LA County Enough is enough!!
- Thread starter DarksideIV
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Taking an EMT course and then working IFT is analagous to completing the police academy then working as nothing more than a meter maid, finishing the fire academy and then doing nothing but checking/flushing hydrants all day and going door to door to check on people's smoke detectors and elderly wellness checks, or a BSN taking a job at a nursing home.
So that the state can bang you over the head for more money.
Sandog
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Umm, have to disagree, not all transports go as planned. Having someone who is trained to respond to unexpected changes in health condition is vital in IFT. Yes medi-taxi is the norm, but what if a transport takes a bad turn?
Also, the police academy is a bit more involved than an EMT course
Umm, have to disagree, not all transports go as planned. Having someone who is trained to respond to unexpected changes in health condition is vital in IFT. Yes medi-taxi is the norm, but what if a transport takes a bad turn?
Also, the police academy is a bit more involved than an EMT course
But is it worth the cost to simply not call 911?
If there is a turn for the worse, do you think a rusty provider will be much help?
That is like going to a surgeon who hasn't operated in years.
Umm, have to disagree, not all transports go as planned. Having someone who is trained to respond to unexpected changes in health condition is vital in IFT. Yes medi-taxi is the norm, but what if a transport takes a bad turn?
Also, the police academy is a bit more involved than an EMT course
I've done IFT in some capacity for as long as I've been in EMS (August will be ten years), and I can't think of any BLS transports that couldn't be handled by someone with a CPR card and an O2 cylinder. If the patient required any kind of monitoring or med administration, it would be an ALS job.
I never read yet what makes EMT'S skill worth more compare to what majority of company's pay? A company can easily find/hire new EMT in half a day. Yes there are requirement on training etc but it's on paper. If company want to skip those requirement it's unlikely they will ever get caught. The truth is that emt do not have skills that are so valuable and rare that would make them worth more.
When someone get in to business, can you please tell me another reason except money of why they got in to that industry. If someone didn't care about money they would run non-profit organization.
I have read all the reply's and feel like I should ask do any of you know how company get IFT patient? Does it cost them anything in order to get that patient? How about being able to transport every month to month instead of another company getting that patient? Think about what i am asking and reply.
Regarding IFT not being part of EMS. You have a problem here. You need to get state/federal on board. The way system works now been going on for so long that it's unlikely to change anytime soon if ever.
I wish on day one, in every emt school they would display pay scale. Tell the students the real truth about how much they will make. I got a feeling most would not continue with the class.
Regarding IFT not being part of EMS. You have a problem here. You need to get state/federal on board. The way system works now been going on for so long that it's unlikely to change anytime soon if ever.
I wish on day one, in every emt school they would display pay scale. Tell the students the real truth about how much they will make. I got a feeling most would not continue with the class.
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DesertMedic66
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Day one of EMT school here starts out with the dangers of the job and how we could be injured or killed. Then it moves into the pay for EMTs/Medics. Then it goes into how many people won't pass the midterm (normally 50%+ fail out at midterm). Then its just more info on the program.
We have 1 psych facility that will only use our company for transports in and out. Alot of it depends on what facility the patient is at and what facility the patient is going to. All of the other IFT services in this area primarily do dialysis trips, radiation trips, and doctor appoiments. My company does not do any dialysis and vary rarely radiation trips (in 10 months I've done 2) and doctor appointments (in 10 months I've done 1).
Interesting I wasn't aware that students get informed as it seems a lot of them are shocked when they find out how much we pay. The reason that one psych facility uses you exclusively is because of one thing $$$$$. Same thing is true for other company's
DesertMedic66
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I'm 99% sure my company is used for every psych transfer in our valley. We often have to use ALS to take the holds because we are always short on BLS units.
And yes they are made aware of the pay, the danger, the costs, good driving record, and also not being able to be an EMT if they have a felony (they can still take the class if they want).
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Let me ask you another way, why do you think you are the only company that does all this transports? You might say contract but I would call it something else as without it someone else would already gotten some of the contracts.
Because we accept self-pay with no payment due at time of service.
DesertMedic66
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Could be money, could be politics, could be policy, could be alot of reasons. I'm not the one to ask questions for this kind of stuff haha.
Does this really need to be done by the school?
A 150 hour training course, how much could one actually expect to earn?
It takes longer than that to learn to cut hair.
http://www.barbercollegeonline.com/college_info.html
"Student are required and must complete (1500) hours before taking the state exam."
In some states, that's more than a paramedic too.
It is important to understand history.
EMS was developed in the US to give people a ride to the hospital.
With rare exception all treatment protocols end in transport or refusal.
Medicare/Medicade pays for transport and milage.
EMS is not recognized in the US as an independant body of specialized knowledge. It is a training.
Just like a mason, or a plumber, or a carpenter.
Before you talk about how much they make, consider there is always a nonunion person (usually a foreigner who accepts a lower standard of living than most first world citizens) who will put his very soul in to producing a quality product for next to nothing.
For the people who say EMTs are valuable, look at the national pay averages. "just in case" is worth just above minimum wage. Basically a fast food worker with a first aid course.
It is not a career to be a basic. It is a job.
Now somebody will talk about how thier agency pays basics grossly above market value. Certainly they do exist. But they are the exception, not the rule, so you are lucky to have those jobs.
There is a reason firefighters become EMT-Bs at least, it is a handful of hours on top of their other certifications. (measured in hours)
A 240 fire class, 20 hours of hazmat, and an EMT cert is still not 1/3 of a barber. Which is why there are so many fire certs. The more you can do, the more you are worth.
a 150 hour course (using the updated guidlines) is still one of, if not the lowest level of anything health care related.
I know many STNAs who are paid better. You know why?
Because it is more valuable to pay people to do the dirty work (like wiping *** and changing sheets) than it is to have a basic first aid provider "just in case," to do the minimum that will likely not cause harm, with the greatest amount of probability.
Helping your neighbors who cannot afford more is charity. Not a career, even if you are paid a pityful amount to do it.
As for the IFT EMTs, you might actually get paid more, if the state didn't mandate your employer to provide a $90k taxi equipped with stuff you will likely never use.
Unlike a taxi driver, you can't even ask for a tip.
You think it is a joke that many of us say McDs pays better? Look at the salary and benefits for a FT McDs or Starbucks employee.
I come from the generation where an EMT cert was a golden certificate that could ensure I could walk off the job today and be at work tomorrow. But those days are gone. They are not coming back.
Read this website, we constantly talk about how outdated and backwards many EMS treatments are.
In the last 15 years there has been more learned about medicine than in the entire prior history of man. What % of medicine do you think an EMT-B knows?
Mark my words, if paramedics don't shape up and advance themselves, they will be looking at the same fortune in a few years.
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furteher more
EMS instructors who tell you that you need experience as a basic before going on to medic are not looking out for your best interests, they are asuaging their own insecurities.
Nobody claims you should work as a line cook before becomming a chef.
Don't fall for that BS.
EMS instructors who tell you that you need experience as a basic before going on to medic are not looking out for your best interests, they are asuaging their own insecurities.
Nobody claims you should work as a line cook before becomming a chef.
Don't fall for that BS.
indeed