It's That Time, KCM1 Now Hiring

FLMedic311

FLMedic311

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1) what are the odds of getting hired if you aren't already a certified paramedic? since they are going to send you through medic school again any way, does it really matter?

2) who handles ALS in north King County?

3) what is the failure rate? meaning, how many people who get hired do not complete the initial training? how many do not complete their first year, or pass their FTO time?

4) assuming you don't complete your first year there (for whatever reason), are their any other comparable places to work, within a reasonable (defining as 1 hour commute) distance? I mean comparable pay rates, conditions, schedule, etc.

5) is the assessment completed in a one or two day process, or do out of towners have to fly to Seattle multiple times to get it done?

6) 8 hours in class, followed by 12 hours on a busy truck, followed by 8 hours in class sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially if they expect you to pay attention at all in class when you are exhausted. do they commonly do this?

is KCM1 part of the county, or part of Seattle fire department? the website makes it look like it's county based, but there are many references to Seattle fire department paramedic units.
 
Y all don't have field blood transfusions and work too much (24/48 right?)
 
I know some of the answers to this, if I’m way off @FLMedic311 can set me straight.

If you’re not a paramedic you still have a chance of getting hired. They’ll send you to school and teach you the King County way. They’ve hired EMTs and medics. I know a few guys who worked as a basic for years and then got hired at KCM1.

North King County is Seattle. Seattle Fire runs everything basically up to Snohomish County. Other fire departments like Bellevue, to the east, run ALS. Their paramedics would be called “Bellevue Fire Department Medic One”. Shoreline has their own medics, right?

South King County is where King County Medic One runs. Renton, Kent, Auburn. If you look at a map you can see it. They are not a fire service, but they are the only paramedic service in king county that is not fire.
 
NomadicMedic said:
North King County is Seattle. Seattle Fire runs everything basically up to Snohomish County. Other fire departments like Bellevue, to the east, run ALS. Their paramedics would be called “Bellevue Fire Department Medic One”. Shoreline has their own medics, right?

South King County is where King County Medic One runs. Renton, Kent, Auburn. If you look at a map you can see it. They are not a fire service, but they are the only paramedic service in king county that is not fire.
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So, are all the medic one's different? different protocols, different pay and schedule, different medical directors? hypothetically speaking, could i apply to KCM1 and then transfer to Seattle Fire medic 1? or Bellevule fire medic 1? or would I have to do all the training again? is the pay the same at all the medic ones? or are they all independently operated groups, who have the "medic one" name but that's all they have in common?
 
RocketMedic said:
Y all don't have field blood transfusions and work too much (24/48 right?)
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No we all don't do blood transfusions and no we don't work 24/48. We do work 24hr shifts, 102 shifts a year to be exact. The schedule is 24on 24off 24on 5Days off with approx. 9 debit days per year
 
DrParasite said:
1) what are the odds of getting hired if you aren't already a certified paramedic? since they are going to send you through medic school again any way, does it really matter?

2) who handles ALS in north King County?
exactly what Nomadicmedic said, The FDs like Seattle, Bellevue, Shoreline, Redmond

3) what is the failure rate? meaning, how many people who get hired do not complete the initial training? how many do not complete their first year, or pass their FTO time?
Hard to say exactly cause I don't know how many apply per year, but hearsay it is a few hundred and we hire based on our current needs, usually not more then 3-4, I dont think it is often that people don't complete training/probation. Yes it has and can happen, but it has been a while since it last did

4) assuming you don't complete your first year there (for whatever reason), are their any other comparable places to work, within a reasonable (defining as 1 hour commute) distance? I mean comparable pay rates, conditions, schedule, etc.
Not unless you become a Firefighter, KCM1 is the only EMS based system


5) is the assessment completed in a one or two day process, or do out of towners have to fly to Seattle multiple times to get it done?
The first part of the the test which narrows it down significantly you can take in your home town, they will mail to testing center. The second part is about 3 days of testing that you must be here for. If you are coming from out of town they will do their best to assist you, Each of the 3 days has a cut, so you only have 3 days of testing if you are seriously in the running with the final part being a oral board. When I tested I stayed for 5 days and touristed it up for a bit too.

