# other than basic bls ambulance, what are some cool jobs to do as an EMT?



## alex71 (Jul 13, 2008)

anyone have any specialty jobs, i have heard of suc hthings as hotel EMT's and Steel mill EMTs . anyone else doing anything cool and out of the ordinary?


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## JPINFV (Jul 13, 2008)

I worked first aid at a waterpark for 2 seasons. There was some interesting and/or serious patients (the park probably called 911 a handful of times a month) while I was working there (I also was the one who seemed to get the groin injury every year). It was fairly relaxed as long as the room was clean and any guests were being tended to. Yes, there was an EMT-B fired for doing stupid, lazy things, but it really is the job where you have to try to get fired or get into trouble. In general, the EMT-Bs weren't pestered by the aquatics supervisors since it was one of the few jobs where the average age was over 18. Maturity/work ethic was expected to be a given. 

Injuries were generally minor trauma things like cuts and the like (waterpark=soft, water soaked, exposed skin), but there have been a few moderate (heat exaustion being the prime one) to major (seizures being the one that sticks out from memory) medical problems. The one catch is that any request for an ambulance (911 or non-emergent) went through the senior aquatics supervisor or park director (basically the person in charge of the park) for a few reasons. First off, to make sure an ambulance is actually needed (there was a case where an EMT-B called 911 after back boarding a minor back pain. From the first hand account, he didn't last long) and second, to insure that other people who need to know (office staff that controls the employee entrance, security to come cover first aid, and the parking supervisor to direct the emergency units, know that emergency units are coming to the park). My experience was that they'd rather call 911 for something that might be serious and have it be nothing than have first aid sit on a guest and have the guest deteriorate inside the park (I can share that story if requested). 

My hourly pay was comparable to what I was earning on the ambulance, but there was significantly less hours my first year. During my first season, the EMT-B shifts were cut into 2 5.5 hour shifts (park was only open for 10 hours each day. Throw on up to 30 minutes for set up/clean up at the start and end of the day), but that was switched to just 1 11 hour shift. There were no breaks, but I never really had a problem having security come in to cover if I needed to use the restroom or go get something to eat. The only thing that sucked was that the menu, while cheap due to the employee discount, was very limited. See if you have access to a microwave during an interview. I seriously started packing a sandwich a few shifts a week my second season and was much happier for it. 

I can post a bit more if interested. It was an interesting job with a very interesting dynamic between first aid and the rest of the park (not bad, just interesting).


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## Nycxice13 (Jul 13, 2008)

The people you said had to "Approve" a 911 call...did they have any actual medical training?


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## JPINFV (Jul 13, 2008)

Nycxice13 said:


> The people you said had to "Approve" a 911 call...did they have any actual medical training?



First aid. I believe that the director of operations was an EMT-B at one time. It's really more of a formality than anything else and I never had a problem getting an ambulance when I needed one. What they don't want is a bunch of ambulances and fire engines showing up code 3 without anyone knowing about it or having someone call 911 for something minor (unlike an ambulance, first aid doesn't have the luxury of always handing off patients to the emergency room).


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## mycrofft (Jul 13, 2008)

*Alex71, I'm hearing from people being put on a spot.*

Employers hire an EMT for a first-aid position then expect EMT performance, but they do not have the coverage and infrastructure to support an EMT. If bad things happen, and they do, you can get left hanging, and so can the patient. Needs to be in writing, then you have to insist that they supply and maintain anything more complicated than a penlight, due to malpractice potential.

EMT generically is an excellent skill-set and indoctrination and an EMT on the spot is worth an entire ER twenty minutes later in some cases. A new EMT can and should  experience personal seasoning and take the first step into the medical and helping professions, or find out it is not for them afterall. It can give you a leg-up in a future competitive hiring situation and furnish letters of recommendation useful later on.


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## WuLabsWuTecH (Jul 13, 2008)

I was considering waterpark EMS for a while but a few things deterred me from this particular position.  The pay was low (the starting pay was little more (+$0.10) than what the highschoolers working the hot dog stand got, and they covered more than one park getting 22k visitors a day on average (up to 40k on weekends combined) but only had 1 medic, 2 intermediates and 3 basics.  From other sho have worked there, I hear they were constantly overworked as there are not a few of them stationed at each park, but they ran between parks so it was a very inefficient system.

I'll be starting at a private transport company tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.  They do emergent runs for nursing homes as well as routine runs, and also transports between hospitals for surgeries.  They are also standby for organ procurements/deliveries.


