Questions for Florida based providers

[emt217]

I lived in the Plantation/Ft. Lauderdale area for a few months in early 2007, then moved to Naples. I had taken some time off from EMS and had gone back into Fire Alarm/Security systems. Just needed a breather for personal reasons. I moved back to West Virginia in early 2008 due to parents health failing. I am now back into EMS and start Paramedic class next week. From the short time I lived there, I know most EMS is Fire based, and I'm not sure about other providers, ie: AMR. Do the non fire based EMS run transport only, or are they on the 911 system as well? Is the pay decent? Opportunity for overtime? (I currently work 100+ hours a week, I kid you not!) I know it's alot to ask, but I don't wanna move back just to run dialysis/appts. I also wanna make enough to live. I could get my FF 1 and 2 here, but to be honest, firefighting isn't for me. Any info appreciated.

[akflightmedic]

To be honest:

1. If you obtain you FF I and II OUTSIDE the state of Florida, most likely you will have to redo the academy when you arrive as it is very difficult and rare to get reciprocity for fire through the state. The reason is FL requires more hours than most fire programs instruct, therefore you will not meet their minimum requirements.

2. Yes most of the state is fire/ems with fire constantly trying to take over the few places remaining which are sole EMS. There are only a couple EMS systems which are not private that are able to hold their own. So, if you move to Lee County or Lake-Sumter County, then you are in luck. If you live in any county central or south Florida, you will need fire for about 99% of the jobs, otherwise have fun doing dialysis runs.

So if fire is not for you, and you do not wish to go to those few counties in central or south Florida which do not require fire, then you may need to do some reconsidering or serious thinking. Otherwise, the pay is not that great. Unfortunately one of the benefits to fire/ems is they are able to effectively lobby for decent pay and benes on your behalf usually.

[reaper]

As AK said, Central and South FL is mainly Fire/EMS. Except for a few agencies.

If you are not picky where in the state you want to live, North FL and the Panhandle are still mainly County based EMS. There are some very good systems up there that take great pride in their EMS systems.

Like AK stated. It is very hard to bring an out of state FF cert into FL. If that is what you want to do, wait and take your FFII in FL.

[emt217]

As far as location, I'm not picky. Granted, south florida is nice, but I guess the hillbilly in me can't adjust to the culture. I was more or less going on where I had lived. I've also been looking into a few other states as well. I guess what I really want is to find a progressive system to work in. Maybe I'm wrong, but I don't wanna get my Medic card and all the alphabet soup certs to boot, and then forget most of the skills I've learned because I work for a service that does 300-350 calls a month. I know I may be jumping the gun, but I love this field too much to sit around and get rusty before my first re-cert. Any onther state suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I know I can get info from websites, but I like to hear from individuals who live/lived in certain areas. Word of mouth is much better in my opinion.

[crotchitymedic1986]

I understand you may not want to discuss the "personal reasons" for you first departure from EMS, but I would really think about why you left before you dive back in. If you really didnt like the job then, I doubt much has changed since you left, so maybe it is time for a new career. If you left for some reason other than burn-out, then the paramedic school decision is a good idea. Good luck.

[mstovall]

Does it make a difference if you are IFSAC FF II coming into FL?

[Dustdevil]

Does it make a difference if you are IFSAC FF II coming into FL?

It shouldn't be a problem. I'm pretty sure that whatever that is can be cured with a third generation cephalosporin.

[akflightmedic]

Does it make a difference if you are IFSAC FF II coming into FL?

It makes no difference.

My FL Fire I and II was 450 clock hours at the community college. The program takes 6 months part time which was 3-4 nights a week from 6-10pm and EVERY Saturday from 8-5. We also threw in a Sunday several weekends as well.

The Full time fire program is 3 months long, schedule is Mon-Fri 8-5, sometimes extending until 6pm.

Both programs are run boot camp style which is the norm for any fire school in Florida.

Before moving to FL, I had attended the SC Fire Academy. When I applied for reciprocity in FL, they sent me the checkoff sheet and I did not have enough training hours to attempt to request a challnege to the state practical. I was short in every section by many hours, so my only option was to redo the academy.

If you are able to produce documentation reflecting you have met or exceeded the minimum hours required in every catergory, they will then allow you to challenege the state exam for certification.

Here is the kicker. Typically if you are not fresh out of school, or have not been trained the FL way, you will fail the exam. There are minor details that will fail you regardless of how long you have been a FF, you just will not be able to hit every single little check in the bok when doing your practical without getting some heavy input/training from an instructor.

This is why most people do one of two things. They either go redo the academy right off the bat or they fail the reciprocity exam (waste a LOT of time and $$) and then redo the academy.

[emt217]

I understand you may not want to discuss the "personal reasons" for you first departure from EMS, but I would really think about why you left before you dive back in. If you really didnt like the job then, I doubt much has changed since you left, so maybe it is time for a new career. If you left for some reason other than burn-out, then the paramedic school decision is a good idea. Good luck.

Guess "personal" was a bit much. I love this field way too much. After my second little one came along, finances just got too tight, and the irrational amount of hours was getting to me (I was a regional BLS stupervisor). Southern WV is far from being a place to earn a good living, so I hit the road in search of something more profitable. Having let my NREMT cert expire (not required here in WV), i just went with what I knew. I woulda LOVED to run EMS there, but with the fire base, it wasn't feasible. My wife still wasn't physically up to working, and I have a severe phobia of daycare centers.

It was a personal choice to wait till now to take a medic course. I wanted to be 100% comfortable in all my skills as an EMT before taking the next step. I've seen too many EMT's move up the food chain too soon, and it ALWAYS ends bad. Either burnout, poor confidence, or substandard care. I needed to be comfortable with my skills before moving on.

Again, FL is not the only place for me. I haven't lived alot of places, so I was working from that. My brother lives in Asheboro NC, and has told me more than once there seems to be a need for providers. Been looking at Wake Co EMS online today. Looks like the kind of place I'd be interested in.

And, as always, thanks for all the input. I enjoy the constructive criticism.

[Mateo_1387]

NC would be a good place. Most places do not require fire certification. Most agencies are not fire based either. As far as living in Wake County (Raleigh) it is a good place to live. Most people who leave Raleigh supposedly end up returning. Wake Co EMS is a good agency. Wake Tech Community College is a good college to get an EMS degree. Good luck.