Medic One King County, Seattle, etc...

[Patrick Holland]

Hello,

I am currently an EMT-B in Los Angeles County with a 911 company and I know that there is more out there. I am looking to make a move to Seattle or Denver. I have read extensively about Medic One and their program and the protocols, tiered response and medical direction look very inviting. I know that I will have to work as a Basic for either AMR or Tri-Med to get on with either an FD or KCMO. As a Basic in King County will I be doing the same FD gurney jockey stuff that we do in LACo? Can we do assessments, call medics? Or do we just push the gurney and stand there? I have reviewed some old threads saying that the the relationship with BLS and Fire/Medic One is a little touch and go. If there is one thing I can say about LACoFD is that we have a great relationship. So I am wondering if it has improved or if it was non-existent in the first place and someone's feelings just got hurt? Also, I know that down here in SoCal it is extremely difficult to get hired with a career FD such as SFD? I mean, you have a better chance of getting into an Ivy League college than getting hired down here with a career FD. Also, why does SFD have the Medic One Aid Cars that are mods when they can't transport? Just something I noticed and found to be a little strange.

Thank you for your time,

 

[NomadicMedic]

Much of it is situational. However, the majority of what you will do as a BLS provider in King County is IFT, including a decent amount of dialysis and psychiatric patients, and BLS 911 calls where you will hold the stretcher.

The relationship between paramedics and BLS is definitely crew dependent.

I've experienced both the good and bad working with south King County paramedics. I also had varied experiences with the south king County fire departments. During my time at TriMed, I was based in Renton and usually had nothing but great experiences with both the medics and the fire guys on my shift.

That was not always the case.

Also, you will hear horror stories of ALS turfing very sick patients to BLS and medics being canceled by fire and the ambulance crew told to just "run them over to the hospital and stop talking". I thought this was just exaggeration, until I witnessed it myself. Often.

It's a very strange culture, not one I was particularly fond of. I think that King County medical one provides excellent care. I always said that if I experienced a sudden cardiac arrest, I would hope it would be in King County medical ones area. However, if I were merely sick or had a minor injury, I would drag myself across the county line to do anything to prevent seeing fire, county paramedics or a BLS ambulance.

This is one of those things that you almost have to see it yourself and experience some time in the system before you can make a judgment. It seems as though most new providers start in the system, drink the medic one Kool-Aid and then after running some calls see that it's not all peaches and cream. People who work there can tell you and tell you and tell you… But until you see it with your own eyes it's not real.

On the plus side, working as a paramedic for medic one is pretty close to the dream job for most paramedics. Great pay, amazing equipment and training far better than anywhere else in the country.

As for the BLS aid cars, they just carry the crew to the call. The only time an aid car will ever transport is if it's a member of the fire service, a police officer or there are absolutely zero ambulances in the area. Actually, when the department is it full staffing, a fire aid car may transport. Somebody at Renton Fire would occasionally get a wild hair and aid 17 would transport all of the BLS calls. Usually, a day or two later they got tired of it and it went right back to TriMed for BLS.

Medic units, which look identical to the BLS aid car, would always transport ALS patients.

Whatever you decide, good luck.