911 experience and paramedic school (oc)

[Avi0100]

So I'm a new EMT-b and the end goal is to get my medic license. I interviewed with care and for some reason didn't get an offer. I interviewed with lifeline and they gave me a job. The thing I'm worried about is that lifeline dose not run 911 calls, only IFT. Will working for an only IFT company hinder me from getting into a paramedic program.

I'm aiming towards OCEMT, and saddleback community(close to home). On the application process OCEMT they ask about emt experience, will running only IFT calls look bad on an app?

I want to work 911 calls but I would have to wait 1 year to reapply to care. Are there any other 911 services in OC

Would me working with lifeline be a waste in I wanna realistically get into medic school?

 

[jdemt]

Hey! Here’s some thoughts for you. It looks like your question is this:

Will running only IFT hinder you from getting into a medic program?

Maybe. I don’t know about either of the agencies that you mentioned so please take that into account when reading my response.

With that said, IFT can serve you in a couple of ways. If you have trouble talking to people (like I did) it can be a really good, and consequence-free way of learning how to have a good bedside manor and how to ask people tough/awkward questions.

It can also be a good way to learn how to write PCR’s and learn general ambulance operation (an ambulance is basically the same no matter what type of calls you run).

It ultimately comes to down to what you put into it. When I ran IFT I made it a game and pretended they just called 911 and that I didn’t know anything yet.

I told the patient, “hey I know you’ve been asked all these questions already but...” and then I would proceed into and asking all the SAMPLE, OPQRST, questions, Etc.

This allowed me to develop a rhythm and a bedside manor without the risk of really missing anything major (you normally have a good amount of paperwork with anything that you miss and the patient is normally in stable enough condition to be a learning opportunity instead of a test of your knowledge/skill).

The other side of IFT is Joe Blow who has been doing IFT and only IFT for 5 years and uses it as what it ultimately is; a job. Joe blow comes to work, gets the paperwork done, moves the patient from where they are to where they need to be, and leaves it at that. Joe blow doesn’t take any initiative in learning from his patients, and has a steady pay-check. Nothing more. Nothing less.

IFT patients can be a huge learning opportunity if you decide to take it. Most of them have an extensive medical history, take many medications, and have just been discharged (or are being transferred) after an acute and likely life altering event.

In the end, it’s up to you what you get out of it. For example you can simply copy and paste the patients prescriptions to your PCR, or you can pick two and learn what they are, how they work, and what they’re for. The same goes for medical conditions and assessment findings.

Now with all that said, I’m assuming OC stands for Orange County California? If so here’s a link for some 911 providers in that area (only fire departments from what I can tell):

Orange County, California - 911-ALS Providers

www.healthdisasteroc.org

The ultimate answer to your question is unfortunately a couple more questions that only you can answer (I’ve had to ask these questions of myself very recently so don’t feel singled out):

Why do you want to be a paramedic?

The three most typical answers are:

1. It’s all I’ve ever wanted and all I really want to do.

2. I want to be firefighter, and the department/area I want to work in, requires (or highly favors) paramedics over EMT-Basics.

3. I want to be a PA/MD and I believe that becoming a paramedic will be a good stepping stone.

All three answers are common and there is nothing really wrong with either one but your answer has a lot to do with what path you need to take.

Becoming a career medic (and medic only) can be really difficult. It took me 6 years from graduating EMT school, to achieve the career paramedic job that I have now. It also took working at 4 different agencies to learn and grow to the point where I am today, and I’m still learning and making my own mistakes.

Sorry to ramble, but here’s the final bit.

A job is a job and money is money but your happiness and well-being are extremely important. Never forget that. This career is full of sacrifice and heartache and you deserve to make a good living and to be happy while your doing it.

IFT can be a huge opportunity if you know how to learn from it, and depending on your end goal it may be all you ever need (PA/MD goal). If you want to be a career medic then 911 is obviously the end goal and anything you can get (including volunteer work) will help you on a personal development point of view.

It’s up to the school as far as what they’re going to count for “acceptable” experience, so I would contact the program director as soon as you can and just ask them what they want for experience.

Good luck!

 

[akflightmedic]

Great reply above...

Not too much to add other than the amusing observation over the years on this site, that whenever someone from CA arrives, they start talking and commenting about businesses in there area without referencing where they are. LOL Maybe one day when I am bored, I will scroll for a true tally, but the CA people always assume everyone on here knows where they are and what they are talking about with little regard to the rest of the country.

 

[Carlos Danger]

Great reply above...

Not too much to add other than the amusing observation over the years on this site, that whenever someone from CA arrives, they start talking and commenting about businesses in there area without referencing where they are. LOL Maybe one day when I am bored, I will scroll for a true tally, but the CA people always assume everyone on here knows where they are and what they are talking about with little regard to the rest of the country.

