Alaska Paramedic Job?

SandpitMedic said:
RIP.
Terrible, I was just coming to post.
The recovery mission is ongoing with elements of the 212th RQS.
Click to expand...

Same, when I saw the crash notification I was like ugh I was just reading this thread the other day.
 
So the latest is that the remains were recovered on Sunday. The NTSB is hoping to take a look at the wreckage as soon as tomorrow, weather permitting (it is high on a mountain in rural terrain).

Here is the deal I have a real issue with. The flight that ended 3 lives was accepted by Medevac Alaska after it had been turned down by both Guardian Air fixed wing and LifeMed HEMS AND fixed wing units...

This is why aeromedical shopping and why pressure on crews to accept flights should be illegal. It is dangerous, unethical, and immoral.
Maybe this isn’t the thread for this but it really chaps my *** that this **** is still happening.
 
SandpitMedic said:
So the latest is that the remains were recovered on Sunday. The NTSB is hoping to take a look at the wreckage as soon as tomorrow, weather permitting (it is high on a mountain in rural terrain).

Here is the deal I have a real issue with. The flight that ended 3 lives was accepted by Medevac Alaska after it had been turned down by both Guardian Air fixed wing and LifeMed HEMS AND fixed wing units...

This is why aeromedical shopping and why pressure on crews to accept flights should be illegal. It is dangerous, unethical, and immoral.
Maybe this isn’t the thread for this but it really chaps my *** that this **** is still happening.
Click to expand...

I saw that info came out as well, and totally agree. The crew members also have a responsibility to speak up and say no as well, but we don’t know what kind of pressure they were under that lead to the poor decision making.

I have taken flights in my career that other programs have turned down, and we have done it well within safety margins, but a lot factors into those decisions. Weather can be very different obviously location to location and base to base. Aircraft capability and such also play into it. But I have never taken a flight that two other programs have turned down when they’re all based at the same place. That should of been the standout point for the crew....
 
Their jobs were posted on Facebook.
That didn’t take long. 👎 I guess it’s true what they say, you could die tomorrow and corporate would replace you next week.

I get it on one side it’s a business, but how it’s ran I disagree with. My own opinion, of course.

Never be afraid to say no to an unsafe mission, and if you are pressured for saying no then quit immediately. Don’t end up another dead aeromedical crew member. It is your responsibility to look out for your own safety.
 
For those who stumble onto this website and do so without looking at other threads:

Medevac Alaska just had a second plane crash in less than a month. While they didn’t die this time, I would strongly advice not working for this company if that’s what you’re thinking from reading the thread thus far. AKflightmedic posted in another thread:

www.ktva.com

3 people survive Christmas Eve crash involving Medevac Alaska

The crash near Koliganek follows deadly crash involving the air ambulance service Nov. 29 near Cooper Landing.
www.ktva.com www.ktva.com
 
y
SandpitMedic said:
So the latest is that the remains were recovered on Sunday. The NTSB is hoping to take a look at the wreckage as soon as tomorrow, weather permitting (it is high on a mountain in rural terrain).

Here is the deal I have a real issue with. The flight that ended 3 lives was accepted by Medevac Alaska after it had been turned down by both Guardian Air fixed wing and LifeMed HEMS AND fixed wing units...

This is why aeromedical shopping and why pressure on crews to accept flights should be illegal. It is dangerous, unethical, and immoral.
Maybe this isn’t the thread for this but it really chaps my *** that this **** is still happening.
Click to expand...
The Doctor that authorized the Medevac shopping @providence Seward absolutely has blood on their hands
 
yu ca
SandpitMedic said:
I like this thread revival.
I've chatted with a couple of folks who work on the slope and they say the gettin' is good at the RN/PA level. They said that EMT 3s are the mainstay up there and they do "okay." It's a pretty sweet schedule and there is no income tax. Did you try Beacon? @chughes seems to know a bit more about it with the experience to boot.

