Emt

[Snowfairy1004]

Once you are EMT certified, where do you go to volunteer? Is it through fire departments? Hospitals? Ambulance companies?

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[bewitched1081]

emt's work in the hospital. they basically do cna work in the ER. i dont know if they work in other settings. you should find out about that.

 

[ASDIC]

some towns have First Aid and Rescue Squads which purely do volunteer bls ambulance services doing 911 emergencies.

There are some commercial ambulance companies such as Rural Metro that perform medical transport.

Some EMTs work as ER techs monitoring patient's conditions, drawing blood, taking vital signs and patient history.

Some EMTs work for sports organizations such minor league baseball teams, and other pro sports stadiums.

Some EMTs work in the Fire Dept as firemen. Others go into Hazardous Materials operations.

 

[HessExpress]

I'm an EMT-B in training right now...

What I'll be doing upon certification in May is volunteering about once a week at my local volunteer ambulance corps...

If you are planning on becoming an EMT, try to set up a membership w/ a local ambulance corps first.

Why? Because you'll have a hefty bill to front if you don't...probably around $800 for the course and text. If you are sponsored by an ambulance corps they'll cover cost.

I do not recommend becoming an EMT if you are doing this for your resume. It actually is a time consumer what with all the ride along requirements and studying needed.

Do it because you want to, otherwise just volunteer as a certified first responder.

 

[PluckyDuk8]

You have to call around your local area and see what the EMT will get you. Every area is different. Some hospitals will take EMT-B's in the ER as techs (paid) or volunteer or won't take EMT-B's at all. I know most chicago area fire depts. barely use EMT-B's and if they do at all the jobs are paid and hard to get- but I have no clue what goes on in the west near Wheaton. Private ambulance companies are on a paid basis (trust me you do not want to volunteer for them, for the type of work you are doing for them you better be paid for it)- and won't take volunteers because of insurance type reasons. I recommend calling first and seeing what options are open to you before taking an EMT class.

 

[dmitrinyr]

I used to be an EMT-B in NYC for a private company called Metrocare Ambulance Corps. The company was the emergency responce service for Madison Square Garden and Yankee Stadium and so people would often volunteer for those duties. I first thought that this was a good idea and could be fun being a sports fan, but it wasn't what I expected. Usually, if you were assigned to the MSG unit, you would be either running around the arena responding to people getting hit by flying hockey pucks (before they put in nets) or other drunk patrons or sitting outside in an ambulance just waiting. Yankee stadium assignment was even worst, just think dozens and dozens of foul balls flying into the stands per each game including batting practice and 76,000 people amongst at least half of them who had too much to drink. I would have rather have had a regular 12 hr shift. Well, on that note you might want to call the private ambulance companies in your local area. I know that in NYC when I got my certification, there was such a huge shortage of EMTs that they would hire you and train you once you got your certification at a private company. To get a job working for FDNY or a hospital ambulance crew, you would have needed experience and still those jobs were very hard to get.

Good luck.

dmitri

 

[Speedy]

Outside of big cities, you can find local rescue squads/ems units that are volunteer based and serve suburbs/smaller cities/rural areas. Other pay-based ems services sometimes hire EMT-B's (usually as drivers; they attend on BLS calls). My suggestion is to look for a rescue squad/ems unit that is at a paramedic level. This means that one (or sometimes both) of the crew on the ambulance MUST be an EMT-P. Therefore, you get much more exposure to calls where ALS procedures are performed right in the back of the truck - and you usually assist the medic. I believe , if available to you, that this is a much more beneficial experience than riding on a BLS truck where you just load and go. If a BLS crew is your only option, then it is much better than nothing. I have come across 2 med students doing their ER rotations who didn't even know how to use a traction splint. At least you will know the fundamentals! Good luck.

Here's a link to an Illinois EMS site that has links to several rescue squads/fire departments.

Illinois EMS

 

[brats800]

i'll be taking an EMT-B course once i graduate and work for a private ambulance crew for a year while i apply to medschools. just a side-note about having the company pay for your EMT course, they will have you sign a contract saying you will work for them for x years...in the case of the company i will hopefully be working for, it was 3 years if they paid for the full course cost. i decided to just pay it my own way because i'll only be there for a year and i don't want to be tied down with work obligations. they can help you get into the class, as well, because (at least in Wisconsin, where i will be taking the class) the tech schools give preference for the class to those who already have jobs lined up after they finish the class. good luck!

 

[InfiniumEtAl]

Originally posted by PluckyDuk8
You have to call around your local area and see what the EMT will get you. Every area is different. Some hospitals will take EMT-B's in the ER as techs (paid) or volunteer or won't take EMT-B's at all. I know most chicago area fire depts. barely use EMT-B's and if they do at all the jobs are paid and hard to get- but I have no clue what goes on in the west near Wheaton. Private ambulance companies are on a paid basis (trust me you do not want to volunteer for them, for the type of work you are doing for them you better be paid for it)- and won't take volunteers because of insurance type reasons. I recommend calling first and seeing what options are open to you before taking an EMT class.

I Agree with Plucky. (AFLEC)

Although I recommend you do a serious look into the reason you are going to do volunteer. I have found that you can pretty much volunteer anywhere you want, although you may not be actually having any decent clinical experiance or even something juicy to write about on your secondaries. For example if you have clinical experiance already and now you want to have social contact with geriatrics then I would recomend not getting your EMT and simply volunteering as a Psychosocial coordinator in a Nursing Home. If you are looking for pediatric exposure I would try to get a position (Volunteer or not) in a Pediatric clinic or an educational center within the pediatric department.
You should be getting the point. First look for what you need (or want) and then spend your money and time. You will win in the long run.