What do you look for when selecting an EMS job?

What do you look for when selecting an EMS job?

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DrParasite

DrParasite

The fire extinguisher is not just for show
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shift length? (8 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr shifts)

job type (IFT, 911/EMS, SCT)?

pay rate? retirement system and benefits?

availability overtime?

Non-ambulance jobs within the agency (Dispatch, Rescue, education/training, special operations, emergency management/preparedness, etc)

quality of equipment/ambulances provided by agency

coverage area (rural, suburban or urban)

progressive protocols, ability to deviate from cookbook medicine

that's all I can think of so far, so what do you look for in a job, when thinking about where you want to apply for an EMS job/career?

and what is the most important thing you look for?
 
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DrParasite said:
shift length? (8 hr, 12 hr, 24 hr shifts)

job type (IFT, 911/EMS, SCT)?

pay rate? retirement system and benefits?

availability overtime?

Non-ambulance jobs within the agency (Dispatch, Rescue, education/training, special operations, emergency management/preparedness, etc)

quality of equipment/ambulances provided by agency

coverage area (rural, suburban or urban)

progressive protocols, ability to deviate from cookbook medicine

that's all I can think of so far, so what do you look for in a job, when thinking about where you want to apply for an EMS job/career?

and what is the most important thing you look for?
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I looked at all of those things, and more. I think it's important that you make a list of desirable features when you’re looking to make a job change.

From personal experience, I decided to find a service where I would have a career, rather than just an EMS job. The non-negotiable items for me included: No SSM, no BLS interfacility, a strong retirement package… preferably a government pension, better than average wages, a focus on education, a clearly defined promotional ladder, progressive protocols and a shift schedule that fit with my life. I didn’t particularly want to work for a fire based EMS agency, nor did I want to work for a private.

I found all of that at Sussex County EMS.
 
Should of added, third service, private, hosp. based, or private. Because that is big consideration for me.



I look for third services
 
Any ambulance company that would hire a 19 year old with no job experience. And I literally mean any.

I'm in Cali so we don't really have the option to "shop around".
 
I didn't see my favorite option, sooooo I picked transport type. I would have picked "job availability" if it was an option. I feel like I would pretty much take anything offered to me if I was unemployed and really looking for work. It's always great to have those options though.
 
What's important will change depending on where you are in your life and career.

When I was starting out, I would take any available position, to build a resume. This was to assist in landing a position in a hospital based 911 EMS hospital, which provided a good salary and medical benefits. Everything else was secondary to these items.

As time went on, I got married and began having children. Retirement and job stability in an all 911 system became more important. For this reason, I excluded any and all non municipal services as a long term career option.

Now, since I didn't live in Texas or Washington State, and my wife was not willing to move to either state, fire based EMS was the only way I'd consider being an EMS "lifer." I chose an amployer with exceptional pay, benefits, retirement, fairly progressive protocols (compared to NYC where I'm from), top of the line equipment and apparatus, and good job security.

At some point, if you're looking to do EMS full time for the long term, you'll need to find a place with the best retirement and benefits at some point, wherever that may be, or retire poor.

The good thing is, in my area, if I ever wanted to drop my ALS cert with the county, I could still work per diem as a medic for several surrounding counties, and I can also work per diem IFT, which I do at the present. I don't plan on dropping my ALS cert with the county, but if my ALS status prohibits me from advancing in other areas of the department, I can drop it for a while and then get reinstated as ALS after I get into the position that I want.

That's the benefit of a fire based system. Many in EMS burn out 7-10 years in. Some people talk about leaving EMS and then maybe getting back in later. I can do that if I want, and still keep my job and tenure. It's being pigeonholed into "field provider" for life that burns out a lot of people. Too bad more places don't have their own education department or run their own paramedic schools. It would be a good way to get potential burnouts off the road.
 
I know on average EMS does not get paid well around the country, and that we say that we are not in this for the money. Which is true, but at some point you must retire and I think a good retirement and benefits are important. You want to know you are ok financially once you hang up your hat and retire.
 
Fish said:
I know on average EMS does not get paid well around the country, and that we say that we are not in this for the money. Which is true, but at some point you must retire and I think a good retirement and benefits are important. You want to know you are ok financially once you hang up your hat and retire.
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As far as not doing it for the money, that may be true for many of us in the beginning. But as time goes on, the priorities change, like you say.

