IFT to 911 Los Angeles County?

[energystar]

Yeah CARE does. Some days when I get luck we run two calls in the 24 hours

 

[Jim37F]

Can anyone who works for AMR-Irwindale answer some questions on what its like to work there? General stuff like how are the shifts? Hours, days, pay? 911 to IFT? How are the rigs and management? You know, the usual million questions everyone wants to know lol Feel free to PM me if you don't want to post answers publicly.

Thanks guys for all the good answers, really helping me out!

 

[Gurney Jockey]

Shifts are 24 hour shifts on the Kelley schedule, so you work about 10 days a month, which isn't too bad. There are a few 12 hour shifts, but the majority are 24's. All the 24's are based out of stations, which are pretty new, and not too bad either. Recliner's, TV's, showers, fridge, pantry. Even station tones and a little radio box to copy calls on like in Emergency! What more could you ask for? :lol: And when you post, they post you at other stations which you can go inside of/hangout and not get a write-up! (I heard Care writes you up for going into other crews stations). Want to get food? Just tell dispatch you're available in district and get food. Even if it's 11 at night!

The vast majority of calls are 911. I'd say it was an 80% 911 and 20% transfers split. Although the Diamond Bar stations do run a few more transfers than other cars since they're closer to Pomona Valley.

I'm not too sure on pay, that might've changed recently. I was making $9.55 on the 24's, and getting paid for the whole 24. The rigs are all new-ish vans (as usual per AMR), although I saw a bunch of sprinters at Irwindale main waiting to be converted. Management was cool. One supe most people didn't care for, but I never had problems with him. Just as long as you stay out of trouble you won't have any problems.

The medics have it pretty well too. They've got CPAP and IO. Even LAFD doesn't have IO. They're also switching to SFTP's pretty soon and are even getting Lidocaine! Mind-blown! And word is they're supposed to be getting SWAT Medics for El Monte PD. Armored ambulance and all.

 

[Jim37F]

Wow, great info Gurney Jockey! Browsing these forums, some other ANR divisions in other parts of the country don't have the greatest rep, glad to know Irwindale is just the opposite, sounds like a great place.

When I first started this thread I was leaning more towards Schaefer but now I'm leaning AMR, Care as a solid backup (due primarily to distance between me and them, well ok, that and I'm not the biggest fan of the white uniform shirts they wear lol-I know small stuff right? )

Wish I could get some solid info on Schaefer as I've gotten on AMR and Care, just might change my calculations again haha

I'm thinking I'll prob drop an app or two by next week, want to give myself some time to brush up on some of my skills what with only doing IFT these last 4 months (I can put on a cannula and transfer it from the Hospitals to the gurneys to the rigs house tank O2 like a champ, but I figure any of the 911 companies might also appreciate it if I can remember my BVM skills as well)

I'm just curious what the LACoFD FFs and Medics think about the companies they work with

I know yet another long post asking for even more info, and I just want to thank all of you for all the great info you've given me, I really appreciate it! And hopefully maybe someone else wondering the same things can get some answers when browsing through

 

[Gurney Jockey]

Irwindale is not a bad division at all. I enjoyed it there. And the best part is once you've worked 6 months at AMR you can transfer to any AMR division in any state if they have openings!

County fire seemed to like us. Had a few run ins because they can be pretty bone-headed sometimes, but we worked well together for the most part. Although I hear the guys at McCormick are far more willing to jump in and do stuff for county, so they might like them better than us haha.

I can only tell you what I've heard about Schaefer from former employees and people who work there. Apparently you can't sleep during the day at their stations and have to hang out in the tv rooms. And at night you can't leave your station for food after a certain hour (whichever hour they stop paying you), and when you do get woken up for a call they clock you out once you get to the hospital. So you could hold the wall for 3 hours and not get paid a whole 24 since it only took 20 minutes to clear the scene and transport. And the biggest thing I've heard is that their checks do bounce from time to time. It's rare, but it happens. :wacko:

And for the record, BVM's are overrated.

