Hate to beat a dead horse...

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james88

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New EMT here, just got hired by Pacific Ambulance. I just signed the paperwork the other day and have orientation a couple weeks from now. Seems like a great company, and although IFT only wasn't my first choice it's a job and I was happy to take it.

Today I got a voicemail from Emergency ambulance in Brea asking me to interview. I had taken their written over a month ago and never heard back after calling multiple times. So of course, once I already have a job they decided to call me back. trollface.jpeg

I have a couple questions:
1. What is Emergency like? I am tempted to still go to the interview just to say I did, but on the other hand, I don't want to burn any bridges. I want to work somewhere where there is at least a possibility of getting on a 911 car.
2. I also heard an unconfirmed rumor that Emergency is going under? Or possibly being bought out? Can anyone confirm that?


*Long story short: 911 company offered me a job after I already accepted position at IFT company, now I'm starting a thread on here to look for reasons why I should stick with the IFT company and be happy with it.
 
Definitely understand you DO NOT ever want to burn any bridges. Ems is a small community.

As for Emergency, they still run IFT. Both have fairly good reputations. Schedule and interview and just ask for Pacific's orientation days.try to schedule the interview around.
 
A bird in the hand...lol

Could you do both? Maybe do one of them part time? I work for a private company that does both and I must admit the 911 is more fun than IFT. Maybe you could at least work casually at the 911 company so you would get your emergency experiences that way and also make new connections and friends. No need to burn bridges with anyone when you could enjoy both jobs and be an asset to both companies. What are their shifts like? if at least 12 hour shifts then doing another gig at least part time sounds do-able. Congrats though, and be glad about this "luxury problem" of too many job offers as a new emt...sometimes it takes a while. Best of luck whichever you choose!
 
It's not a big deal dude. Do what you think is best for you, but be professional about it. I'd interview first to see if you will get the job. Make sure that their schedules don't interfere with the other company e.g. ask you to go interview on a day you have work, tell the company interviewing you "I have work, can we do it another day or time? I'm free on such and such day." If you get the job, or in the interview, I'd ask about conflict of interest, if you can still work both, and if not, you have to pick one, and give a start date that gives you enough time to finish your two notice at the other company. Don't talk poorly about your previous company "That company was so lame", that's burning a bridge. Be nice if anyone asks "The company treated me well, but this one suited my career goals better".

That's if you want to work both by the way. If not, be sure to let the IFT company that you got another offer, you are grateful for theirs, but the other company better suites your career goals. If you already finished training/still have shifts, do them and put a two week notice in, and if you still need training, you may want to warn them so they they won't waste resources on you (put nicely, I'd seek advice from them on whether they want you to train and be oriented or not... sometimes they want you to still go through so they can let an FTO train or it's easier for them paperwork wise.)
 
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doubt you could do both like someone on top said since both are competing companies in the same county. i worked for bowers not sure how pacific is. but my time at bowers was good. i know rural metro runs both now and they are working on getting many more contracts and looking at 911 contracts in the future from what ive heard but dont know for what county they are going to try.
 
Thanks for the responses so far. I definitely would have to choose one over the other. My main dilemma is what if I get offered a job at Emergency, I wouldn't want to piss off Pacific by quitting a week after getting hired. On the other hand I dont want to string along Emergency. It's like I'm juggling two girlfriends and trying to not let them find out about each other haha. I guess it wouldn't hurt to go to the interview and see what happens.
 
I should also mention my long term goals are to go to medic school and eventually become a FF medic.
 
standard disclaimer: I don't know either company, which is better, which pays more, which sucks less, etc. I can't stand IFTs, might be fun to do once in a while, but being stuck on IFTs for my career would drive me insane and make me want to kill myself. Others might feel differently, but that's how I feel.

Now, about the whole "don't burn your bridges" thing. it's not entirely accurate. Burning your bridge at Pacific would be going into the boss's office, telling him to go f*k himself, and that you quit for a better job. That's a burnt bridge that will probably get around the small EMS community, and affect your future employment options.

Now, will quitting pacific after a week hurt your EMS career? NO! what is may do is mean you will never work at pacific ever again (put you on the do not rehire list). But since you will be working at Emergency, do you really care about not working at pacific? you can't use it as a reference, but it's only been a week. who care, I wouldn't even mention it on my resume.

