Freshman EMT Certified Question

[JoshuaGuit]

---

Members do not see this ad.

Hi

I've been reading about students becoming EMT certified and working in hospital ER's during the summers as ER Techs and getting paid for it.

I'm taking my state's practical and written exam at the end of next month and I really want to work for either an ambulance or in the ER as a tech.

The problem I'm having is people in HR taking me seriously. Because I'm only going to be a sophomore in college next year and I haven't become certified yet, they seem like they want nothing to do with me.

I have over 200 hours riding on my university's ambulance and currently hold an attendant position.

To anyone who has worked in an ER or a private ambulance, do you have any advice for me? Should I be applying to volunteer programs instead of paid positions?

Thanks!

 

[apumic]

EMT-Bs are a dime a dozen... or 3 dozen, so the truth is that as a college student and (even moreso) a pre-med you're sort of, well, unwanted. That being said, you can get a job if you work hard enough at it. Be persistent. Getting a volunteer position first might be helpful as is anything else you can do to help make yourself more desirable (even scheduling classes around work, etc.). You're probably going to have to make some sacrifices to be taken seriously. Also, not being licensed yet is probably going to make it difficult. You're likely not "going to be certified in a month" since you probably have several steps you don't realize before that can happen (state and FBI background checks, NREMT-B licensing exam, etc.). It makes sense that if you're not yet licensed, they probably aren't going to consider your application yet.

 

[JoshuaGuit]

Should I be looking for volunteer positions where I'm actually doing things, or the high school type volunteering positions where you make beds and filing?

I've been looking forward to more clinical experience with patient interaction like I get on our ambulance... It would suck to not be doing much :/

 

[45408]

what's wrong with continuing the ambulance work until you can apply for the ER job? I tried to get an ER tech spot when I was pre-med, but I could never get one. They wanted a lot of experience or someone to work a lot of hours. The ambulance job was much more flexible. The ER is probably better experience, but the significance of that in your application is not that great.

 

[JoshuaGuit]

There's nothing wrong with continuing on an ambulance... but the school year at my university ends May 20. I have two more night crews before the end of the year (extremely hard to get scheduled for them).

I called the only non-volunteer ambulance near my home and they have open positions for chair car drivers (whatever that is?), so I'll be applying for that.

Did you have much trouble working on a paid ambulance after you became certified?


My parents want me to have a paying job over the summer, it is either this or retail. I enjoy EMS much more than retail :-D

 

[45408]

No, I was offered a part-time job at 2 of the 3 places I applied, with no prior experience. The third place would only take me if I could work full-time. The pay isn't nearly as good at private ambulance companies as it is in a fire department, so they're always hiring. The place I worked for was extremely flexible with my hours. I had to work 16 hours/month to stay on the payroll, and anything more than that was up to me. I would just call the scheduling supervisor to see if there were any call-ins/special events (they would do stand-by events often) or look on the bulletin board to see if anyone was trying to give up shifts. Getting as many hours as I wanted was never a problem.

 

[EMS5]

As someone with experience working fire dept based EMS, private transport, and having worked in the ER....just get certified. Whether or not you volunteer or work private company for pay depends on whether you need volunteering/com service hours more or if you need the pay more.

 

[jc14]

No, I was offered a part-time job at 2 of the 3 places I applied, with no prior experience. The third place would only take me if I could work full-time. The pay isn't nearly as good at private ambulance companies as it is in a fire department, so they're always hiring. The place I worked for was extremely flexible with my hours. I had to work 16 hours/month to stay on the payroll, and anything more than that was up to me. I would just call the scheduling supervisor to see if there were any call-ins/special events (they would do stand-by events often) or look on the bulletin board to see if anyone was trying to give up shifts. Getting as many hours as I wanted was never a problem.

This.

I'm lucky to live in a fairly urban area where there are a bunch of private ambulance services; I don't think anyone from my EMT class had trouble finding some kind of job. The pay isn't Great at a private service (not too bad), but perhaps the best part is that I get to spend the vast majority of my shift studying. (Or napping, depending on the course load that week. 😀) If the local ambulance service says they're not hiring, check back often. These companies often have quite a bit of turnover...so the fact that they're not hiring this month probably won't pertain to next month.

 

[WuMedic]

Getting hired with a private is not that hard. Since I was already in EMT school and getting trainined with 90%+ on my first 3 of 5 exams, many companies were willing to interview me and I got 3 offers out of the 4 places that I looked (I withdrew from the last once since I already had 3 offers and that station was a good 45 minutes form where I was living). But it all depends on the economic conditions where you are right now and who needs help.

If you haven't started classes yet, then you don't have a chance of an interview. Think about it, if you were the hiring manager, why would you waste time interviewing someone who might not even get certified? Also, in my experience, and I know many will disagree, campus EMS is thought of as a joke by those of us who work on the streets and in the hospital. How much do you REALLY see on a college campus? I take more runs in one or two shifts than most of my campus guys take in a semester. It's good to have on your resume, but know it won't be looked at with a lot of weight.

Finally, I'll give you the advice that our EMS instructors gave us: take the first offer you get out of EMT school. You can keep looking for a better offer, but you're not going to be able to get with the fire department your first day out unless it's volly (and even then). Take whatever you can get (even if its volunteer) and keep looking for a better job.