 

[Chris07]

Shifts are 24 hour shifts on the Kelley schedule, so you work about 10 days a month, which isn't too bad. There are a few 12 hour shifts, but the majority are 24's. All the 24's are based out of stations, which are pretty new, and not too bad either. Recliner's, TV's, showers, fridge, pantry. Even station tones and a little radio box to copy calls on like in Emergency! What more could you ask for? :lol: And when you post, they post you at other stations which you can go inside of/hangout and not get a write-up! (I heard Care writes you up for going into other crews stations). Want to get food? Just tell dispatch you're available in district and get food. Even if it's 11 at night!

The vast majority of calls are 911. I'd say it was an 80% 911 and 20% transfers split. Although the Diamond Bar stations do run a few more transfers than other cars since they're closer to Pomona Valley.

I'm not too sure on pay, that might've changed recently. I was making $9.55 on the 24's, and getting paid for the whole 24. The rigs are all new-ish vans (as usual per AMR), although I saw a bunch of sprinters at Irwindale main waiting to be converted. Management was cool. One supe most people didn't care for, but I never had problems with him. Just as long as you stay out of trouble you won't have any problems.

The medics have it pretty well too. They've got CPAP and IO. Even LAFD doesn't have IO. They're also switching to SFTP's pretty soon and are even getting Lidocaine! Mind-blown! And word is they're supposed to be getting SWAT Medics for El Monte PD. Armored ambulance and all.

Posting even on 24s do include street corner posting (Nothing like getting a street post at 3am ...although they are technically limited in how long you can be posted on a street corner in a single shift. 12 hour shifts are hard to come by now. Only a handful exist. Most full-timers are on 24s but there are a good amount of full-time 9 hour shifts. Part timers run 9 hour shifts with staggered start times. The IFT to 911 ratio varies heavily on where you are. 9 hour/12 hour cars run 70% IFT (Based on my experience)....again depends on the time your shift is. All in all, I'm quite happy.

 

[Jim37F]

Shifts are 24 hour shifts on the Kelley schedule, so you work about 10 days a month, which isn't too bad.

Kelley schedule, is that where you work 24 on, 24 off, 24on, 24 off, 24 on, 4x24 off?

Isn't that the same schedule used by both County and City Fire?

 

[energystar]

Kelley schedule, is that where you work 24 on, 24 off, 24on, 24 off, 24 on, 4x24 off?

Isn't that the same schedule used by both County and City Fire?

County yes, LA city has a little bit different of a schedule. Here's the link:

http://lafd.org/shift.htm

I know the reason that CARE follows the Kelley schedule is so that you're constantly running with the same FD crews. I would think the same for AMR out in Irwindale.

Fire is cool but sometimes you run into burned out medics who are on the last 12 hours of a 96. FD will let you grab vitals, place pt on 12 lead, test pt blood glucose, strip a line, bag, cpr and anything else in our scope I am forgetting. The only downside to LA county is that every call is routine. There are a set number of things that have to be done on every call prior to contacting base and they happen on almost every call. Its nice practice placing every pt on a monitor but not really necessary.

I have been doing this for over a year and in my opinion, I think it would be cool to have a medic partner like AMR does outside of LACo. That is just my 2 cents.

 

[Jim37F]

Oh ok. Do you know if anyone is able to do part time school at a CC while working that schedule?

 

[energystar]

Yeah I am a full time student. And have been my entire employment at care.

 

[Jim37F]

Sounds good, once I brush up on my skills I think I'll start applying here real soon!

 

[Jim37F]

Ok, so I took some time to do some studying on my skills, and then a little thing called life took over, and so it wasn't until today I (finally) got my applications submitted to Schaefer Ambulance Service, American Medical Response San Gabriel Valley and Care Ambulance.

For anyone else thinking about IFT to 911, Schaefer's application is a PDF that you have to fill out, print, sign and then either scan back into the computer and email or fax or drop off in person. I scanned and emailed mine. It was 6 pages long FYI, but nothing crazy, normal stuff you'd expect in a job app.

AMR you have have to go through their parent company (EMSC) job search website, and for several days prior to me submitting my application the site was down, but for the most part, fairly easy to use. You do have to create a profile though.