6) 8 hours in class, followed by 12 hours on a busy truck, followed by 8 hours in class sounds like a recipe for disaster, especially if they expect you to pay attention at all in class when you are exhausted. do they commonly do this?
Expect to put 60+ hrs per week not including any individual study time. Yes, it is exhausting, Yes it is completely worth it IMO

is KCM1 part of the county, or part of Seattle fire department? the website makes it look like it's county based, but there are many references to Seattle fire department paramedic units.
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NO, other then we all go to training at Haborview together, and Seattle FD is who you ride with during training.
 
DrParasite said:
So, are all the medic one's different? different protocols, different pay and schedule, different medical directors? hypothetically speaking, could i apply to KCM1 and then transfer to Seattle Fire medic 1? or Bellevule fire medic 1? or would I have to do all the training again? is the pay the same at all the medic ones? or are they all independently operated groups, who have the "medic one" name but that's all they have in common?
Click to expand...
Yes we are all different, no you could not simple lateral, although once you have completed training succesfully you would not need to complete it again should you apply and get hired somewhere else in the county. What we all have in common is that we graduate from Dr. Copass's "Medic One" Training Program. That is what it "means" to truly be Medic One, but when you are here you will see other Depts Bite on the name because there is no way to trademark it
 
NomadicMedic said:
I know some of the answers to this, if I’m way off @FLMedic311 can set me straight.

If you’re not a paramedic you still have a chance of getting hired. They’ll send you to school and teach you the King County way. They’ve hired EMTs and medics. I know a few guys who worked as a basic for years and then got hired at KCM1.

North King County is Seattle. Seattle Fire runs everything basically up to Snohomish County. Other fire departments like Bellevue, to the east, run ALS. Their paramedics would be called “Bellevue Fire Department Medic One”. Shoreline has their own medics, right?

South King County is where King County Medic One runs. Renton, Kent, Auburn. If you look at a map you can see it. They are not a fire service, but they are the only paramedic service in king county that is not fire.
Click to expand...
NAILED IT! I will just add that over the past few years we have hired 5 prior medics and 4EMTs, so bottom line is best candidate gets hired
 
Go through medic school again? Yeah, no thanks.
 
What's so special about this "Copassmedic"?
 
How about we don’t pull the ruler out quite yet? Dude was just telling people that they’re accepting apps.

I’m not completely sold on redoing paramedic school myself, but I certainly get them wanting to ingrain their culture. It’s not for all of us clearly, but then again it clearly still appeals to enough people that they’ve yet to change their policies //shrugs//

@FLMedic311 I may have missed the answer that @DrParasite asked, but what exactly is their attrition rate for those who get hired on through their first year?
 
@VentMonkey First and foremost Thanks. I am most definitely not here to brag, we have out shortcomings and there are plenty of other amazing programs out there! But if you think that ours could be right for you, I would be happy to help answer questions and clarify things for you!
Regarding Attrition rate I am not 100% sure but I know it is fairly low, If I had to put a number to it I would Guess 3-5% . One of the primary goals in hiring is trying to make sure that who they hire won't wash out because when that happens it quickly becomes a huge burden on the dept. With that said, getting hired is not a guarantee to completion
RocketMedic said:
What's so special about this "Copassmedic"?
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As prior stated in my comment it is Dr. Copass. He is one of the founders and was the director of the Medic One Program of HMC
 
Thatoneguy1313 said:
Is the 3 years experience a hard requirement? I know it probably is, but sitting at 2 years I figure may as well ask.
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Quite hard. If it is not three years by application end date no luck. Knew a guy who was a day off and was rejected. ONE day. Not saying it is a good or bad thing. Just that it is a hard requirement. If I had the orange book to study I probably would apply.
 
They do turn out some good medics. There’s nothing else that quite compares to their education.

I find it interesting tht many of the services who call themselves Medic One don’t hire Harborview medics. Like Mason County, Gig Harbor and Key Pen. They actually wear a “Medic One” patch. Surprised the Medic One foundation hasn’t found a way to squash that.
 
I just moved to Seattle. I am curious, what is AMR´s role in EMS up here? I have seen both Medic One units and AMR units arrive to same call. Thanks
 
Basically, if it's not acute enough to justify paramedic transport and intervention, AMR gets it.

What criteria does M1 have for ALS assessment and transport?
 
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