# Debating doing a 1 to 3 month deployment in alaska



## bigbaldguy (Jul 31, 2011)

Im thinking about doing a 3 month hitch in rural Alaska. Just wandering if and one has some experience in this area. I'm not terribly worried about pay I'm more interested in living conditions and quality of life. also I'm just a Basic so I know that factors in. I would even be willing to volley for a month or two in an interesting area. Any suggestion?


----------



## Anjel (Jul 31, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Im thinking about doing a 3 month hitch in rural Alaska. Just wandering if and one has some experience in this area. I'm not terribly worried about pay I'm more interested in living conditions and quality of life. also I'm just a Basic so I know that factors in. I would even be willing to volley for a month or two in an interesting area. Any suggestion?



Bring a parka, sleep mask, polar bear pepper spray, make sure whereever u go has internet. 

And watch out for hawks eating small dogs.


----------



## guttruck (Jul 31, 2011)

well if you have no "attachments" around where you live I would do it. To me it seems like one of those once in a life time chances. Heck I would live up there if I could lol


----------



## lightsandsirens5 (Jul 31, 2011)

Anjel1030 said:


> And watch out for hawks eating small dogs.



Eagles, isn't it? 

And bbg, I'd go for it if I were you! You don't have a family, right? I mean, maybe a month wouldn't be too bad if they paid really good. I got a friend who was hired by the USFS as a helibase medic for a month at a time during fire season up there once and he made freaking BANK! He was paid 24 hours a day, went on overtime at 40 hours and he was off something like 0600 Saturday morning through 0600 Monday morning. He would fly home for the weekend, spend it with his girlfriend, then fly back and go to work. I think they had three guys rotating through different days off. I would be way more than happy to go make USFS type money 120 hours a week. Especially if 80 of those hours were time 1.5. :-S 

Every once and a while someone, somewhere lands a killer job. I will never be one of those people, but I like to dream of it.  


Sent from a small, handheld electronic device that somehow manages to consume vast amounts of my time. Also know as a smart phone.


----------



## guttruck (Jul 31, 2011)

just try not to get eatin by a bear lol


----------



## LoneStarSoldier (Jul 31, 2011)

Alaska is one of the most beautiful states in the country. I say go for it, you'll enjoy yourself and probably get some experience to add onto your resume.


----------



## bigbaldguy (Jul 31, 2011)

You know I half posted this as a joke but the more I look into it the more I like it. It all started with the arming EMTs in bear country thread then I started researching Alaska and next thing I knew I was checking availability on RV rentals. Maybe I'm having an early midlife crisis. I keep thinking "man I need to do something interesting with my life before I do something stupid like get married and miss my chance". I appreciate the support everyone I was really expecting to go down in flames on this idea.


----------



## Anjel (Jul 31, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> You know I half posted this as a joke but the more I look into it the more I like it. It all started with the arming EMTs in bear country thread then I started researching Alaska and next thing I knew I was checking availability on RV rentals. Maybe I'm having an early midlife crisis. I keep thinking "man I need to do something interesting with my life before I do something stupid like get married and miss my chance". I appreciate the support everyone I was really expecting to go down in flames on this idea.



We got your back BBG!


----------



## LoneStarSoldier (Aug 1, 2011)

If you do go be sure to catch the Northern Lights, they're awesome!


----------



## Chief Complaint (Aug 1, 2011)

Alaska is killer, I'd go for it if I were you.  Probably a bit unrealistic to be able to volunteer as an EMT if you're only gonna be there a few months, but maybe if you found a department in need of people they might be able to help you out.

If nothing else, take the trip for the sight seeing and awesome snowboarding.


----------



## firetender (Aug 1, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> "man I need to do something interesting with my life before I do something stupid like get married and miss my chance".


 
SOMEWHERE IN ALASKA

GRIZZLY #1

Now he did it, he'll never be able to squirm out of this one.

GRIZZLY #2

Be careful what you ask for.

GRIZZLY #1

Can I borrow your nail clippers?


----------



## EMS_Monkey (Aug 1, 2011)

Ive been looking at this. Id like to go to school up there. Where are you looking to get hired? FD, USFS, ect.
I think if you can make it happen you really should. Would be a wonderful opportunity


----------



## Shishkabob (Aug 1, 2011)

My moms side of the family lives there and I visit fairly often.  Great state, especially if you like the outdoors.


Comfortable in the summer, cold in the winter.


It's odd to always have daylight during the summer, even at midnight.


----------



## AK_SAR (Aug 1, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Im thinking about doing a 3 month hitch in rural Alaska. Just wandering if and one has some experience in this area. I'm not terribly worried about pay I'm more interested in living conditions and quality of life. also I'm just a Basic so I know that factors in. I would even be willing to volley for a month or two in an interesting area. Any suggestion?



