Sussex County DE

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Buster

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I'm looking for info on Sussex County DE.

I am unable to send a PM, so n7lxi, if you could please e-mail me, I have a few questions.

Thanks!
 
Write a few more posts and send me a PM. :)

Or, ask your questions here. There is a lot of interest in SCEMS, maybe others would like info too.
 
Can't talk ya into email huh? :-)
 
Buster said:
Can't talk ya into email huh? :-)
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We don't allow members to share their email addresses. Post three more messages, wait a while, and you should be able to PM n7lxi.
 
n7lxi said:
Write a few more posts and send me a PM. :)

Or, ask your questions here. There is a lot of interest in SCEMS, maybe others would like info too.
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How long have you been at SCEMS?

I understand it's very competitive; can you give me the down and dirty on the out of state medic orientation? How about the PAT?
 
I've been at Sussex County for about a year and a half.

Yes, the selection process is very competitive. Between 50 and 60% of our interview candidates don't make it past the medical/practical portion of the interview. It's not a written test, it's a panel interview conducted by supervisors and field training officers.

If you make it past the medical/practical, you'll be invited to an admin interview… Just like a "Chiefs board". You'll meet with the senior administrative staff and they'll see if you're a good fit for the system.

Following that typical medical, drug screening, psych, background check.

The PAT is more of a functional job analysis then a regular physical agility test. For example, you may be tested while carrying our gear, on a treadmill then a stairstepper then on to two minutes of perfect CPR and then a fine motor skills assessment. The whole thing takes about 25 minutes to a half an hour.
 
Sounds like a pretty intense process.

Could you give me an example of a question they may ask? i know each place has their own "style".
 
I really can't. Somebody asked me what they should study... And all I could say was, "know everything."

It's a very in depth grilling on paramedic knowledge. And there is no way you can guess or bluff your way through it. :)
 
n7lxi said:
I really can't. Somebody asked me what they should study... And all I could say was, "know everything."

It's a very in depth grilling on paramedic knowledge. And there is no way you can guess or bluff your way through it. :)
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Wait, you mean they actually want their paramedics to know what they are doing?!? Hogwash! haha

Why can't SCEMS be on the West Coast? :(
 
Because if it wasn't here I wouldn't have met my fiancé. :)

And don't tell anyone, but most of us believe that Fire suppression and ALS are mutually exclusive. :/ Candidates with the "fire departments should run ALS" mentality don't last very long.
 
n7lxi said:
Because if it wasn't here I wouldn't have met my fiancé. :)

And don't tell anyone, but most of us believe that Fire suppression and ALS are mutually exclusive. :/ Candidates with the "fire departments should run ALS" mentality don't last very long.
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Good enough reason haha.

I agree with that.

I'd love to apply to you guys but I can't see myself living in DE after some research. Not the right atmosphere for a mountain boy like myself.
 
Yeah. Nearest skiing (that doesn't suck) is Maine, NH or Vermont.

And I live next to a soybean field.

|^| _________________________

(My house, the view)

But, In the plus column… I'm 90 minutes from DC, closer to Baltimore. About 90 minutes from Philly and about 2 1/2 hours from New York City.

There's lots to do if you want to hunt for it, I live in a small town but that doesn't mean I'm stuck here. Plus the schedule is awesome, there's tons of overtime, the money's great, the system is amazing, the educational benefits are phenomenal… I could go on and on
 
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I think it's great that there is a place that wants their Medics to know stuff. I'm just worried that I may have forgotten something little in my 10 years, and that might cost me :P Guess I'll re-read the Medic books before I apply.

Having an exclusive ALS service, not associated with any Fire sounds like the best system. Delaware may be small, but it looks like they have the best ALS services around.

What's the schedule like? Coming from out of state, I understand that the orientation is intense, but can you talk about that anymore?
 
We all work 12s and have 4 platoons. A tour is 2 12 hour days followed by 2 12 hour nights, then 4 days off.
 
As far as interview questions,

Are the questions like this:

Tell me what CHF is, what the patho is behind it and what can we do to treat it?

Or are they like this:

You respond to the mall for a male patient in his 50's complaining of chest pain, as your approach, etc etc etc.......

Not looking for you to go into detail and give away the integrity of the interview process, just curious the way you guys do it up there.

Also, I heard you mention that candidates who think Fire should be doing ALS do not last long. Does that mean there is a push up there by the FD's to run EMS?
 
No. There is no push for fire to run ALS. It's just a very different system here. People who come from the west coast are amazed. There is no private ambulance 911 (with the exception if Wilmington in New Castle County). Fire does BLS, period. There is no "career" fire, it's all volunteer, with the exception of paid EMTs who run ambulance calls and consider themselves "career firefighters".

And, sorry... All I can say about the questions are you'll get a mix of everything. Some scenario, some very specific patho type.
 
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n7lxi said:
No. There is no push for fire to run ALS. It's just a very different system here. People who come from the west coast are amazed. There is no private ambulance 911 (with the exception if Wilmington in New Castle County). Fire does BLS, period. There is no "career" fire, it's all volunteer, with the exception of paid EMTs who run ambulance calls and consider themselves "career firefighters".

And, sorry... All I can say about the questions are you'll get a mix of everything. Some scenario, some very specific patho type.
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There is a private 911 provider in New Castle county, that is an ALS ambulance service? Hmmm, I thought the County EMS system ran all 911 calls in their counties and wer the only ALS providers.
 
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