At some point, it does become about the money. I think that many people look at a half dozen or so things they could see themselves doing for the long term, and then choosing the option that pays well. I think this reality contributes to the attrition in EMS. At some point along the way, we go from living with our parents, to assuming debt, then looking to move out, then thinking about marriage, possibly buying a house, and affording children.

Edit: What did it for me was seeing how so many of my poor, elderly patients lived. That was the turning point in my way of thinking. I simply didn't want to end up like these poor souls, with lousy nutrition, sometimes no heat, A/C, or electricity, alternating which meds they buy each month due to cost, living in rough areas due to the need for rent controlled apartments, etc.
 
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I would also like to add company reputation, I don't want to have a company on a resume for a future job that did some shady stuff that puts me in a bad light.
 
KyleG said:
I would also like to add company reputation, I don't want to have a company on a resume for a future job that did some shady stuff that puts me in a bad light.
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Then you should stay away from most private ambulance companies. ;)
 
n7lxi said:
Then you should stay away from most private ambulance companies. ;)
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Wish I can out here in SoCal EMT's can only do private. :lol:
 
Job type: 911 mainly for me, as I like the challenge it presents (on legit calls), and the fact that you're always in a different locale. I'd prefer all 911, but understand that every non-fire job in my area that does 911 also does transports. I'd also like to do SCT/CCT at some point, which my agency does.

I got that.



Pay rate: It's not all about the money, but money sure helps. $40k+ starting is good money, especially in your early 20's. Also have benefits, which I believe are extremely important. I get PTO and sick days, but also have several days that I can call off, paid, no questions asked. Agency also provides life insurance and disability. I wish insurance were paid for by the agency, but can't get it all. Premiums are small, anyhow.

Wish we also got a pension plan, but we're provided something akin to a 401k... but then again, the agency matches contributions 1.5x up to 7.5%, which is fantastic.


I got that.



Quality of equipment/ambulances: The more money the agency puts in to equipping their crews, the more you can tell they actually care about their crews, and giving them the tools they need to do their job safely and well.

I got that.



Progressive protocols: I like agencies that are at the forefront of EMS, coming out with new ideas that end up being picked up nationally. I can't be with an agency that thinks it's still the 1970s and you need to call in for everything.

I got that.





Everything is important, just some more than others.


Shift length, while not one of my top things, is still something I look at, as I prefer 12hr shifts the most. 8 would be great... if I still only had to work 4 days a week AND made the same yearly money :D

Overtime is not an issue at my agency, though unlike my last agency, this one doesn't consistently force you to work OT if you don't want to. They're there if you want, not if you don't.

Non ambulance jobs, my agency has plenty, from clinical to safety to dispatch to office work. However, at this point in my career, I'm perfectly content with the field.

Coverage area: I loved rural medicine. You had a lot more autonomy and freedom in what you did, but also had a lot more self reliance on just you, since it IS just you as it can take 30 minutes for a backup Paramedic. However, you don't necessarily get the experience that someone in my stage of my career needs, which urban medicine provides.

But I sure to love driving 15 minutes to work than nearly 2 hours...
 
In this economy in this state: Are they hiring?

I know this site is filled with super EMTs and Medics but you can't be picky here.
 
FourLoko said:
In this economy in this state: Are they hiring?

I know this site is filled with super EMTs and Medics but you can't be picky here.
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Really? I could afford to be picky. I was offered 4 positions, and turned them all down to work where I am now.
 
n7lxi said:
Really? I could afford to be picky. I was offered 4 positions, and turned them all down to work where I am now.
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He means California as an EMT-B, not the rest of the US as a Paramedic :P
 
n7lxi said:
Ohhhh. Gotcha. Cali sounds like the worst possible place in America to try and get an EMS job.
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Or an affordable house, or a road with out traffic, or a neighborhood without crime, or a city with a school system that is not over crowded.
 
Salary and benefits is first. Need to pay the bills and have a somewhat decent quality of life for the kiddos and myself.
 
18G said:
Salary and benefits is first. Need to pay the bills and have a somewhat decent quality of life for the kiddos and myself.
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But that only goes so far. Great salary but lousy shifts and crummy equipment won't do.

It really is a balancing act to find the right situation for what each person feels is important.
 
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