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## JPINFV (Jul 13, 2008)

mycrofft said:


> EMT generically is an excellent skill-set and indoctrination and an EMT on the spot is worth an entire ER twenty minutes later in some cases. A new EMT can and should  experience personal seasoning and take the first step into the medical and helping professions, or find out it is not for them afterall. It can give you a leg-up in a future competitive hiring situation and furnish letters of recommendation useful later on.



I would not recommend a solo first aid job (my experience was 1 EMT-B for the park, average park attendance was around 6k. Equipment fully supplied (in some cases, better supplied than the BLS ambulances) as a providers first EMT-B job. The differences between transport (EMT-B is not definitive treatment) vs more clinic style work (EMT-B is definitive treatment in most cases) is staggering. It's not necessarily hard, but it is a completely different mind set than working on an ambulance.


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## mikeylikesit (Jul 13, 2008)

i would try and get an EMT job working with an experienced partner..otherwise you may always stick to the book and never really stray away from it. the cool jobs are, an ER tech. this job is fun and you get to do a ton of things that EMT's don;t get to do in the field.


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## firecoins (Jul 13, 2008)

President of the United States


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## Free-B-EMT (Jul 14, 2008)

alex71 said:


> anyone have any specialty jobs, i have heard of suc hthings as hotel EMT's and Steel mill EMTs . anyone else doing anything cool and out of the ordinary?



My daughter works for Security in a retirement village. All Security personnel are EMT-B's. With over 2000 senior citizens spread throughout 8 or 10 multi-story buildings she is kept very busy responding to everything from cardiac arrest to Jazzie Scooter accidents. It never gets boring!


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## BossyCow (Jul 14, 2008)

firecoins said:


> President of the United States



Would you vote for an EMS provider for president? I'm not sure I would!


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## mikie (Jul 14, 2008)

firecoins said:


> President of the United States



or "cooler" ...body guard/EMT to the pres!


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## karaya (Jul 14, 2008)

Calender girls!!


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## firecoins (Jul 15, 2008)

BossyCow said:


> Would you vote for an EMS provider for president? I'm not sure I would!



It can't be any worse than the 2 morons running now.


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## mycrofft (Jul 15, 2008)

*Hey, now! An EMT can be anything they want.*

"Free to Be, You and EMT".
(Sorry, Marlow Thomas!)


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## Jon (Jul 15, 2008)

JPINFV said:


> I would not recommend a solo first aid job (my experience was 1 EMT-B for the park, average park attendance was around 6k. Equipment fully supplied (in some cases, better supplied than the BLS ambulances) as a providers first EMT-B job. The differences between transport (EMT-B is not definitive treatment) vs more clinic style work (EMT-B is definitive treatment in most cases) is staggering. It's not necessarily hard, but it is a completely different mind set than working on an ambulance.


Well said.

I worked as Security/EMS for 3+ years, at a large commercial office park. It was a cool job... lots of walking some days. We acted as a "quick response" or First Responder. Depending on the severity of the incident, we responded on our own or with EMS. Decision was based on Nature of injury/illness: ALS (Resp/Cardiac/Unconscious) 911 was called by Security Dispatch as we responded, BLS (most anything else), 911 wasn't called unless I requested it once I arrived. We only had 1 EMT on per shift per campus (2 campuses)... but when I left, we had lots of extra EMT's who worked Security positions... In my last months, I covered a couple of 2nd emergenies as a "spare" EMT functioning as the Security patrol vehicle driver.

We only had about 100 calls a year... mostly BS. 1 common call was housekeeping staff having an acute allergy to work presenting as SOB/Chest Pain... or diabetic emergency.

We had some EMT's who were fresh out of school... or had a few months of transport experience. They had trouble when the SHTF... but the SHTF so rarely that they didn't have problems... and when the SHTF, the PD and EMS were only 5 minutes out, anyway.


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## fireguy553 (Jul 18, 2008)

i had a couple of friends who got their emt and went to work p/t for a gym around time and got paid pretty descent.  free membership as well...


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## K9kazoo (Jul 18, 2008)

You could work in the oil sands, oil rigs (land & water), dignitary protection, in the "Green Zone"....

I agree with a few other posters... get some experience in an urban setting working full time... you may just want to stay.  Many larger services have specialty teams like Tactical EMS (TEMS), HazMat, bike, water, public order, high angle... 

B.


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