Charleston County EMS

M

maineiacmedic

Forum Probie
Messages
13
Reaction score
1
Points
3
I saw Charleston County, SC EMS is hiring. Does anyone have some insight about the department? How progressive are they? How aggressive are the protocols? Pay? Shift schedule? Good work environment? Would it be a good spot to grow as a new paramedic? Hows Charleston County as a place to live as a single guy in his early 20's from New England?

Thanks!
 
NomadicMedic said:
Why don't you call them and ask them?
Click to expand...
You are not likely to get accurate information if you call the company directly. I don’t know a single company that would say “we are **** to work for, our protocols suck, you might get a ****ty schedule, it’s not a good place to grow as a paramedic”. However talking to people who are familiar with the area might give you a non-HR spoon fed answer.
 
I lived in Charleston from 2012 - 2015 during grad school. At one point I had a roommate who was a paramedic with CCEMS. He described a very busy and understaffed system that provided mediocre pay and benefits, and I've heard similar from other folks. Of course that could have improved since then so you'll have to find some better and more recent info, but that's all I can offer about EMS there, FWIW.

One thing that I do know well about the area and am confident hasn't changed since I left is that Charleston is a very fun, very beautiful, very EXPENSIVE place that gets very crowded during normal tourist times. Also hot and humid as hell during the summer.
 
DesertMedic66 said:
You are not likely to get accurate information if you call the company directly. I don’t know a single company that would say “we are **** to work for, our protocols suck, you might get a ****ty schedule, it’s not a good place to grow as a paramedic”. However talking to people who are familiar with the area might give you a non-HR spoon fed answer.
Click to expand...

Any good agency will tell you the truth about all of these questions. Otherwise, people would bolt as soon as they learned the truth. They're a third service county agency. The pay scale is public info. They have no reason to BS anyone... It's not like it's F+B Ambulance, being run out of an old Midas Muffler shop.

If they can't specifically answer the questions to your satisfaction, it's not the place for you.

As far as these two questions:

Good work environment?
Hows Charleston County as a place to live as a single guy in his early 20's from New England?

You'll find those out when you visit for a ride-along to see the facilities and equipment. You need to talk to the crews and see what it's like. Frankly, I hate the heat and humidity, so working in Charleston would be like working in Hell's waiting room.

If you don't get offered the opportunity for a ride-along or a tour of the stations, that's not a place I'd ever work.

I'm amazed by people who don't research places before they go. The shift schedule and all the rest can be found with a simple google.

Medic Stations | Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Map of EMS Medic Stations in Charleston County South Carolina.
www.charlestoncounty.org

Homepage | SCDHEC

www.scdhec.gov www.scdhec.gov
 
NomadicMedic said:
Any good agency will tell you the truth about all of these questions. Otherwise, people would bolt as soon as they learned the truth. They're a third service county agency. The pay scale is public info. They have no reason to BS anyone... It's not like it's F+B Ambulance, being run out of an old Midas Muffler shop.

If they can't specifically answer the questions to your satisfaction, it's not the place for you.

As far as these two questions:

Good work environment?
Hows Charleston County as a place to live as a single guy in his early 20's from New England?

You'll find those out when you visit for a ride-along to see the facilities and equipment. You need to talk to the crews and see what it's like. Frankly, I hate the heat and humidity, so working in Charleston would be like working in Hell's waiting room.

If you don't get offered the opportunity for a ride-along or a tour of the stations, that's not a place I'd ever work.

I'm amazed by people who don't research places before they go. The shift schedule and all the rest can be found with a simple google.

Medic Stations | Emergency Medical Services (EMS)

Map of EMS Medic Stations in Charleston County South Carolina.
www.charlestoncounty.org

Homepage | SCDHEC

www.scdhec.gov www.scdhec.gov
Click to expand...
Mother, Jugs and Speed reference deserves a like.
 
And for what it’s worth, I know several people that work there. :)

Busy. Overworked. Understaffed.
 
maineiacmedic said:
I saw Charleston County, SC EMS is hiring. Does anyone have some insight about the department? How progressive are they? How aggressive are the protocols? Pay? Shift schedule? Good work environment? Would it be a good spot to grow as a new paramedic? Hows Charleston County as a place to live as a single guy in his early 20's from New England?

Thanks!
Click to expand...
I am a little late to the party...I will try and answer in your order.

- Depends how you define progressive as it can be wildly subjective. RSI/DAI utilization is up to provider discretion, we can terminate active resuscitation's in the field, telepsych capabilities, and so on.

- We do not have "protocols" per say but have guidelines. You can treat the patient as you see fit, however it is expected to be within reason and able to be backed up by sound judgement.

- $21.69 for medic $49k (ish) with 3% raises at year 1, 2, 3, 6 (or around there) then you go to yearly merit based raises after. No cap on OT, OT rate starts after 40hrs.

- Two on, two off, every other weekend is a three day. You will most likely be placed to night shift as a new person and remain there for a year or so, some people never have to go to night shift but that is on the rarer side. Max working hours of 16 with a minimum of 8 hours off. There is the ULTRA rare possibility of being forced an hour or two after your off time if the system has no available units, other than that no force schedule.

- We have a troubled past, however are improving daily. We are 100% backed by our county council and have refreshed a lot of our supervisors. We are very self aware of our issues and continue to improve on them. We have a bad history of moral, however that is mostly due to staff who don't like change and cant accept that we are no longer a system where you can come sleep at work. We have people from all over the country now which has helped to refresh the department.

- In regards to gaining experience there really are few places better and not just from a call volume standpoint. The diversity of the county lends itself to any type of call you can dream up. We have military installments, airports, ports, chemical plants, cruise ships, rural areas, numerous beaches, and more water than you can imagine. These things all lend themselves to creating some interesting situations and help to prepare you to be a well rounded provider.

- Charleston speaks for itself as far as living here, I will leave you to research that. It is rather expensive however still affordable, especially if you chose not to live in Charleston proper. As far as being a single guy in your early 20's its amazing, especially if your're active and enjoy the outdoors.


Any other questions just ask.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top