your ambulance was at, and you are suppose to find the closest hospital to it.

I recall he told me that all of it was really easy, but that he didn't get hired because he wasn't 21 yet.

NorCal ambulance is the only IFT ambulance I've seen driving code down 880, and multiple times oddly. It makes me wonder if they switch on their primaries for anything, if it's a CCT call that's in a BLS unit, or what the deal is with that....


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## ohsmash (Dec 19, 2011)

Awesome, thanks for the info!


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## Akulahawk (Dec 19, 2011)

NorCal also does transports in Sacramento County, I believe they have medics there. I don't work for 'em... I've just seen them around.


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## Porkchop (Dec 20, 2011)

Aprz said:


> NorCal ambulance is the only IFT ambulance I've seen driving code down 880, and multiple times oddly. It makes me wonder if they switch on their primaries for anything, if it's a CCT call that's in a BLS unit, or what the deal is with that....



If it's the St Rose unit, they're on a CCT from the St Rose Cath Lab going down to Washington because something has gone wrong.  Washington has surgeons St Rose doesn't, or something like that.


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