New Paramedic moving to North Carolina

newbierootie0325

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Hello I am a brand spanking new paramedic and my husband and I am looking to move to North Carolina. I have three years experience in EMS and one of those years was working for Grady in Atlanta and I also got my paramedic education through Grady. My question is I have recently taken a year off of ems becaaue I had a baby and was wondering if anyone can give any insight into where in North Carolina is the best place for ems and beginning my paramedic career while also good for children. I am interested in anywhere surrounding Charlotte and Raleigh but am not limited to just the counties within those city limits. Thanks
 

PassionMedic

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I recently relocated to Charlotte (1yr ago) and am so happy with it. I work for MEDIC, which is the ems agency in mecklenburg county. It has been a great move for us. I love the area and I can honestly say it's one of the best places I work. Feel free to reach out with any questions! And good luck!


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NomadicMedic

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MEDIC in Charlotte is excellent. There are several here who will weigh in on Wake and the surrounding. (Oh @DrParasite ...)
 
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newbierootie0325

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Thanks for the quick replies. Yea my husband is transferring with his company to N.C. and they have yards in Cary, Charlotte, and Winston Salem. So really any of those locations are in the possible plan. I was looking into Medic and we traveled to Charlotte and liked what we saw. From what I gathered Medic reminds me a lot of Grady. If y’all can elaborate on why Medic is so amazing that would be great. Might sound silly but I know I could say a lot of why Grady is nice but also why it isn’t. So hearing y’all point of view on why medic is great is helpful. Also I am really interested in the Raleigh-Durham area because of the healthcare meca they have going in that area. Thanks
 
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newbierootie0325

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Also I forgot but like I said i am a brand new out of school paramedic. I want to go somewhere I can learn and become a good paramedic. I have no ego and what want to be surround by people that will only help me become better.
 

PassionMedic

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I have a friend who works at Grady (I believe) sounds like a solid place to work. MEDIC is extremely supportive of its employees and has a medical director who is active without being punitive. For the most part, our protocols are fairly progressive, and as a new employee you would be partnered with a paramedic crew chief, where you can get your feet under you and grow as a provider. Every place is going to have some bureaucratic bs but by and large there is less here than anywhere else I have worked in my 12 years of EMS. My new hire class was a nice spread of seasoned and 'green' medics and I have seen the newer medics really blossom in their year here so far.
 

DrParasite

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MEDIC in Charlotte is excellent. There are several here who will weigh in on Wake and the surrounding. (Oh @DrParasite ...)
I happen to like the Raleigh area. It's like a large town, without the big city feeling of the north east part of the US (the exception being downtown Raleigh, which has the same urban parking issues, highrises, and overprices drinks, but it's not that big of an area compared to the rest of the city)

I think Wake EMS (and the franchise services in Wake, Eastern Wake, Cary and Apex EMS) are great places for newbie medics, because it allows you to learn the Wake EMS way of doing things.

And if you don't like it in Wake, there are 5 other county agencies within an hour drive of Raleigh.

and in order to save myself a lot of retyping, check out some previous threads on this topic.

https://emtlife.com/threads/north-carolina.44838/#post-630027
https://emtlife.com/threads/what-happened-to-durham-county-ems-north-carolina.45880/
https://emtlife.com/threads/raleigh-nc-charleston-sc-savannah-ga.45645/
https://emtlife.com/threads/north-carolina.44838/
https://emtlife.com/threads/wake-ems.44429/
https://emtlife.com/threads/where-is-the-best-ems-system.44926
https://emtlife.com/threads/moving-to-nc.46197
 
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newbierootie0325

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Thanks for all y’all responses. Just another question. What are the hiring processes like? Competitive? How many start the academies and how many graduate? How many are still employed?
 

DrParasite

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I think competitive is a fair statement. For the areas surrounding Raleigh/Durham, you can expect a written exam, a scenario, an agility exam, and some type of interview. I would imagine MEDIC is similar. check the websites of the individual agencies, most list their hiring procedures.

Not everyone who applies get hired. I've seen academies where as small as 3, and one as large as 50. Most places that run academies are only hiring full time employees; I know of one place that mandates even part time hires complete the entire academy. Not every agency runs an academy, but more are doing it to acclimate you to how they want things done. Personally, I think running an academy for full time new hires is a great step in standardizing how thing are done.

From what I have been told, the academies serve two reasons: 1) to ensure all new hires are told the same information, and to allow for some consistency on departmental protocols and 2) to see how well a new hire can adapt to the way an agency operates in a classroom setting. They don't want to fail anyone, however it's better to remove a new hire in the academy vs in the FTO rotation. Some academies are harder than others. In every academy, people end up quitting (it's not for them), or they get dismissed for various reasons. But the goal is to get you to complete the academy successfully.

I would imagine (and this is only a guess) that 75% of people who start the academy will graduate. As for who is still employed, well, that depends on the agency and the individual. But it's definitely not an impossible task, if that is what you are worried about.

If I can be of any more help, feel free to PM me.
 
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newbierootie0325

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I am new here and don’t think I have the ability to PM but u answered my questions and I am really appreciative of that. I am excited about the academy option and think it is great that North Carolina for the most part has a great thinking to what they want their paramedic to be like. I wish at Grady they would have had a more through academy because my FTO time was very stressful because half of it was just learning their equipment and trucks. Excited about all y’all have told me. Thanks so much.
 

PassionMedic

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MEDIC requires fisdap recently (idr if it's 6 mos or a year) you can take it on site or online (fee, but reimbursed if/when hired) if you need to take it. There's a physical along with a panel interview, medical interview and a trauma scenario.

Academies run every 1 to 2 months. Plus size is generally 15 to 25 and it can be a split of basics and paramedics, depending on need. The Academy lasts 3 to 4 weeks. And then you complete 6 to 8 weeks of time with your FTO prior to being released as a non-crew chief.

Not everyone who applies gets hired, but most people who enter the Academy do graduate. They generally hire only full-time.


While they usually don't terminate those who haven't successfully completed the academy, I HAVE seen them offer a paramedic an EMT position until they can successfully complete/satisfy the medical director to practice at the ALS level.

Our UHU had been a bit high for a while (4+) but has been gradually coming down. We handle both urban/suburban Charlotte and rural areas as well. We run with Charlotte fire and the volunteer fire services in the county, and there is a heavy focus on continuing education (they provide it for you, paid).

I sent you a message, since I saw you didn't know how. And if you have any further or particular questions feel free to ask! Good luck! I hope you find what you are looking for.

Also, consider contacting them to schedule a ride along to see how you like the fit.
 

MoodieBlues

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I recently relocated to Charlotte (1yr ago) and am so happy with it. I work for MEDIC, which is the ems agency in mecklenburg county. It has been a great move for us. I love the area and I can honestly say it's one of the best places I work. Feel free to reach out with any questions! And good luck!

Hi PassionMedic! Glad to hear you like it there. I have a question- I'm attending the assessment 8/24 and wonder if you could shed some light on the hiring process. I am new to EMS but have been working for 20 years, so i'm not totally green to the interview process, just the interviewing process of Medicine and EMS. I understand there's a panel interview- how does that work? Are there any "critical fails," or conversely, anything that'll score extra points that I should be aware of?
Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.
:) Moodie
 
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