Care is the same, create a profile at their parent company job search site. Unlike the other two which is a scrolling list, Care's is a series of pages where you fill out 5 or 6 (or so) fields and and click to the next page. I actually kind of liked that approach more than the other two as I feel you'll be less likely to want to scroll past a field thinking you'll come back to it later and then forget about it (happened to me on AMR's app, though you'll get the "you missed a required field" error message) Care's is also more in depth than the other two. They also require a 91 question survey to complete the application, so be prepared to spend a few extra minutes on that. Oh also, you have to have an H6 report from the DMV uploaded to complete your profile before they'll get back to you, so go to the DMV first! (I was at the DMV earlier that afternoon too, and didn't even think to get one :glare


Of course in the end those are all largely stylistic differences in whats basically the same thing. Hopefully I'll hear back and maybe get a test and interview sometime soon so I can add some more updates a little more specific to those companies (after all, despite my fluffy post, it doesn't take a genius to fill out a job application

:usa:

 

[Amberlamps916]

Might as well throw in an app to AMR Rancho, it's not very far from Irwindale.

 

[Jim37F]

Might as well throw in an app to AMR Rancho, it's not very far from Irwindale.

I was gonna do just that, Rancho and Irwindale, but at least as of today, Rancho didn't have any openings on the search site, next closest after Irwindale was Santa Clarita which is about an hour away. I'll def keep an eye out for Rancho though

 

[Amberlamps916]

Further Inland, there is Redlands and Victorville.

 

[Jim37F]

Damn, just got this email from Care:

"Thank you for your interest in EMT - Basic with Care Ambulance of California. We are sorry to inform you that you have not been selected to proceed as we have chosen to pursue other applicants who we feel are more qualified. We will be glad to retain your application for six months. After that time, we welcome you to reapply if you haven't heard from us. Once again, thank you for your interest in employment with Care Ambulance of California."

 

[Jim37F]

Further Inland, there is Redlands and Victorville.

Yeah, but that's getting to the point where it's just to long of a commute for me, and do to other circumstances I'm really able to move out that way, maybe down towards San Diego but that's about it right now

 

[Jim37F]

For anyone else thinking about IFT to 911

Care is the same, create a profile at their parent company job search site. Unlike the other two which is a scrolling list, Care's is a series of pages where you fill out 5 or 6 (or so) fields and and click to the next page. I actually kind of liked that approach more than the other two as I feel you'll be less likely to want to scroll past a field thinking you'll come back to it later and then forget about it (happened to me on AMR's app, though you'll get the "you missed a required field" error message) Care's is also more in depth than the other two. They also require a 91 question survey to complete the application, so be prepared to spend a few extra minutes on that. Oh also, you have to have an H6 report from the DMV uploaded to complete your profile before they'll get back to you, so go to the DMV first! (I was at the DMV earlier that afternoon too, and didn't even think to get one :glare

Damn, just got this email from Care:

"Thank you for your interest in EMT - Basic with Care Ambulance of California. We are sorry to inform you that you have not been selected to proceed as we have chosen to pursue other applicants who we feel are more qualified. We will be glad to retain your application for six months. After that time, we welcome you to reapply if you haven't heard from us. Once again, thank you for your interest in employment with Care Ambulance of California."

Ok so I just talked to a guy from Care (one of their EMTs who was posted at the same spot I was) and he said that 91 question personality survey at the end of Cares application is actually pretty important. According to him, you HAVE to select "strongly agree" and "strongly disagree" pretty much every question, apparently he did the same thing as me and pick "agree/disagree" most of the time, got his application rejected, waited the 6 months and then reapplied using the strongly choices on the personality survey, and boom, he's now a Care bear (lol)

 

[energystar]

Sorry to hear that. I would imagine that was probably the reason. You still have other options though that you can focus more on now.

 

[Jim37F]

Sorry to hear that. I would imagine that was probably the reason. You still have other options though that you can focus more on now.

Yeah, there's still 5 other 911 companies in the county, and I got apps at two of them. As far as the other three, well I keep hearing more and more negatives about AmeriCare and Gerber, and McCormick you need a referral just to get considered for an interview.

Plus with the commute to those three it'd be worthwhile to look outside LA Co. I know OC is as messed up as LA Co is and that OCEMS requires a county card. But what about the surrounding counties? I know Inland Counties EMA (San Bernardino, Inyo, and Mono Counties) is fine with just the state card, but what about Riverside, San Diego, Kern, Imperial, Ventura, etc?