I don't think you will have much luck finding a short term paid EMT-B position. You might be able to find a smaller department that would let you work on a short term basis as a volunteer.  See http://www.ems.alaska.gov/EMS/EMS_directory.htm  for a list of departments.  A word about levels of training.  An EMT-B is called an "EMT-1" up here.  An Alaskan EMT-2 would be an EMT-I anywhere else.  See http://www.ems.alaska.gov/EMS/Levels.htm for more information.

Anchorage and a few of the larger communites have full time paid EMS staff, typically at the MICP level.  Those paid spots are hard to get.  Some of the smaller communites have a mix of paid and volunteer.  In that case the paid staff are EMT-3 or MICP, and are often responsible for training the volunteers. The smallest communites are usually all volunteer, and are often tiny villages in remote locations.  Many of the remote villages are largely Alaska Native people. The smaller all volunteer departments have a hard time maintaining enough people with higher levels of training.  Some are First Responder only, some are BLS, some are BLS/ALS depending on who is available to handle the call.  Except in the larger communities, long transport times and/or air evacuation are routine.  Just the facts of life up here.

I'm not sure what generalizations I can make about "living conditions and quality of life".  Alaska is a vast place, more than twice the land area of Texas. Because of the way the state is spread out (the SE Panhandle, the Alaska Penninsula and Aleutian Islands), it seems even bigger than the area alone would suggest.  The lifestyle can be very different depending on where you are. Also (needless to say) there is a huge difference between winter and summer.  In winter we have extremely cold and dry, cold and extremely  wet.....and everthing in between.   

People seem to either love Alaska and never leave, or they hate it and can't wait to get on the next plane out


----------



## bigbaldguy (Aug 2, 2011)

AK_SAR said:


> I don't think you will have much luck finding a short term paid EMT-B position. You might be able to find a smaller department that would let you work on a short term basis as a volunteer.  See http://www.ems.alaska.gov/EMS/EMS_directory.htm  for a list of departments.  A word about levels of training.  An EMT-B is called an "EMT-1" up here.  An Alaskan EMT-2 would be an EMT-I anywhere else.  See http://www.ems.alaska.gov/EMS/Levels.htm for more information.
> 
> Anchorage and a few of the larger communites have full time paid EMS staff, typically at the MICP level.  Those paid spots are hard to get.  Some of the smaller communites have a mix of paid and volunteer.  In that case the paid staff are EMT-3 or MICP, and are often responsible for training the volunteers. The smallest communites are usually all volunteer, and are often tiny villages in remote locations.  Many of the remote villages are largely Alaska Native people. The smaller all volunteer departments have a hard time maintaining enough people with higher levels of training.  Some are First Responder only, some are BLS, some are BLS/ALS depending on who is available to handle the call.  Except in the larger communities, long transport times and/or air evacuation are routine.  Just the facts of life up here.
> 
> ...



Thanks for the info.I'm not really even looking at the paid idea anymore. I'm thinking at this point if I decide to do this I would  rent an RV drive up for a summer and then basically if I can volley with a local outfit all the better. If I have to cruise around to find a little town that wants an extra and more importantly free set of hands that's cool too it will give me an excuse to wander a bit. Even if just turns into a road trip to visit as many rural EMS outfits as I can hit in a few months it might still be fun. Take some pictures shake some hands drink some beer get a few cool memories in kind of thing. Definitely not something I'm gonna be able to do this year though. The more I look into it the more I see that it's gonna take some planning and networking. I'm thinking summer of '13 EMS road trip, hell I might even get myself one of those fancy blogs


----------



## Handsome Robb (Aug 2, 2011)

Definitely blogworthy


----------



## bigbaldguy (Aug 2, 2011)

Nome sounds interesting and they have a volley EMS outfit there.


----------



## Handsome Robb (Aug 2, 2011)

Juneau is a cool place as well. My pops and I go fishing there every odd year except for this year cause of medic school...Summer of EMS '13 could coincide and create a reason for drinking beer and catching fish!


----------



## Aidey (Aug 2, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Nome sounds interesting and they have a volley EMS outfit there.



You should probably rethink the RV thing, you can't drive to Nome. ^_^


----------



## Handsome Robb (Aug 2, 2011)

and there's no RV facilities either...making Juneau all the better option! haha

http://www.myalaskan.com/alaska-towns/nome.html


----------



## bigbaldguy (Aug 2, 2011)

Yeah I just saw the no RV place think in nome. Seems odd to me but I guess there just isn't any need.


----------



## Aidey (Aug 2, 2011)

If people can't drive there why would a town need RV facilities?


----------



## Handsome Robb (Aug 2, 2011)

You can stay in Walmart parking lots for 24 hours with an RV...so if there's two walmarts your set!