But it's all a moot point; take the interview with Emergency, see if they offer you a job. They they do, compare what Emergency might give you to what Pacific will give you. You are getting ahead of yourself, pass the interview and be offered the job first, than ask for advice on what to do.

Going to an interview is never a bad idea, except when you go on your lunch break and your boss spots you in the interview, despite the fact that it was approved by your boss's boss since it was in an entirely different industry.
 
I had a similar situation happen to me. I was hired by Doctors Ambulance where I wanted to get 911 experience for medic school in the future. Thankfully I got hired before I signed my Pacific offer. I just emailed them and was very polite thanking them so the opportunity, they were also very polite and wished me luck in the future and told me to reapply if something changed. Just be polite, the way EMS works is they companies dont expect you to be lifelong employees, there are always enough EMT to hire, just be polite.

Edit: Also, the reason I emailed was because that was how I was communicating with the hiring manager over the weeks after they offered me a job. If you have a supervisor that you cant talk to, call him or better yet talk to him in person.
 
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Thanks everyone for the advice. I agree with what everyone is saying. I called Emergency this morning and scheduled an interview for next week. Hope it goes well and they decide quickly haha... So my other question about Emergency getting bought out, is that true? Do they still have their 911 contracts with Yorba, Brea, Placentia, and La Habra? I've heard so many rumors idk what to believe. Anybody know? I guess that is something I can ask in the interview.
 
La habra is contracted with Care. Emergency still has their 911 contracts. I haven't heard anything about them going under or being bought out.
 
Thanks Mufasa. It says I don't have enough posts to reply to PM's but just to answer your question, I plan on going to medic school and then fire academy and becoming a medic on a fire dept. In OC would you say patient contact on 911 rigs is reduced since you have the fire medic working the patient? I've heard people say the EMT is just there to load and unload the patient.
 
I enjoy beating dead horses. Its a good training tool fir when I face Apollo Creed in the ring.
 
alright i have one more question, what should I ask in the interview on thursday? I want to make sure I get a good feel for the company. Would it be ok to bring up the fact that I have heard rumors that they are being bought out? Is there even a nice way to ask that?
 
Bowers is a good company overall, they have their pros and cons just as any other company. I've worked there since November 2011 and have complaints just like anyone else. Regarding your concerns about burning bridges, yes, some degree of this is true, but you need to realize that the world of EMS is in it's own category when it comes to a lot of stuff. MOST ambulance companies know that all it's EMT's are there (for the most part) as a stepping stone, be it to nursing school, firefighter, medic school, etc. They usually ask you in the interview where you see yourself in 5, 10 years to gauge what sort of plans you have. I would say leaving them isn't going to burn bridges necessarily, you do need to do what is best for you, but make sure you really understand what you're passing up. I can personally only speak for Bowers but just because it's IFT doesn't mean you can't learn. I've done many ride alongs with LA County and my friends stations and at least the areas/stations I've worked out of, CARE doesn't get to do much on scene except transport the patient with the medic (unless it's a BLS run). My best advice is make a list of pros and cons (less pay, commute, ability to promote/grow i.e. FTO, Field Sup, etc.) and then make your decision. Don't get hung up on losing skills in IFT because you actually do a lot less than you think in 911 and if you pick up ALS or CCT cars in IFT, you learn a lot. I've been on a CCT car for the last 3 shift bids and I always ask the RN questions, I learn a lot more than I think I would learn in a 911 setting, but that's just my personal opinion based on personal experience and what I've talked to my fellow EMS peers about.
 
I love beating dead horses. Live ones run away.
 
No company in our field is allowed to restrict you from working at competing companies. At least according to our operations manager. Had a CE and instructor started along the lines of not being able to work for two, but was stopped by ops.

Don't know much about emergency other than they run woth brea. They're smaller, have nice rigs, everyone seems friendly. Brea is a nice upscale area, so expect more medicals, maybe a few TCs here and there. St. Jude is an awesome hospital to work with.

At CARE we can do alot on-scene, depending on the crew. I'm sure this is thesame everywhere. I've done everything in my scope with crews i know, even full trauma assessments, and I've also been nothing but a strong back. I know i would be hesitant to let someone i don't know treat a patient I'm ultimately responsible for, so I understand hesitation letting random crews do things on-scene.
 
Well I should update: I got the job and so far I like working here. Great company, and great people. I feel I made the right decision :D
 
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