EMS Buncombe County

[edog2000]

Hey everyone. I'm currently in medic school right now and I'm slated to graduate in December. I'm looking to move back down to Asheville, NC. I lived there for several years and would love to work as a medic there. Can anyone give me any insight on what the job market is like right now for Paramedics? Whats the process to get on an EMS department like Buncombe county? Is it competitive?

I know that Mission health hires on a regular basis. Does anyone have any insight on how it is to work for them? How many hours can you work a week there? Are there 911 potions open there and how competitive is it?

 

[DrParasite]

competative yes, but there are agencies all over NC that are looking for paramedics. The job posting is typically on the county HR site.

https://news.ncems.org/employment is another great place to check for NC jobs. 911 is almost entirely county ran, so if you get a job with the county service you will most likely be on a 911 ambu lance.

 

[edog2000]

Thanks Doc. Do you know if there are a lot of Western NC agencies that hire? Do you have any idea how competitive. I live in Illinois and FF/Paramedic jobs are very competitive (like 1 position for 50 applicants).
Do you have any idea of what it's like working for Mission Health EMS?

 

[NCmedic]

If Asheville is seeing the kind of increases in transport volume like we are then I can only imagine they are actively searching for medics. If there's nothing open in Western, NC, I'd be happy to talk to you about Charlotte. Western North Carolina is absolutely beautiful and the mountains certainly offer some different call types and challenges we don't have here in CLT. Good luck!

 

[Carlos Danger]

I've heard good things about McDowell County EMS (Marion) and Burke County EMS (Morganton). Don't know much about them other than that they are rural and have very good reputations as quality, progressive agencies. I may actually be looking for a prn thing with McDowell in the not-too-distant future myself.

 

[edog2000]

NC Medic, I'm pretty set on moving to Western NC a this point. I would consider making the commute to work in Charlotte. 2 hours is a long drive, but I would make if the schedule and opportunity was right. Do you know much about Greenville, SC and Spartanburg?

 

[NCmedic]

NC Medic, I'm pretty set on moving to Western NC a this point. I would consider making the commute to work in Charlotte. 2 hours is a long drive, but I would make if the schedule and opportunity was right. Do you know much about Greenville, SC and Spartanburg?

2 hours is definitely a long commute, if you settled down on the Charlotte side of Asheville you could cut it down to maybe 1hr 45min. Especially with our HQ moving over to the west side of Charlotte.

With that said we have several employee's who commute, including a few from the western part of the state. There are schedules that make it feasible, but initially there is no guarantee what you would get. Some work three consecutive 14's and stay with a co-worker for those three days each week. We have some of the highest pay bands in the state and great benefits, our starting pay for new paramedics is higher than most but I think Buncombe is what that has a pretty high starting pay. With us you could see a 15% increase within the first year + an annual merit increase.

I'm not overly familiar with Greenville or Spartanburg other than I've recently hired a few paramedics from that area, and our old medical director is now stomping around Greenville, SC. He wasn't well liked here and I'm not sure what his involvement is with the service down there.

If you job hunt leads you closer to CLT or commuting is a possibility send me a PM anytime, happy to answer any questions about Medic.

 

[edog2000]

2 hours is definitely a long commute, if you settled down on the Charlotte side of Asheville you could cut it down to maybe 1hr 45min. Especially with our HQ moving over to the west side of Charlotte.

With that said we have several employee's who commute, including a few from the western part of the state. There are schedules that make it feasible, but initially there is no guarantee what you would get. Some work three consecutive 14's and stay with a co-worker for those three days each week. We have some of the highest pay bands in the state and great benefits, our starting pay for new paramedics is higher than most but I think Buncombe is what that has a pretty high starting pay. With us you could see a 15% increase within the first year + an annual merit increase.

I'm not overly familiar with Greenville or Spartanburg other than I've recently hired a few paramedics from that area, and our old medical director is now stomping around Greenville, SC. He wasn't well liked here and I'm not sure what his involvement is with the service down there.

If you job hunt leads you closer to CLT or commuting is a possibility send me a PM anytime, happy to answer any questions about Medic.

Thanks for help. I would love to work in a busy system like Charlotte, but western NC definatly has my heart. Is there a possibility of working 24hr shifts? If that were the case and I could work 2 days a week, I would be very interested.
How many days a week do people usually work?

 

[PirateMedic3]

I've heard good things about McDowell County EMS (Marion) and Burke County EMS (Morganton). Don't know much about them other than that they are rural and have very good reputations as quality, progressive agencies. I may actually be looking for a prn thing with McDowell in the not-too-distant future myself.

I see a lot of openings for PRN paramedics, what exactly is a schedule for PRN?

 

[Carlos Danger]

I see a lot of openings for PRN paramedics, what exactly is a schedule for PRN?

I really have no idea......I just know that the system has a really solid reputation, and I'll be living in that area soon, and I'd like to get back into EMS in some capacity.

Look into it and let me know what you find out

 

[NCmedic]

Thanks for help. I would love to work in a busy system like Charlotte, but western NC definatly has my heart. Is there a possibility of working 24hr shifts? If that were the case and I could work 2 days a week, I would be very interested.
How many days a week do people usually work?

We did away with 24hr shifts in the early 2000's, our system is just too busy to safely operate 24hr shifts. 3 days per week would be the minimum shifts worked.