Best city/EMS service to work as a paramedic?

FFPRN16

The catch-all
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If you could pick a city/service to move to and work at what ems service along with city would you pick as a new paramedic?
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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Depends what you want and how you like to live. I sing Texan praises all day because all three of my thinking bones are tied together with barbed wire. Some weirdos like @VentMonkey like California's high taxes, hyperregulation and bizzare limits on EMS. How do you want to practice? How much do you want to work and where do you want to be?
 

Bullets

Forum Knucklehead
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If it wasnt for the political climate of NJ, i would say there are some great places to work here. There are some good agencies in this state, Jersey City, JFK, Robert Wood Johnson are all good programs, progressive MDs, good hospitals. Some still use chase cars but its slowly going to transport units. You always have a Paramedic partner plus 2 EMTs on a call. If its not serious youll get cancelled or can release. Of course University Hospital in Newark, they have good guys and management has really reformed them from the salt encrusted outfit they used to be, but you will run job. Youre a state employee, which means better benefits (if it lasts) and you can move over to Rescue 1 if your into that kind heroism

Im looking hard at Delaware. They has a system similar to how NJ used to be, all chase cars, good protocols, cheaper cost of living with the same seashore environment i love, but im in management in NJ and i love that too, so idk where im going to go

Id go south, but i am an northerner to my soul and id melt over 60F
 

VentMonkey

Family Guy
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Some weirdos like @VentMonkey like California's high taxes, hyperregulation and bizzare limits on EMS.
Haha, ya got me good Rocket. Guilty as charged, that’s me: the weirdo Californian who doesn’t give a rat’s *** about politics, and all of its corruptions be it local, state, or federal. Nope, not I. Silly Monkey just wants to live life content and happy with what’s in front of him.

The thread topic has been beat to death a bunch, but if the opportunities presented itself, little would change with my top 2 choices being Sussex (County) DE, and Wilco EMS. Both are merely from a selfish not keeping my own family’s happiness in mind, therefore I quietly resign.
 

Ensihoitaja

Forum Captain
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Denver’s a pretty cool place to work. Good pay and benefits. All 911 and ALS. We’ve been hiring a lot to keep up with population/call growth.

Downside is housing is pretty expensive.
 

EpiEMS

Forum Deputy Chief
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Yes, it's busy, but being in London far-and-away makes up for it.
Wages don't seem so great, at least not relative to cost of living in greater London. NYC, same story.
 

VentMonkey

Family Guy
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what ems service along with city would you pick as a new paramedic?
So I went back and read this part. I guess that makes this thread topic slightly different for me.

As a new paramedic, a mid to larger size city with plenty of urban interface (bonus if they also offer rural as well), and high call volume. A few years there would then yield enough experience as a paramedic to transition to my “ideal” system. Quantity seems pertinent for a new paramedic looking to improve their quality of patient care provided.

My unicorn would be along the lines of a fly car system with a WilCo EMS medical director in a livable place with all of the amenities one could ask for both in-, and outdoors (e.g., Portland, OR).
 

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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Sure. London is such a great place. Yes, it's busy, but being in London far-and-away makes up for it.
I'll be honest, I haven't heard many good things about the London EMS system..... Great city, just like NYC, but the EMS system leaves a lot to be desired. At least that's what the media reports about the system there.

If you are newbie paramedic, I like Wake EMS, in Raleigh NC. Good protocols, standing orders for almost everything, and when you do need to speak to a doc you call the county medical director, not some random ER doc. The busier area (per call) is definitely in Raleigh, but if you want a more rural experience, with longer transport times, you definitely have that in Wake County too. It's a great place, especially if you have never worked elsewhere as a medic, so you can learn the Wake way of doing things.

the Raleigh/Durham area is booming, you're 2 hours from the coast, and 2 hours from the mountains, and if you don't fit in well at Wake, there are 8 county agencies within an hours drive of Raleigh, and if you decide you are done with Wake after a few years, you can transfer to another county agency and your PTO and retirement time comes with you.
 

Tigger

Dodges Pucks
Community Leader
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So I went back and read this part. I guess that makes this thread topic slightly different for me.

As a new paramedic, a mid to larger size city with plenty of urban interface (bonus if they also offer rural as well), and high call volume. A few years there would then yield enough experience as a paramedic to transition to my “ideal” system. Quantity seems pertinent for a new paramedic looking to improve their quality of patient care provided.

My unicorn would be along the lines of a fly car system with a WilCo EMS medical director in a livable place with all of the amenities one could ask for both in-, and outdoors (e.g., Portland, OR).
I think this is right on.

I am a new medic and my primary job is a suburban/rural/super boones type of place. To get a higher call volume I'm part time AMR El Paso County. For a new medic the system is pretty good. Solid academy and very good FI process. Most of your calls are in Colorado Springs, but as the El Paso County provider you could run a drunk downtown, clear the hospital, and be 50 miles into the cornfields on the next call.

It's still AMR though. Benefits are lacking, pay is about adequate, and you can still run into fire crews that would rather kill a patient than let the AMR medic call the shots.
 

aquabear

World's Okayest Paramedic
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I wish had I started at Williamson County EMS right out of paramedic school... I would be that much closer to being vested :D
 

RocketMedic

Californian, Lost in Texas
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Houston has some fantastic agencies for new and experienced providers. Hcec, MCHD, and Creek are all good.
 
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