A paramedic in the MatSu borough (Wasilla area) about an hour north of Anchorage can make 6 figures easy as a single role medic in the EMS department.
An FPC can work for LifeMed (fixed/911rotor/remote) and make 6 figures working 2 days/week (but I'm pretty sure you have to start as an IFT ground guy). In Anchorage, the FD is 911 ALS. LifeMed is the predominate private on the ground running IFT as I eluded to earlier. I haven't heard or seen much in the way of Medevac Alaska other than a few rigs around Anchorage on occasion; I believe they do fixed wing transports also. Guardian is in AK also, and they are owned by AMRG. AirMethods does not have medcrews, but they contract mechanics and pilots to AK services.

They have a different EMS structure in AK. EMT 1, 2, 3 (I,II,III). A 3 is like a watered down paramedic, yet the certification is easier to get because it is not through the medical board. Even with my NRP and FPC I'd probably work as an EMT III if I had time. In my opinion, having looked at the process, a true paramedic card (MICP) is time consuming and arduous to get, especially coming from out of state. It is through the medical board which credentials physicians & PAs, so you can imagine all of the hoops they require for a temporary cert. Plus, they only meet a few times a year to actually grant licensure. Therefore, most jobs are for EMT III's.
Click to expand...

you can be hired straight away to the flight line, if you have the credentials to do so
 
Akflightmedic2019 said:
The Doctor that authorized the Medevac shopping @providence Seward absolutely has blood on their hands
Click to expand...

Interesting. I would argue the Corporate Policies/Procedures/Hiring Practices/Pilots and the Crew themselves as responsible before I would place blame on a doc trying to call around until he finds an answer he likes. My assumption is the doc knows weather is bad, but he is not flight competent and is simply advocating for his patient. If everyone he calls says same answer, then he knows he has tried his best. However, if a gung ho startup is trying to make revenue, and they have the pilots willing to say "lets do it" despite it not being the best course of action...then responsibility falls exactly where I stated in sentence one.
 
akflightmedic said:
Interesting. I would argue the Corporate Policies/Procedures/Hiring Practices/Pilots and the Crew themselves as responsible before I would place blame on a doc trying to call around until he finds an answer he likes. My assumption is the doc knows weather is bad, but he is not flight competent and is simply advocating for his patient. If everyone he calls says same answer, then he knows he has tried his best. However, if a gung ho startup is trying to make revenue, and they have the pilots willing to say "lets do it" despite it not being the best course of action...then responsibility falls exactly where I stated in sentence one.
Click to expand...
This.
 
I would feel quite terrible if I called a helicopter in bad weather and there was a subsequent accident. Several of the local vollie departments ask for a helicopter on every critical sounding call at dispatch. Even in the snow. I get that flight crews can check the weather in a multitude of ways. But if the weather sucks (and I mean sucks, not questionable) and you call for flight, you are part of the problem too.
 
New to the forum and live in Alaska. I work for another service in Anchorage. Here is my perspective. A lot of the regular non ems flight companies up here have their pilots on standby for flights however the pilot only gets paid for actual flight time. This is why hagaland and Ravn have had accidents with their commercial flights. Crappy conditions that they shouldnt be flying in but the pilot needs to eat so the pilot pushes limits. LifeMed and Guardian both have pilots that are getting paid regardless of whether or not they are in the air which makes it a lot easier to turn down flights if it looks sketchy. I wouldnt be surprised if the companies that Medevac Alaska uses is more inline with Hagaland.
 
Sorry if this is a poorly placed thread revival, but I was curious if anyone had some current contacts with either Guardian Flight or LifeMed. I have a few questions that I can't seem to find answers to with my Google fu abilities. Thanks in advance!
 
@MICP2585, since I still haven't hit the magic number to DM yet, I thought there would be a couple questions that more people would be interested in as well. The couple big ones to start, what does pay look like between LifeMed and Guardian and do they have any kind of step process over time to increase earnings? What are the usual schedules and do they allow or encourage movement between bases at all? Finally, are there any treatments or procedures that are strictly nurse skills, or all things considered are both providers "equal" on each flight? Thanks in advance!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top