# Where to work in the US as a paramedic.



## waffleiron (Aug 16, 2012)

Alright, so I'm looking for opinions. Where would be a good place to work as a paramedic? Anywhere in the US (except Massachusetts, just left there) is applicable. I'm out of a job and all of my worldly possessions are packed in my car. I can go anywhere!

A little about myself, National Registry Paramedic with a whopping 1 and a half years experience with 3 years BLS prior to that. Currently working through a CCEMTP class in western North Carolina. Licensed in Massachusetts, Colorado, and provisionally in New Mexico so far. 

Looking for progressive protocols, anything from urban to rural. Obviously looking for high pay. If anybody knows of any CCT or flight services that would give a relatively inexperienced paramedic like me a chance I'd love to know about those especially. Not looking for Fire Department jobs, but anything else will be considered. 

Any ideas? I'd like to be near some mountains or other outdoor type stuff but its not a deal breaker.


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## STXmedic (Aug 16, 2012)

Denver Health? All the mountains you could want, with good pay and protocols, and not FD. Fairly competitive from what I hear, though.


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## TRSpeed (Aug 16, 2012)

Umm come over to so Cal. LA and OC, best protocols and easy 100k a yr.


Lol jk about protocols but not pay.


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## BeachMedic (Aug 16, 2012)

Northern CA has pretty competitive pay if you can get in.

King County in Seattle WA probably has some of the most progressive protocols in the nation. If you can get into the Medic One program the pay is pretty good. However, you'd have to go through medic school again; but at least you get paid to go through it. They do not recognize national registry and the training is twice as long as the typical paramedic program.

New York and Hawaii both have fairly progressive protocols but the cost of living is crazy.

That's about all of the places I would consider relocating.

I find Boston EMS fairly interesting as well, but I think they only hire EMTs and promote Medics from within.


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## jaysonsd (Aug 16, 2012)

SD city has lost some good medics to Austin.  TX is interesting because individual counties define their scope of practice vs CA's state mandate.  Pay is good and cost of living is down.  Think Austin has a youtube video floating around also.  Everyone I know that's left hasn't looked back.


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## waffleiron (Aug 16, 2012)

Applied to Denver Health, got a phone interview followed by a polite rejection email. Not sure what went wrong. Not in the mood to go all the way through paramedic school again even if it is King County and they're paying me. 

Heard good things about ATCEMS and a couple of other places in Texas from other posts. Seems like it might be interesting. Any opinions on Careflite in Dallas/Fort Worth? Seems like it might be a good idea for somebody in my position since they do both ground 911 and HEMS.

I've seen other posts about Presbyterian in Albuquerque, any other opinions on them?

Also, you're right about Boston EMS. Even if you are a paramedic, you will start as an EMT, go through their academy and work BLS until an ALS spot opens up. But the pay is amazing so a lot of medics are happy to be in the position. I think I heard somewhere that about a quarter of their BLS are actually paramedics. One of my medic school instructors worked BLS there. Wicked smart guy too.


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## STXmedic (Aug 16, 2012)

ATCEMS won't likely be hiring medics any time in the near future. There's a recent thread (and multiple within the last year or so) about where to work in Tx if that's one of the areas you're interested in.


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## Scott33 (Aug 16, 2012)

Stay in NC but move a little further east.


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## RocketMedic (Aug 17, 2012)

Albuquerque has decent pay but is often secondary to fire.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 17, 2012)

Seattle's protocols are not any more progressive than any other decent service. 

Sussex County is hiring. We'll have a bunch of openings in the next few years as a bunch of our original medics hit retirement. We expect to lose 1/3 of the department in the next 5 to 7 years.


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## BeachMedic (Aug 17, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> Seattle's protocols are not any more progressive than any other decent service.



Yeah but it seems everywhere I go there is someone telling me how, "awesome" and, "progressive" their EMS system is compared to everywhere else lol.

Can't argue with Seattle's results though.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 17, 2012)

They do a great job resuscitating VF arrests...

...and what else is it that they do that's better than anyone else?

Right. 

There are plenty of great, progressive services out there that don't have the. "we're better than you" stigma that Medic One has. 

Investigate. Ask people here who they reccomend as the top tier services. There's more to life than just working. 

And yeah, I moved from Seattle and there is no way I'd ever even apply for a position with Medic One. 

But of course, it's the internet, diff'rent strokes for diff'rent folks and YMMV.


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## firetender (Aug 17, 2012)

*Strategy*

From the POV of an employer I don't think I'd get too excited about an out of state medic calling to try to get a job. Too many variables between the time of introduction, hire, and the time the newbie arrives. Too many people already standing in the hallway! If the person is right there in front of me, he/she becomes real.

My suggestion is to continue what you're doing; figure out where you want to live/work. LIVE comes first; it's what you come home to that keeps you sane!

Make inquiries to find an area where you want to live that ALSO has job opportunities at multiple agencies/services. Then, don't mess around, just MOVE there. Acclimate yourself to a sense of place, then take enough time to get an overview of what's available and go for the best position available for your future. 

It may SEEM like it'll be more stressful and like it'll take more time but I think you'll have a much smoother ride! You'll be making contacts that will pay off later. If you have the freedom to move as you say, go all the way!

Best of good fortune!


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 17, 2012)

I totally disagree. 

I moved specifically to Sussex County Delaware to work as a Paramedic in Sussex County Delaware after investigating a dozen or so department and interviewing at several. 

I flew to the East Coast from Seattle, spent a week here, interviewed, rode with the crews and left with a job offer. I made it a point to seek out a department where I would have growth potential and an affordable living situation. Those reason, along with among things made this a good choice for me. 

