Austin Travis County EMS hiring Paramedics and paying them as Basics

AHAHAHAHA :rofl: Troll level=master

Fish said:
Found this in the Comments section in the article.......

"Hello Im a firefighter here in the austin area. I have the most experience in saving lives then any of the EMTs that work in austin. I have 10 documented saves in the last 2 months alone so hear me out. .... What we need to to is merge the fire department and EMS. The EMS EMTs are there to just drive the patient to the hospital. The driving part really isnt that hard to do. We as firefighters usually recommend to them which drugs to use for the patient and a lot of times they are confused as to which hospital they should take the patient to so we advise them of that also.
As a matter of fact whenever they have a critical call we as firefighters usually have to ride in the back of the ambulance with the patient to the hospital running code 3. The Austin EMS EMTs need us in the back to manage patient care. When the call is done they just drive us back to our station and call us back on the next call. It would be easier for us to just have them just drive it would save the taxpayers a lot of money. As a matter of fact if its a difficult call (such as CPR, chokings etc) the Austin EMS EMTs will call me in the station because they do not know what to do. I will advise them of the cpr/mouth resuscitation ratio rate. They are always very apperciative of the information I provide. They are a great crew very nice..so merging would be the best option...."




Poor attempt at Humor! Some people are going to take this seriously
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I am just trying to wrap my head around this issue.

ATC is posting openigns for Medic-1 which is a BLS position? And there are ALS cetified providers applying for and being hired for the BLS position? And once hired they are paired with an ALS partner and expected to do ALS skills?

Or they are expected to do BLS Skills?

In my and the two other main Police EMS agencies in my area, we have a bunch of Medics who work for us. We are all BLS agencies and every employee only provides at the BLS level regardless of their level of certification. In all cases, these police department based agencies pay better then the ALS they regularly interface with. Many of the medics who work for the local ALS also work for PDEMS. Its generally a better position, less calls, better equipment and trucks, better stations, more involvement with the state agency (Which means OT doing "cool" Stuff)

And they all wear their medic state patch, even while on the BLS truck
 
The Medic 1 position is for a BLS level provider. Even if you're certified as a paramedic, if you get hired into the Medic 1 position you are a BLS provider in the A/TCEMS system and are limited to functioning at that level. They wear their paramedic patch because that's their state certification. However, Texas does not have statewide or regional protocols. Each agency's medical director writes protocols for that agency and can credential EMS personnel to do (or not do) whatever they want.

For instance, you could be hired as a paramedic and be limited to functioning at the EMT or even first responder level. Vice-versa, providers be credentialed to perform skills outside of their normal scope of practice. You could have a paramedic functioning as an EMT or an EMT starting IV's and administering medications usually limited to paramedics. It's the medical director's call.
 
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marshmallow22 said:
I love coming on to these forums and seeing all the speculation regarding a certain department, ususally by someone who has no idea what they're talking about. True ATCEMS is hiring for "medic 1" positions. Whether you're an EMT or Paramedic does not matter. Reasoning behind it has nothing to do with budget problems. In the ATCEMS system approximately 80% are BLS. Therefore, ALS skills are rarely used. Secondly, ATCEMS's plan is a 60/40 split, not EVERY truck. Thirdly, the $15 an hr comes to quite a bit more than 29k per year with built in overtime, and also the ability to pick up a TON of extra shifts. There are not too many EMS only departments in the country that have the depth that ATCEMS has in regards to what you can do in the department. There's Spec. Ops, Tactical, Motorcycles, Bike Medics, Gators, etc. Also, even AS a paramedic working in another state (I.E. California), you're stuck on a private with poor conditions, low pay, no respect, and playing politics to the fire department. Personally, I'd rather take an EMT position with a top rated department making more than most medics in other states, earning city benefits including a pension (similar to CALPERS), and now civil service with the opportunity to promote. Yes, you'll be busy, but that's what you signed up for when you work for the now 14th largest city in the country. So before you spout off with a bunch of nonsense, do some research and get your facts straight!
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Marshmallow...your description of the Ca conditions and experience for private medics is 100% accurate.. I'm really considering Austin Travis EMS..do you work out there? You made a good point ATCEMS sounds very appealing I just dropped my App
 
iftmedic said:
Marshmallow...your description of the Ca conditions and experience for private medics is 100% accurate.. I'm really considering Austin Travis EMS..do you work out there? You made a good point ATCEMS sounds very appealing I just dropped my App
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(Moderator snip)
 
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All I will say is I worked too long and too hard to go back to working as an EMT for 2+ years.

If it were a shorter period of time I'd absolutely consider it, ATCEMS was one of the places I really wanted to work until they changed to B/P trucks and started the medic I/II deal.
 
Robb said:
All I will say is I worked too long and too hard to go back to working as an EMT for 2+ years.

If it were a shorter period of time I'd absolutely consider it, ATCEMS was one of the places I really wanted to work until they changed to B/P trucks and started the medic I/II deal.
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I %100 agree and feel(felt) the same way
 
WilCo has been on my radar for a while now after speaking at length with one of their recruiters.

Then I realize there's no snow in or around ATX and it's been the deal breaker thus far.
 
I feel like I've been a paramedic too long to go back to being a medic sometimes. You know what I'm talking about Expat....
 
WTEngel said:
I feel like I've been a paramedic too long to go back to being a medic sometimes. You know what I'm talking about Expat....
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I don't know if I can take a step back into such less progressive and aggressive protocols :p
 
I don't think that I could go to being an EMT for years on end. Quite frankly, I know my job and don't need to be retarded to EMT-B to do it.
 
Robb said:
WilCo has been on my radar for a while now after speaking at length with one of their recruiters.

Then I realize there's no snow in or around ATX and it's been the deal breaker thus far.
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If you want snow go to Amarillo or Lubbock. Lol.
 
Robb said:
WilCo has been on my radar for a while now after speaking at length with one of their recruiters.

Then I realize there's no snow in or around ATX and it's been the deal breaker thus far.
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Come live in ABQ and work where I do lol. I'll gladly carpool with you
 
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