Balboa Ambulances

[JPINFV]

never mind... misread the post.

 

[Code 3]

You can also check out Care, but, they're in LACo

They are in San Diego as well.

Like I said Matt, there's a ton of companies to choose from. Did you look at all of these companies I listed?

Alert, AmbuMed, Schaefer, Pacific, Priority One Medical, AmeriCare, Rural Metro, AMR, and ER Ambulance.

 

[MattCA]

Care is also down here in Miramar. They seem like a really good company. We had a speaker come in and they were $11/hr they wash your uniforms and restock your ambulances. I went up there and their ambulances and facility looked nice.

 

[jazminestar]

hey Matt, i work for rural metro in san diego.............please dear gawd, if you have any opportunity to go ANYWHERE else besides balboa, they have a horrible rep down here......and for good reason, if you saw them going code, that's no bueno, they are a BLS service,(as in it probably was NOT a cct) and many times, they transport patients they really shouldn't be..........you don't want to get caught up in that kind of stuff.........

we do tons of CCTs and verrrrrry rarely do we end up going code.......have u tried rural metro?? pacific, they are probably the lesse of the 3 evils (care, balboa, pacific) and AMR, did the same thing to me that they did to you, was ready to start and then they tell me they dont have anything available.............blah.

good luck with pacific though, i hope that works out for you

 

[MattCA]

I would love to work for R/M but no word from them or the others. Well they were going code to the call. I just left the place and than they headed out. I need to start somewhere. Im hoping to get on, than maybe using it as experience and switch to either R/M or AMR. I hope balboa doesnt hurt my furture as a medic!

 

[MattCA]

They are in San Diego as well.

Like I said Matt, there's a ton of companies to choose from. Did you look at all of these companies I listed?

I applied at Balboa, AMR, R/M and Pacific. How good are the others you listed?

 

[lightsandsirens5]

As in you went for a scheduled interview and the person who was supposed to interview you didn't show? I'd be staying away from that.

You can say that again!

 

[MattCA]

Im just going to have to go for it. Im totally burned out of my job. What type of stuff should I be reading? I feel that I have pretty much read everything, but what should I pay close attention to? Also where, if anywhere, is there info that says which hospitals are trauma, burn, etc? Thats something that would be useful but I havent seen. I just know UCSD has everything.

 

[Code 3]

Also where, if anywhere, is there info that says which hospitals are trauma, burn, etc? Thats something that would be useful but I havent seen. I just know UCSD has everything.

Base Hospitals:

• Scripps Mercy
• Scripps La Jolla
• Grossmont
• UCSD Hillcrest
• Palomar
• Sharp Memorial
• Tri-City

Trauma Centers:

• Scripps Mercy
• Scripps La Jolla
• Children's Hospital
• UCSD Hillcrest
• Palomar
• Sharp Memorial

Burn Centers:

• UCSD Hillcrest

Hyperbaric Chambers:

• Balboa Naval
• Pendleton
• Grossmont
• UCSD Hillcrest

There's a list of hospitals within the County in your protocol book (one of the last pages). It will have all the base hospitals in bold letters.

 

[MattCA]

Thanks for the hospital info. I actually found a good source online that had questions and answers about protocols.

Today is Tuesday, one week later and I went back for my follow up interview and guess what? He wasn't there again! I went strait to Alert after that which looked really nice. Their test seemed a lot harder than AMR's. I thought I heard the guy say how they had all these applications and some lady was like oh can I apply? And he was like yea for dispatcher. So that makes me think That they arent hiring. Ugh what should I do? I really want to be an EMT and I really want to get out of my current job. I was talking to a guy and he said he was an EMT for Sea World. I wondering if that would be any fun...:glare:

 

[Code 3]

I was talking to a guy and he said he was an EMT for Sea World. I wondering if that would be any fun...:glare:

As fun as it would be, it unfortunately does not count towards medic school. You need (1) year of experience on an ambulance in order to meet the enrollment requirements.

Obviously, it appears that Balboa might not be your best bet. Did you hear back from Pacific yet? I would keep in touch with the HR department of AMR and get a feel for when they are doing their next recruitment. What about Care? Did you speak with them yet? I believe you get bonuses per call with them.

 

[MattCA]

Oh ok that was one thing I was wondering. Ya Im worried about Balboa. No where else has called me back though. Im going to apply at Ambumed tomorrow. That place would be nice because its pretty close to my house.

 

[JPINFV]

I was talking to a guy and he said he was an EMT for Sea World. I wondering if that would be any fun...:glare:

If this is going to be your first EMS job, then I'd advise you to not take a first aid/standby job. A lot of the EMT-B education revolves around the final destination of every patient being the ER. The final destination of most of first aid patients is going to be returning to the park. Your education is going to tell you to place most of your patients on oxygen. Your education is going to tell you to c-spine every trauma patient. Both of those are going to buy your patients a one way ticket to an ambulance and an ER, which I guarantee will not make the park happy. Until you are able to determine quickly and accurately who is sick and who isn't and when to refer, when to release, and when to activate EMS, you will be playing with fire in terms of your job. First aid isn't hard, but it isn't for novice providers either.

 

[MattCA]

I know I was just thinking of a last resort. Good points though. Its depressing finding something your really want to do and completing all you need to do but cant do it! :sad:

So far I have applied at AMR, R/M, Pacific, Balboa, Alert.....and I think thats it. Im going to go to Ambumed tomorrow. Care is far away, but it would probably be worth it. How good is Americare? Ive heard bad about Schaefer. What else is left that are good companies?

 

[Code 3]

Care is far away, but it would probably be worth it. How good is Americare? Ive heard bad about Schaefer. What else is left that are good companies?

Care is San Diego somewhere on Kearny Mesa Blvd. or Clairemont Mesa Blvd.

 

[MattCA]

I went to it before but they were closed. It was off Miramar way. Maybe its a different one.

 

[MattCA]

Well I think I finally got hired. Went back in and didnt do so good and he said hed give me two more days. I went back today and did good. He handed me all the employment papers and wants me to learn the trauma tree and the difference b/t cardiac chest pain and pluritic pain. And what ketoacidosis is.

 

[Code 3]

Well congrats, Matt. If you need information regarding the S/S of DKA (diabetic ketoacidosis) you can check out this thread:

http://www.emtlife.com/showthread.php?t=10069

 

[LSalander]

Well I think I finally got hired. Went back in and didnt do so good and he said hed give me two more days. I went back today and did good. He handed me all the employment papers and wants me to learn the trauma tree and the difference b/t cardiac chest pain and pluritic pain. And what ketoacidosis is.

I'm applying at all the places you were discussing in your post, and wondering how it all went. Where did you end up working at? What's your take on the company?

I've been to 6 interviews so far and two call backs, but not sure who I would choose. Kinda want to see if you have any feedback.

Thanks!

 

[MattCA]

I've been at Balboa for two years now. Im planning on going nursing, so I'm not too picky about where I work. What I like about Balboa is they are flexible with scheduling and I think they pay a little more than other companies. Also, the station is about 10-15 mins from my house. We also get pretty good calls. I just talked to a guy that used to work for us than switch to Rural and he said they calls aren't nearly as good. I also talked to a guy that switched from ER to AMR and said its the same. There are pros and cons to every company. In the end BLS is BLS. It all depends what your looking for in a company (location vs equipment vs type of calls vs etc.) Study your protocols, know them. Let me know if you have any other questions.