Have noticed that many times. Folks from NY can be that way too, though to a lesser extent. It seems almost universal among people from SoCal.

 

[Rano Pano]

Better look into other paramedic programs if your serious about it. Last I heard a good portion of students were part of the local FDs.

 

[jgmedic]

Get out of OC. Apply at AMR in the IE or San Diego. Dont go to medic school in OC or LA. Saddleback is designed to teach OC firemen to be medics. Dont know much about OCEMT, but if its private, CC are better.

 

[CbrMonster]

So I'm a new EMT-b and the end goal is to get my medic license. I interviewed with care and for some reason didn't get an offer. I interviewed with lifeline and they gave me a job. The thing I'm worried about is that lifeline dose not run 911 calls, only IFT. Will working for an only IFT company hinder me from getting into a paramedic program.

I'm aiming towards OCEMT, and saddleback community(close to home). On the application process OCEMT they ask about emt experience, will running only IFT calls look bad on an app?

I want to work 911 calls but I would have to wait 1 year to reapply to care. Are there any other 911 services in OC

Would me working with lifeline be a waste in I wanna realistically get into medic school?

I will tell you this right off the bat, you will not get into saddle back without 911 experience. You will definitely not get in as they mainly only take candidates from fire departments that are sponsored. I frankly think it’s a load of ********. I applied and they only took 1 private (non fd sponsored candidate) that semester mind you I had all the certs, and took all the classes they recommended at their campus and had straight a’s in every class and 7 years experience 911 with care oc.

I will also say in my experience ocfa medics are effing garbage and everyone one of them pretty much went through saddle back college. My wife who works in an er in oc will also attest that a large majority of ocfa medics suck. I got stories for days on that.

ocemt I have a feeling is similar it’s ran by a Huntington Beach fire captain/paramedic I applied there

most schools require 1 year experience and usually ask for a verification of hours. And almost explicitly state 911 experience.

I would recommend going outside of the oc for your medic license.

ift is a general waste of time if you’re trying to become a medic, you’re not running critical calls. Sure you might run cct/sct with a nurse but they’re operating under very different scopes. Something’s a nurse can’t do like intubate. Medics in a lot of places can not titrate or run med pumps (lynch I think can as well as vents)

Doctors ambulance is a dieing company since amr acquired them and they lost pretty much all their contracts except for Laguna beach, and you won’t get there right away you’ll do ift and work your way to that. It’s also in station I believe which makes it even harder to get in. Plus they just moved from their building in lake Forest to a place in Santa Ana further makes me wonder financially how well they are doing, care moved into their old lake forest headquarers

I will again recommend you go out of oc for 911 experience as an emt.

you can try San Diego riverside and la county amr, mercy San Diego, McCormick la county.

McCormick I feel would give you the best experience as you don’t just drive you get to be in the back with the medic assisting with interventions similar to care. You’ll learn the drugs and protocols of the medics. And once they get to know you some will even teach you a lot, although watch carefully to figure out what medics suck and ones that don’t.

 

[Jn1232th]

If you stuck in OC I say shoot for care. Doctors has a 911 contact but only for laguna beach which is not busy at all and mostly senior folks will be on it.
lynch does do one on one and I’ll let me EMT partner pretty much do assessments on calls we run. Though the calls typically are always medical in nature and never really get any trauma on the IFT side. Getting onto the one on one will take a bit but is more decided on the persons work ethic than on seniority from what it seems

other than that, McCormick in LA has a variety on coverage area. And then there is AMR in the IE (which will pay more that any OC company from what I hear for new EMT)

most medic programs, including Mine, required 911 experience. Not saying you can’t try to get in but if the program is competitive they might overlook your application for someone who has more experience.

as for schools, I heard good things about OCEMT. Saddleback I have heard mix things about but is a fire medic mill from what I have seen.
you also have mt sac in nearby Pomona.
If your willing to drive, there is crafton hills and victor valley as well.

 

[jgmedic]

I applied for saddleback many moons ago with all the required certs and everything, was told it was a 2 year waitlist for non-fire applicants, it is entirely dependent on how many depts are sending guys, when the economy sucked, they had private spots galore. Working in OC/LA will do very little for you. Let me put it this way, medics who trained in LA/OC often have a hard time moving to more forward thinking counties whereas the reverse is seldom true. RCC(or MVC now) where I went requires 911 box time. Working for Care or the McCormick Fire Dept, you wont get much other than how to push a gurney and get yelled at by firemen. There are obviously exceptions to every rule, but as a whole, every other county surrounding them is a better EMS system.