Paramedics

[Tank]

i figured as long as everyone is airing all of their beefs with police and firefighters, you all might as well unload on paramedics, too.

 

have at it, libs!

[Blarg]

They are not doctors.

[mp170.6]

In many urban areas, firefighters are also paramedics so there's no difference. 

[Brandon]

They are actually underpaid. They make shit and most are doing it while trying to do something else like fire fighting or better med jobs. Not to mention the shit they have to put up with because the economy is so bad and people can't affors healthcare that poor people call 911 and have the paramedics sent out for dumb shit so they can be taken care of.....free health care.

 

It's actually a trip. A real good friend does it and tells me stories at the golf course. My childhood friend also interned, so to speak, as one while he tried to get into the fire academy. He had awesome stories about his trips and how he would hangout at the fire station and fire fighters would come in drunk or hung over and sit in the recliners and throw on an oxygen mask and pop in an iv and be fine after a while.

[Glen]

My future brother in law ie going to school to be a paramedic, moving up from EMT. Dude has to study his ass off. I'm going to put them in the underpaid category.

[mp170.6]

They are actually underpaid. They make shit and most are doing it while trying to do something else like fire fighting or better med jobs. Not to mention the shit they have to put up with because the economy is so bad and people can't affors healthcare that poor people call 911 and have the paramedics sent out for dumb shit so they can be taken care of.....free health care.

 

It's actually a trip. A real good friend does it and tells me stories at the golf course. My childhood friend also interned, so to speak, as one while he tried to get into the fire academy. He had awesome stories about his trips and how he would hangout at the fire station and fire fighters would come in drunk or hung over and sit in the recliners and throw on an oxygen mask and pop in an iv and be fine after a while.

 

Are you talking about EMT's driving the ambulances, or maybe a county that has private paramedics who are paid 25% of those employed by government agencies? 

 

In many places, you have to attend the fire academy and become a firefighter first, get some years under your belt, then become trained to be a paramedic. 

[Brandon]

I believe the golf buddy is just an EMT working for AMR. Another is an EMT on the waiting list. And one other was doing some kind of intern program before entering the academy, which he ended up giving up....dude was a bilingual Mexican with hook ups and couldn't get in.

 

All are/were EMT's trying to become fire fighters or fire fighter medics.

[mp170.6]

I believe the golf buddy is just an EMT working for AMR. Another is an EMT on the waiting list. And one other was doing some kind of intern program before entering the academy, which he ended up giving up....dude was a bilingual Mexican with hook ups and couldn't get in.

 

All are/were EMT's trying to become fire fighters or fire fighter medics.

 

Yes, those guys have it rough. 

 

A buddy of mine did that for a couple years while becoming an RN.  He said they paid slightly above minimum wage, with an extra $5 or $10 per call, but that wasn't the worst part.  I went out with some friends to a bar one night and he showed up in the ambulance, not to drink, but to use the bathroom.  The city he worked for was a bunch of dicks and wouldn't let the ambulance workers use the bathrooms at the fire stations. 

[InsideThePark]

You probably couldn't pay me enough to be a paramedic. With all the awful tragedies they have to see and deal with first hand, I don't know if it could ever be worth it. I'd much rather wash my fire truck, sleep, and play video games than deliver patients to the emergency room. 

[LBHalos17]

In this day and age, if you don't already have the minimum of an EMT-cert you won't get hired.  Even FF laterals get passed-over, for people who are more qualified.  As we see in LA, lots of Departments are running short-staffed instead of paying to train from the ground-up.  Departments that have a few openings, are filling them with FF/Medics.

 

This info comes from FF friends and my best friend, who is a FF/Medic/Engineer for Cal-Fire.

 

In response to your comments, ITP..  I can appreciate where you're coming from.  Having to see a lot of trauma-victims (including close-friends and co-workers sometimes) certainly takes its toll.  But, for me, it's easily out-weighed by being in a position where I'm trained to be able to help/rescue people.

 

As far as wages go, we're all paid pretty well to be prepared for the times we need to run toward danger.  

[Ray McKigney]

[mrwicked]

everything i know about paramedics i learned from the documentary "Bringing out the Dead."

 

riiiiiiiise up, i-be-bangin' and start your life anew!

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xU_vcb3kso