911 vs IFT company

[BurritoEsteban]

ive been thinking lately a lot about switching over to a 911 company since the company i work with does pure IFT i feel like it becomes really routine compared to the different calls i would be getting if i worked for a 911 company.

the reason why i wanna switch over to 911 is for the experience id be gaining for paramedic school, but the reason i wanna stay at IFT is the pay that there giving me which is way better than the 911 pay.

what do you guys recommend?

thank you for any responses.

 

[JPINFV]

What type of experiences are you looking for? The only expereinces that I can think of in regard to the greater LA area is pediatrics and major trauma. At least in Orange County, because of how it was set up, the IFT crews would, with frigening regularlity, have critical medical patients. In contrast, when I did my ridealongs, of the 4 calls I got with the 911 provider, 3 of them had the paramedics on scene first and the 4th one they weren't too far behind.

 

[BurritoEsteban]

im looking for more emergency based experience with emergency personnel such as paramedics or RN's to help me a bit for medic school. at the company im working for right now its mainly discharges and dialysis calls which involve the same patient contacts everyday

 

[Shishkabob]

I personally didn't spend 2 years getting my education to do non-CCT IFTs for the rest of my life.

Granted, it's a job which is more than 10% of our country can say, and it's not necessarily a hard one, but it's not what I want to do, and am just doing it till I can find a 911, paycut or not. Luckily, the local 911s actually pay more than the IFTs around here. But I am using it as a learning experience, getting a bit more comfortable being a lone Paramedic, and I'm with a big company so lateral transfer isn't too hard.



I say stay with IFT through medic school as you wont be able to work as much, so you'll want to maximize the amount of money you make while in school. But alas, it's really up to you, and if you think 911 experience as an EMT on a medic truck will help, so be it, though you'll mostly be relegated to driving. Atleast in IFT a Basic can get a decent amount of hands on time and you'll see more of the true medical side of EMS.

 

[BurritoEsteban]

thats true but my company hired me as a driver aswell so i rarely get any patient contacts unless im paired with a driver which is willing to drive to. and the companies that do 911 around here pay less than the IFT companies. im thinking if i join a 911 company i wont be a driver right away and ill have more patient contacts that way with the medic in the back since the fire medics ride along if its an ALS call.

also i have only been working at the IFT company for 2 months and i dont want it to look bad on my resume.

thank you guys for the responses

 

[atropine]

If your looking to go the fire route after medic school, then yeah you might want to try Care, or gerber just to see how the fire culture is, and do what the fire medics tell you. If thats not your thing then it really doesn't matter what you do before you hit medic school.

 

[BurritoEsteban]

yea im gonna try togo fire route eventually. but after medic school i wanna work as a medic for a company that does 911 transport.

 

[terrible one]

All you are in LA county is gurney jockey anyway. You aren't missing much, plus you don't want to pick up bad habits from LAcoFD. They love BLSing an ALS pt in the early morning.

 

[BurritoEsteban]

haha well i dont know yet guys, im gonnna still think about it, because my emtb skills are extremely limited and i also feel like if i worked 911 id be able to use more of them than how i do now working for IFTs which i dont use o2 on a daily basis or suction or use opa's or npa's never even had the chance of using those before haha.

 

[CAOX3]

IFT will teach you about sick people.

 

[ExpatMedic0]

Go to 911.

Off topic, I have no clue what LA fire is like now but My Grandapa was LA fire, his Dad was LA fire, and my uncle was LA fire when they first started running ambulances.... How is there Paramedic system? I have herd bad things?

What I can tell you as someone who did some IFT's for a while is that IMO it did not prepare me at all for real ALS emergency's.

 

[46Young]

You're at a regional disadvantage in that you won't be acting independently as a 911 EMT, just taking orders from a medic. However, you can make that work for you by doing call review with the medic (after the call, don't pester the medic with questions during pt care please) and learning what they found and why they did what they did.

On the one hand, it's said that you can learn more about sick medical pts when working IFT. The thing is, you haven't yet had the education to process what you're seeing at more than a basic's level. You might pattern certain pt presentations with certain histories, but not much past that. Routine IFT also leads to complacency. That, along with the company making you rush from pt to pt so they can clear the board, makes you eventually just get through the transports and not ask the nurses and such about the pt's conditions to learn more.

On the other hand, when working 911 with a medic, you'll see what it's like to assess and draw your own conclusions about a pt's condition, not yet having the benefit of an in-hospital pt Dx prior to pt contact. In 911 your motivation, interest, and job satisfaction should generally be higher in most cases.

As far as financials, do you need the money, or not. That should be the tiebreaker if you're on the fence. Otherwise, I'd probably go 911 if I were in your shoes. Employers understand that many in EMS desire 911 over IFT, so the switch shouldn't raise any red flags on future job apps. If questioned, you could say that you didn't feel challenged in IFT and decided to pursue 911 to better yourself as an EMT and later as a medic.

 

[terrible one]

which i dont use o2 on a daily basis or suction or use opa's or npa's never even had the chance of using those before haha.

depending where in LA you work you'll be lucky to do that. What you will get good at in LAco is standing around a lot and carrying pt's to the gurney. Fire would rather you throw out your back than theres

 

[terrible one]

How is there Paramedic system? I have herd bad things?

to put it simple the term "mother may I?" was coined in LA/OC

 

[BurritoEsteban]

thanks you guys for all the help and advice. I think ima switch over to 911 soon then I feel like I will get some more experience there than in the IFTs I'm doing right now. ill keep you posted on my status.

hopefully I can switch over within 2 months

 

[Rsion4191]

Well , first off , before making any assumptions or criticisms . How long have you worked for IFT companies accumulatively ? Before switching over to 911 Transport , remember that although IFT might be routine & repetitive , it really does sharpen the medical side of your practice . Don't get me wrong , though . 911 also does . But , as an EMT-B , we really don't have much hands on material to work with because when medics get on-scene , they take over . I'm currently working as with an IFT company & you're right , it does get repetitive . But it really helps on understanding the processes of each diagnosis . But , if you're going for 911 . I'm all for it I'll meet you there in medic school as well , hahah .

 

[MusicMedic]

i think working IFT before working 911 is a good idea, as in IFT you learn alot about illnessess and the Nature of Illness. im currently in the same boat as you Esteban, i really wanna do 911 also as i wont feel like such a Taxi Cab driver in La County.

But right now with the Market in CA, its almost near impossible to get into a 911 company

 

[JPINFV]

Something else to think about, just because you're working for a 911 company doesn't mean you're on the 911 side of the company. All of those companies still run ambulances doing non-emergent transports. The only option, and this is only valid if you're looking for a fire job, is the ambulance operator position a lot of fire departments have.

Huntington Beach's website has a good description of this type of program.
http://www.huntingtonbeachca.gov/go...tRecruitmentInformation/ambulance_program.cfm

 

[Shishkabob]

i think working IFT before working 911 is a good idea, as in IFT you learn alot about illnessess and the Nature of Illness. im currently in the same boat as you Esteban, i really wanna do 911 also as i wont feel like such a Taxi Cab driver in La County.

Except the EMT level of education isn't tailored to understanding most disease processes, so you're essentially looking at something without understanding what's going on, unless you have further education on pathophysiology or studied more yourself.

 

[MusicMedic]

Except the EMT level of education isn't tailored to understanding most disease processes, so you're essentially looking at something without understanding what's going on, unless you have further education on pathophysiology or studied more yourself.

that is very true, i often times end up going to google and finding out what certain disease process are, but it really peaks my interest and makes me want to further my education