McCormick Ambulance Interview Prep

A couple thoughts for the OP (meant to be helpful):

Which of these sounds better?
- "Hey guys, Third time posting and (coincidentally) third time looking for help! I have an interview in less than 24 hours and I need a couple "silver bullet" answers so I can get this EMT job so one day I can be a Fireman!"

- "Hey folks, I have an interview for McCormick Ambulance in 2 weeks and was wondering if anybody works (or has worked) there. Specifically, I am curious about the work conditions, type of calls and culture of the agency. I have spoken with HR and have a ride-along coming up but would like to have some idea of what to expect. This will be my first EMT position. Thanks."

Which one of the two would YOU be more willing to help?


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I think we may have scared him away.

gonefishing said:
If your looking to become a fireman they will hire you.
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JustinFranken said:
Well that's perfect! That's the end game goal.
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OP, when you answer in this manner just be advised that you may not get the warmest reception on here. VentMonkey, gotshirtz, gonefishing, and myself have been pretty lax with the topic. Others probably won't be. Heed this post:

gotshirtz001 said:
A couple thoughts for the OP (meant to be helpful):

Which of these sounds better?
- "Hey guys, Third time posting and (coincidentally) third time looking for help! I have an interview in less than 24 hours and I need a couple "silver bullet" answers so I can get this EMT job so one day I can be a Fireman!"

- "Hey folks, I have an interview for McCormick Ambulance in 2 weeks and was wondering if anybody works (or has worked) there. Specifically, I am curious about the work conditions, type of calls and culture of the agency. I have spoken with HR and have a ride-along coming up but would like to have some idea of what to expect. This will be my first EMT position. Thanks."

Which one of the two would YOU be more willing to help?
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We're more than willing to help if you conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. Most of us including myself disregard people who become a medic just to get on with a FD. Even though a FFPM is my end goal I'm going to medic school for all the right reasons, you can probably reference my previous post to get that idea. Just some constructive criticism for any future postings you have on here.
 
Look, it's not my first job as an emt. You guys can talk all the smack you want and that's fine. I was just genuinely searching for some tips that maybe would help me stand out in the process. No, I don't want to be a medic for the fire shirt. I genuinely think it would be cool to drop lines and push meds to actually intervene in my patient care. I didn't mean to rub anyone the wrong way I just saw others actually reach out on here and get some helpful responses rather than people bashing them
 
CALEMT said:
I think we may have scared him away.




OP, when you answer in this manner just be advised that you may not get the warmest reception on here. VentMonkey, gotshirtz, gonefishing, and myself have been pretty lax with the topic. Others probably won't be. Heed this post:



We're more than willing to help if you conduct yourself in an appropriate manner. Most of us including myself disregard people who become a medic just to get on with a FD. Even though a FFPM is my end goal I'm going to medic school for all the right reasons, you can probably reference my previous post to get that idea. Just some constructive criticism for any future postings you have on here.
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Thanks for the help.
 
JustinFranken said:
I genuinely think it would be cool to drop lines and push meds to actually intervene in my patient care.
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And statements like this further reflect your lack of life experience. Good luck, it sounds (solely based on your posts) like you have quite a bit of growing up to do.

And this is nowhere near a sufficient reason to be a good paramedic, though some may argue it's perfect for most fire-based EMS in and around SoCal.

Hey maybe you and @CALEMT will get to meet one another at many-a-fire department application hubs. I hope you like sitting in an arena full of would be fire applicants.

I will say that guys with your mindset really devalue what it is paramedicine could be. Oh, and this too is not my first EMT job:).
 
VentMonkey said:
And statements like this further reflect your lack of life experience. Good luck, it sounds (solely based on your posts) like you have quite a bit of growing up to do.

And this is nowhere near a sufficient reason to be a good paramedic, though some may argue it's perfect for most fire-based EMS in and around SoCal.

Hey maybe you and @CALEMT will get to meet one another at many-a-fire department application hubs. I hope you like sitting in an arena full of would be fire applicants.

I will say that guys with your mindset really devalue what it is paramedicine could be. Oh, and this too is not my first EMT job:).
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Yep, nail on the head. Thank you for telling me all about myself
 
JustinFranken said:
I have an interview for McCormick ambulance tomorrow and I was wondering if anyone had any tips. I know there's gonna be a written test, dummy drag, and skills assessment. However, I was just wondering if anyone had any major tips! What to brush up on or how to really win them over. Thanks in advance for any help!
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set a ridealong up with them, and ask the emt you ride with. i just finished my emt class and waiting to take my national, but i hear that an emt that brings somebody in gets a bonus for the new hire. good luck man, and let me know how it goes....
 
JustinFranken said:
Look, it's not my first job as an emt. You guys can talk all the smack you want and that's fine. I was just genuinely searching for some tips that maybe would help me stand out in the process. No, I don't want to be a medic for the fire shirt. I genuinely think it would be cool to drop lines and push meds to actually intervene in my patient care. I didn't mean to rub anyone the wrong way I just saw others actually reach out on here and get some helpful responses rather than people bashing them
Click to expand...