Rather than blindly moving and hoping you land a job, you need to investigate services, narrow down choices and then aggressively pursue the position you want. Once you secure the job and negotiate moving/relocation allowances and the rest of your compensation package... THEN you can move to your new city.


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## jaysonsd (Aug 17, 2012)

firetender said:


> From the POV of an employer I don't think I'd get too excited about an out of state medic calling to try to get a job. Too many variables between the time of introduction, hire, and the time the newbie arrives. Too many people already standing in the hallway! If the person is right there in front of me, he/she becomes real.
> 
> My suggestion is to continue what you're doing; figure out where you want to live/work. LIVE comes first; it's what you come home to that keeps you sane!



Great advice.  I wanted SD and it took YEARS before I could crack the system.  I met a medic from NC that came out here (Navy family) and is stuck working for a BLS company b/c R/M and AMR are quite full.  Getting picked up by a big employer (AMR or R/M) that has other regions can work if you want to try and transfer.  You've been vetted by the employer and if they swing a new contract to an area you want to transition to, it can't hurt.

So ask yourself, do you live to work or work to live?


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## marshmallow22 (Aug 17, 2012)

Stay outta CA unless you want to be a FF/PM.  And even then, some of those gravy trains are coming to a stop for those guys as more and more cities are and will continue to file BK.  Don't know of many cities that are hiring, or will be hiring in the near future (and don't count on LA City Fire actually holding an academy despite what you may hear)  Fact is, cities in CA cannot afford to pay the overinflated salaries and contribute to the unmaintainable pension system.  There are certain areas where you can work 1st in as a private, but then again, it's a private, usually low pay, system status, overworked, burned out attitudes of the employees.  
If you really want to challenge yourself as a medic and earn a great living with the utmost respect then go to Texas, NC, or SC to name a few.  They do EMS the way it should be.  ATCEMS has also gone the Boston EMS route now.  Both medics and EMT's alike are hired in a BLS position 1st and then have the opportunity to promote to paramedic.  Still well worth it though.  Good luck to you.


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## BeachMedic (Aug 18, 2012)

n7lxi said:


> They do a great job resuscitating VF arrests...
> 
> ...and what else is it that they do that's better than anyone else?
> 
> ...




Wasn't trying to hit a sore spot.

I don't work for them and i'm not close enough to them to get all the 'tude Medic One apparently has.

Their resuscitation rates are a big deal. I mean it's, "saving lives" at a better rate than the rest of the nation right? 


Sussex County looks like a pretty awesome system too though.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 18, 2012)

There are great systems that do it right all over the country. You just have to search out a system that works for you.


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## marshmallow22 (Aug 18, 2012)

A big reason why King County Medic 1 has such a high cardiac arrest survival rate is due to the extremely high involvement, awareness, and accessibility of CPR education/training, and the availability of AED's located throughout the city.  Seattle has the most AED's located in public places then any other city in the US, and also the highest # of lay persons per capita trained in CPR.  When you call 911, the operator will tell you where to locate the closest AED.  Their medics are tip top, but there's a bit more to it. Just FYI.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 18, 2012)

Remember, those survival rates are only for "witnessed cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation". The high instances of early lay responder CPR coupled with high performance CPR and early defib by BLS are the real reasons that people survive on King County. 

Not to discredit the ALS program, but it's primarily BLS skills that make it happen.


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## medic417 (Aug 18, 2012)

marshmallow22 said:


> A big reason why King County Medic 1 has such a high cardiac arrest survival rate is due to the extremely high involvement, awareness, and accessibility of CPR education/training, and the availability of AED's located throughout the city.  Seattle has the most AED's located in public places then any other city in the US, and also the highest # of lay persons per capita trained in CPR.  When you call 911, the operator will tell you where to locate the closest AED.  Their medics are tip top, but there's a bit more to it. Just FYI.



Also very high because they eliminate many codes as non qualified for various reasons.  Just like all stats there is more to them than meets the eye.


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## DrankTheKoolaid (Aug 18, 2012)

medic417 said:


> Also very high because they eliminate many codes as non qualified for various reasons.  Just like all stats there is more to them than meets the eye.



Oh so, so, so true.


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## waffleiron (Aug 19, 2012)

Thats true about Medic One. Unshockable codes are still workable codes in a lot of cases. Not counting them in your CQI data is kind of cheating in my opinion. Especially when they make said data one of the key selling points about why they think they are so awesome.

So Seattle is out. Never was in (for me anyway).

Sussex County looks like an amazing system. All intercepts, double medic, RSA, no posting unless necessary, and you get to jump on the helo if you need to fly your patient. Incredible. I've been doing some other reading and it looks like they're crazy selective. Definitely considering it though. 

Any opinions on Careflite in Dallas? Seems like a good place for an inexperienced paramedic with critical care training to work. Start on the ground doing 911 then apply for flight positions as they open up from there. Looks like they're hiring too.  

Also after a little further reading, that cruise ship gig looks interesting as well. Definately gonna shoot them an email.


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## BeachMedic (Aug 19, 2012)

Find a place you want to live. More to life than how awesome the local ems system is.  Take a cruise.


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## NomadicMedic (Aug 20, 2012)

waffleiron said:


> Sussex County looks like an amazing system. All intercepts, double medic, RSA, no posting unless necessary, and you get to jump on the helo if you need to fly your patient. Incredible. I've been doing some other reading and it looks like they're crazy selective. Definitely considering it though.



Shoot me a PM. C'mon down for a ridealong...


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