Seeing how Walmarts are multiplying exponentially your probably good to go, after you airlift your RV there that is.


----------



## sdennislee (Sep 13, 2011)

I know this is a late response, if your are still contemplating a trip to AK email me and I will see what I can do to answer your questions.

The answers will depend on where and with who.

I live in AK.


----------



## bigbaldguy (Sep 13, 2011)

sdennislee said:


> I know this is a late response, if your are still contemplating a trip to AK email me and I will see what I can do to answer your questions.
> 
> The answers will depend on where and with who.
> 
> I live in AK.



Thanks sdennislee, I've kind of put this on the back burner but still want to do it at some point. I'll be in touch


----------



## sdennislee (Sep 13, 2011)

No problem, glad to help in anyway I can.


----------



## akflightmedic (Sep 13, 2011)

2 years in Alaska.

1 in Nome
1 in Ketchikan

I flew all over...Fairbanks, Juneau, Anchorage, North Slope, Dutch Harbor, Sitka....I saw more in 2 years than most Alaskans see in their lifetime.

I watched the Iditarod start in Anchorage, then flew to Nome and watched the finish over several days...

Would never had passed on any of this,


----------



## bigbaldguy (Sep 13, 2011)

akflightmedic said:


> 2 years in Alaska.
> 
> 1 in Nome
> 1 in Ketchikan
> ...



Everyone I've spoken to who spent time in Alaska loved it.


----------



## sdennislee (Sep 13, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Everyone I've spoken to who spent time in Alaska loved it.



I work in AK but live in Ohio. Works 3 weeks the get 2 weeks off. I work on the North Slope (oil fields) 950 miles north of the hospital, more medevacs than ambulances. We do have an amazing 2 bed clinic staffed with PAs and Paramedics. 

Because of the remoteness of many locations you find yourself in medevac insurance is a great thing to have $100 to $125 per year vs. $35,000 flight.
I like Apollo MT and they also offer a 6 month plan if I remember correctly. http://www.apollomt.com/

In 10 years in the Navy went around the world a couple times and never saw anything as beautiful as Alaska.

During the summer and fall months I tend to stay here rather than go home to Ohio on my R&R and explore AK.  I have a motorhome so anything with a road is open to me and I just go and go. The landscape is beautiful but it's the wildlife that I find to be awesome. Have taken 1000s of pictures in the past 4 years. 

Pushed retirement off 2 years to stay here.

I would recommend beginning in Anchorage or Fairbanks. Create your base and work out. While Nome and Juneau are awesome you can't drive to either. From Anchorage or Fairbanks you have access to the Parks and/or Richardson Highways. From either you will be able to access many small villages and communities with opportunities to volunteer. Depending on the time of year many of these villages will require travel via 4 wheeler or snow machine.

Links you might find useful

http://chems.alaska.gov/
http://www.ems.alaska.gov/EMS/documents/EMS%20Directory3_All_Regions.pdf
http://alaskaems.org/aknews.htm
http://www.healthcareersinalaska.info/jobs/overview/

Good luck with your plans. Contact me if you need more info

Don't forget to bring your camera.


----------



## Dr Boom (Oct 2, 2011)

Can also echo the awesomeness of Alaska, been there a year and a half. Outdoor dream with plenty of peril in the back nine. Couple military medics hang out with the local 4x4 club in Anchorage- always good times.


----------



## bigbaldguy (Oct 2, 2011)

sdennislee said:


> I work in AK but live in Ohio. Works 3 weeks the get 2 weeks off. I work on the North Slope (oil fields) 950 miles north of the hospital, more medevacs than ambulances. We do have an amazing 2 bed clinic staffed with PAs and Paramedics.
> 
> Because of the remoteness of many locations you find yourself in medevac insurance is a great thing to have $100 to $125 per year vs. $35,000 flight.
> I like Apollo MT and they also offer a 6 month plan if I remember correctly. http://www.apollomt.com/
> ...



Outstanding thanks!


----------



## tune99 (Nov 16, 2011)

bigbaldguy said:


> Im thinking about doing a 3 month hitch in rural Alaska. Just wandering if and one has some experience in this area. I'm not terribly worried about pay I'm more interested in living conditions and quality of life. also I'm just a Basic so I know that factors in. I would even be willing to volley for a month or two in an interesting area. Any suggestion?



Its a new experience, for better or worse how many people can say they got to experience Alaska? Word of advice, if you get a call to the Palin house, just radio in couple hours later "oh we got lost" lol


----------



## Everett (Nov 16, 2011)

Sounds like one of those stories you'd see in a documentary.

I'd definitely do it if I were you, whether you got paid or not.

I have a friend who lives there, no involvement in EMS whatsoever, but he loves it. The sunlight at all hours thing will take some getting used too, but other than that you should be able to adjust fairly well.


----------