Thick skin is also required... Best of luck.


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medTech65 said:
set a ridealong up with them, and ask the emt you ride with. i just finished my emt class and waiting to take my national, but i hear that an emt that brings somebody in gets a bonus for the new hire. good luck man, and let me know how it goes....
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Thanks man! Good luck on your national! Study hard and you'll nail it. I've been an EMT for a year now and just wanted a change of pace from BLS IFT. Appreciate the help!
 
gotshirtz001 said:
A couple thoughts for the OP (meant to be helpful):

Which of these sounds better?
- "Hey guys, Third time posting and (coincidentally) third time looking for help! I have an interview in less than 24 hours and I need a couple "silver bullet" answers so I can get this EMT job so one day I can be a Fireman!"

- "Hey folks, I have an interview for McCormick Ambulance in 2 weeks and was wondering if anybody works (or has worked) there. Specifically, I am curious about the work conditions, type of calls and culture of the agency. I have spoken with HR and have a ride-along coming up but would like to have some idea of what to expect. This will be my first EMT position. Thanks."

Which one of the two would YOU be more willing to help?


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I totally see where you're coming from on this. That's my fault and I should've approached the situation better.
 
JustinFranken said:
I totally see where you're coming from on this. That's my fault and I should've approached the situation better.
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All good. Be sure to follow up and let us know how it all goes. Also, feel free to jump into other conversations as you can learn a lot from the different discussions.


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JustinFranken said:
Thanks man! Good luck on your national! Study hard and you'll nail it. I've been an EMT for a year now and just wanted a change of pace from BLS IFT. Appreciate the help!
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i hear you brotha. im still undecided if i want to start off as an EMT for IFT just because i know it will be a slower pace in order to be slowly brought into the process of becoming the best emt i can be. hopefully down the line when the dinero is good, paramedic school is in the books for me too. i started this also to try and become a firefighter, but half way into the program, i kinda of put the firefighting dream on the back burner and became more infatuated by this medical field. the human body is amazing...and even better when someone has the ability to maintain its life form!

GODS GIFT to everyone with that badge that has the Star of Life on it. thanks for the love....i need every ounce of luck possible!
 
gotshirtz001 said:
You're pretty much wrong for 5 years and your name is often used as a punchline.
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What's the average time it takes to make it to worthy of the "La-Z-Boy" recliner status?
 
medTech65 said:
i hear you brotha. im still undecided if i want to start off as an EMT for IFT just because i know it will be a slower pace in order to be slowly brought into the process of becoming the best emt i can be. hopefully down the line when the dinero is good, paramedic school is in the books for me too. i started this also to try and become a firefighter, but half way into the program, i kinda of put the firefighting dream on the back burner and became more infatuated by this medical field. the human body is amazing...and even better when someone has the ability to maintain its life form!

GODS GIFT to everyone with that badge that has the Star of Life on it. thanks for the love....i need every ounce of luck possible!
Click to expand...
You got it man! It's a great job. If I had to do it all over again I would've started off as a 911 provider but thats just me. It's all about the pace you want to take. It sounds like you're pretty comfortable so maybe look at some 911 companies! Welcome to the EMS family.
 
gotshirtz001 said:
All good. Be sure to follow up and let us know how it all goes. Also, feel free to jump into other conversations as you can learn a lot from the different discussions.


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Copy that! Thank you for the advice it does mean a lot to me.
 
VentMonkey said:
What's the average time it takes to make it to worthy of the "La-Z-Boy" recliner status?
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Haha... Depends on the dept.
For many, it's the day after you clear probation... Which also tends to be the day you have a few conversations with those who made it on your "f@ck you" list.


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To the OP, you have to come up with some more insightful reasonings why you're wanting to become a paramedic not just to me, but to many others, including any potential FD's that may offer sponsorship.

Let's say you work for an non-transporting FD as an ALS paramedic and hand off to the ambulance paramedics. You don't want to be that Richard treating them less than because you so happen to be in a firehouse filled with knuckle dragging "medics" who may wish to engrain this culture in their probies; it's very much a sad reality. We kid a lot on here, but "Gotz" had an excellent post from a thread in which he remarked how the smart paramedics had to learn to "play the game" with firehouse culture. I can tell you now fire-based EMS is way different from single-role EMS. With single-roles that's literally all that they do day and night...these people deserve respect, pensions or not!

Look man, I too once wanted to be a nozzle, then things changed for me. You have to earn respect in life, and even on this forum. As @Chimpie has on his siggie "think before you post" because whether intentional or not, you might leave a bad taste in the mouths of many of your peers on this forum and while you may say or think "big whoop", this industry is A LOT smaller than one could imagine. Case and point, McCormick's last (current?) paramedic coordinator is an ex-Hall guy; a solid dude and was an excellent supe FWIW.

If you feel what I am saying then you can respect I have been doing this since you were probably in grade school and don't care all that much what you think, but did just take the time to try and impart some pearls I have picked up over a few years; food for thought, take it however you want.
 
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