How was your 911 newbie experience?

[adamNYC]

Guys that do 911: When you first started doing it, what was the experience like for you? I'm curious about your experiences so I can have an idea what to expect.

Was there an official orientation length or probationary period?
If so how long did this period last? Did you ride along as a 2nd or 3rd man?
Did your preceptor eventually allow you to take the lead on doing things?
Who drives and who sits in the back w/ the pt?
How long until you felt confident to take the lead on most things, including training new guys?
Were you ever paired up with someone new when you still felt new?
How long it took you to get confident with most things?

Anything you guys wanna add, awesome.

Thanks alot guys.

 

[DesertMedic66]

Started about 3 months after my EMT class finished.

It was and still has been a great experience. I was lucky to get hired by an amazing company with amazing supervisors and coworkers.

It was 2 full weeks of classroom training followed by a 2 day EVOC class.

Once I got on the ambulance it was 15 twelve hour shifts as a third person. For the first 2 days it was just sitting in the back watching and helping the medic. On day 3-15 I acted as the only EMT on scene with the medic.

New have to be with our training officer at all times so if he/she is in back with the patient then so are we. If they are up front routing us to a call then we are up front driving.

For training new guys our policy is that you have to be with the company for at least 1 year and pass the application and interview process. Let's just say the majority of our FTOs all have over 5 years of experience with the company at their current level of training. I'm not an FTO at my company and I don't plan on doing it anytime soon.

I was placed on a BLS unit right after I finished my training. My partner was also a new EMT who was with the company for about 1 month part time. It took me a good 5 months to feel completely comfortable running on a BLS unit.

Once I moved up to ALS it took me about 2 months to feel comfortable.

 

[adamNYC]

3 months after EMT certification you got into 911? Nice. Volunteer or paid? Any IFT you had to do prior to 911?

 

[DesertMedic66]

Yeah 3 months. It's a fully paid company (there are no volunteer companies here) and no IFT was done prior. The company is a 911/IFT company. We do mostly 911 calls and events with some IFTs mixed in. We get +25,000 calls annually.

 

[Angel]

i have no idea if you work at amr but i am definetly trying to get hired with them!

since im not going to count my first job that was associated with 911...long story
i didnt get any exposure until my medic field internship. it was different to say the least, and i had some trouble adjusting to being an investigator and figuring out what was actually wrong (ie investigate their complaints because its not always what they say it is) instead of having a nice packet full of info handed to me (i did IFT about 1.5 years prior).
its an adjustment that will take time. i dont have too much exposure as an emt, but as a new medic its a whole new ball game. everyones looking at YOU for all the decisions so.
at my 911 job its a 10 ride (shifts) until you are clear to ride on your own. its different than most companies because they dont care too much about als/bls skills. their logic is you should already know what you need to know having passed all your training so they arent going to teach much on that (emts have to learn the monitor (placing leads)) and stuff like that, but for the most part its getting to know the county and how to operate their radios ect.

 

[adamNYC]

angel: did you have to so x number of intubations on duty before you get cleared? How many lead EKG? I'm only familiar with the 3 and 5 lead from being a PCT

 

[Angel]

For my job no. They don't really care about that. For my internship sort of. We had "goals" total of 5 intubations between OR and internship. I had 4 and probably over 100 12 leads but I stopped counting at a certain point. If we didn't meet our goals we could be sent back to the OR or ER but I had enough in every category they measured being at a busy station

 

[imshal717]

I went from school into a large combined 911/IFT service right of school as well. Only been working a month so I'm still a newbie.

Our orientation was 1-1/2 weeks of classroom time which included 1 day of EVOC. After that was field training. EMTs do 48-96 hours in 12 or 24 hour shifts as a third rider. Medics do 6 weeks. Personally, I did 4 12 hour rides as an EMT. First two shifts I did all the driving. Second two shifts was all patient care and assisting the medic. To clear training we are expected to run a BLS call as the lead from making contact, assessing, directing the medic and othe EMT, riding the transport (with the medic observing) and passing off to the hospital.

Still working on getting comfortable but I've worked with some good medics. All but one have had several years experience as medics and the one guy who was a new medic had been an EMT for several years and we worked well together. We stay pretty busy so things are getting more comfortable every day.

 

[PotatoMedic]

I went to EMT school and right of of school I was now acting as "Lead EMT" on my shift at my fire station for the volunteer fire department I was at. Pretty much I crapped my pants every call until a more experienced EMT showed up. Then I got a job as an EMT about 6 months later and did a mix of 911/IFT and that is when I started to feel comfortable. The biggest thing was getting around people I trusted as EMT's and learning from them. And since I did 911 and IFT's I feel comfortable doing both.

 

[Tigger]

I worked at an IFT place that did some 911 prior to getting on where I am now, but I could have been hired with zero experience.

Everyone starts as a part timer. Six 12 hour third rides (two with each shift) with direct evaluation and a series of operational and clinical sign-offs make up the first phase. After clearing that you are eligible to pick up shifts but may only work with a fulltime paramedic. Exceptions are sometimes made for those with significant previous experience or if the part time paramedic has been around for a bit. During the subsequent year you remain a probationary employee with a taskbook that you must complete by that time with additional clinical and operational competencies. We do have field training officers or anything like that. All fulltime staff (the 15 of us) are expected to play that role. It is up to the new employee to decide what they need help with and bring that to the crews attention (which I have issues if, but alas). Upon the completion of that year, you become a sworn member.

One of my part time places requires three week academy, 14 "clinical" shifts with a field trainer, 14 "operational" shifts with a field trainer, a variety of written tests, and a 12 hour orientation shift with the fire department.

It varies.

 

[avdrummerboy]

For both EMT and medic, we do 9 24 hour shift trainings as a third rider with a task book to be signed off by the end of training.

 

[Jason]

I started EMS when I was 17. Started at a volunteer agency. Got my EMT when I was 18. Got precepted and become an AIC before I was 19. Stayed an EMT for about 7 yrs, got my VA Cardiac Tech (similar to Intermediate, at the time), stayed at that level for about 6 yrs, then got my NR-Paramedic and have been a NRP for about 10 yrs. I've done some paid work. I left paid EMS to go back to the hosp setting. I still volunteer, and love it.
Precepting periods and requirements have varied from agency to agency.
It took a few months to really feel comfortable with being an AIC, at both basic and medic levels.
Like many, I started riding as a 3rd. Then as I progressed and got cleared to do things, I rode as 2nd. Years later, I find myself fine with being 3rd on the truck again and letting the newer people "give it a try". I'm comfortable riding 2nd or 3rd, either way ... I'm the medic on the truck and ultimately ... the fun is mine

 

[NiteTimeNick]

I carried the vent bag and felt like a big boy ; )

 

[adamNYC]

BVM right?

 

[NiteTimeNick]

BVM right?

Yep, BVM. Adult, pediatric, and neo-natal, amongst other things.