Balboa Ambulances

LSalander

Forum Crew Member
34
0
0
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.
I picked up an app at Balboa yesterday but they didn't have time to interview me and I was off to another interview in Escondido. Do you know if they are still hiring? I've gotten a call back to Schaefer and Xtreme Care, so getting to the point where I might have to choose which one I want to work with (go figure, I was desperate for anything a week ago).

I want to get as much experiance as I can, and keep moving up the EMS ladder. I'm thinking I want to go to paramedic school, possibly firefighter/medic, then possibly get my bachelor's in nursing to be a PA (one day...). Been in school awhile, so what's awhile longer....I like shcool, like learning, and really eager to start working with patients.

Thanks for all your feedback. Good to read your posts from 2 years ago and get feedback on how its been since.
 
OP
OP
MattCA

MattCA

Forum Crew Member
87
0
0
Well you sound like me lol. I heard Schafer is really good so you might want to check them out. I believe they are a pretty big company, on their website it looks like they are in 5 counties. It seems like were always hiring. BLS has a high turnover rate. There was an incident lately though and my boss wants to revamp all our FTOs and make sure they're on top of things so hiring may be on hold for awhile. I don't know anything about Xtreme Care. I just saw them like a month ago. They look like a small company which could have its pros and cons (I would probably choose Schafer if you have a choice).

Sounds like you need to get a BLS job and see what you want to do. It helped me make my decision. I jumped in wanting to just be a medic, then I realised thats not where the money is at (at least in SD), its high stress and high responsibility. I also learned that fire is extremely hard to get into in San Diego. I like pt care, so I found that I would like to go nursing also with the possibility of PA or NP.

Ya no problem, any other questions just ask.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
12,681
197
63
I've gotten a call back to Schaefer and Xtreme Care

[YOUTUBE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO2Abp0FbA0[/YOUTUBE]
fail-owned-extreme-fail.jpg
 

MusicMedic

Forum Captain
499
0
0
yeah i would stay away from an ambulance company called Xtreme Care lol

but.....
i would go for a company that was called UBER AWESOME SUPER EPIC AMBULANCE TRANSPORT CARE!!!! *que Guitar Squeal*
 

somePerson

Forum Crew Member
60
1
0
I would stay away from SD county BLS ambulances in general. R/M is only decent one because you can eventually get decent experiance on a 911 ambulance. If your goal is to become a paramedic, All the others, only so much stuff you can learn taking grand ma to dialysis or back to the hospital.

Orange county has better choices. Doctors, Medix, Care (different from SD care), all do 911 and have 24 hour shifts, so driving from SD to orange county twice a week wasn't a big deal.
 

kravturtle

Forum Crew Member
69
0
0
I just submitted online applications for Pacific, Balboa, and Ameri-care. I guess we will see what happens there. Pacific and Balboa are higher on my list, but at this point, I'm crossing my fingers for any nibbles!
 

Monkey

Forum Lieutenant
129
0
0
I know Pacific last month did some hiring, I saw numerous emails going out from them regarding scheduling interviews with them. With Medic schools starting up, there should be holes in their rosters. I know quite a few from Balboa that have been accepted to medic school, so good luck.
 

kravturtle

Forum Crew Member
69
0
0
I know Pacific last month did some hiring, I saw numerous emails going out from them regarding scheduling interviews with them. With Medic schools starting up, there should be holes in their rosters. I know quite a few from Balboa that have been accepted to medic school, so good luck.

That's good to hear! Thanks!
 

cam007

Forum Ride Along
5
0
0
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.

I have a scheduled interview for balboa, what is the physical test like? What should I know before walking in? Things like that. Any info would help.

Thanks
 

EMTsanders

Forum Crew Member
47
0
0
so balboa is still hiring? how long did it take for them to call you? I just put in a app with them today. I'm hoping for anything though, deffinetly pretty desparate
 

cam007

Forum Ride Along
5
0
0
so balboa is still hiring? how long did it take for them to call you? I just put in a app with them today. I'm hoping for anything though, deffinetly pretty desparate

It will happen. Just take it one day at a time, don't be desperate. It takes about a week.
 

EMTsanders

Forum Crew Member
47
0
0
thanks for the calming words...just excited/nervous i guess. ready to do what i've been trained to do though
 

EMTsanders

Forum Crew Member
47
0
0
went to miramar, I had Mary if that means anything. It was a great program. I've heard its one of the best?
 

cam007

Forum Ride Along
5
0
0
went to miramar, I had Mary if that means anything. It was a great program. I've heard its one of the best?

Yea, I was at Grossmont and had Trish, she was taught by Mary. Miramar is supposed to have a really great EMT program, but I didn't like the schedule, only on Saturdays for 8hrs. I did the 8 week one, 4 days a week for 4hrs. I think we hijacked this thread, probably pm me back?
 

EMTzimp

Forum Probie
25
0
1
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.


I agree with the above. I got hired at Pacific 2 years ago and I had an interview with a secretary (wierd:wacko). I left. They called me 2 hours later and told me to pick up my uniforms at OC office... I thought about it for awhile, and decided to not take the job because it seemed really unprofessional the way they hired me. I figured they just take anyone and everyone and I didnt want part in that. I ended up going to Lynch and i'm glad I did.
 
Top