EMRs in BC and Alberta

[BEorP]

Just curious as to what employment opportunities for EMRs in BC and Alberta are like (in terms of how easy it is to find a job and what most jobs actually consist of).

I thought I read somewhere about EMRs in Alberta working in the oil fields... if this is correct, has anyone done this or know anything about it?

[Nate]

What is an EMR? I'm to lazy to look it up and I'm from Texas.

[BEorP]

What is an EMR? I'm to lazy to look it up and I'm from Texas.

Emergency Medical Responder

[MMA]

Yes EMR's do work the oil field in Alberta. Right now is the best time to apply if you apply to 27 places 27 will phone you back. I think the pay for an EMR right now is about $ 200 for a 10-14 hour shift plus living out and you get about 50$ for that. http://www.collegeofparamedics.org/employment.php is a listing of many oil field jobs If you want they will start working you tomorrow.

[Guest]

Just curious as to what employment opportunities for EMRs in BC and Alberta are like (in terms of how easy it is to find a job and what most jobs actually consist of).

I thought I read somewhere about EMRs in Alberta working in the oil fields... if this is correct, has anyone done this or know anything about it?

Are you planning to move to Alberta? Lots of oilfield stuff for EMR's / EMT's and Medics.

[vs-eh?]

Not that I would give up my job in the city to work in an oil field....But it does look like a good opportunity for those who want to travel/do some EMS work "off the beaten path".

I just thought that Alberta was fairly strict regarding out of province applicants (because of the college) even if your education may exceed that of the position you are applying for (mainly EMR/EMT-A, not EMT-P).

[canuckEMT]

EMR ( Emergency Medical Responder) in Alberta is basically the equivellent to an EMT-B in the US. Here they are ususally First Responders, although there are some municipal services that still hire them. Those are mostly northern rural services.

As for doing industrial work (oilfield), yes there are positions for EMR's. Industrial though is basically sitting in a pickup (Mobile Treatment Centre MTC) for your 14 hours and also doing ERP's (Emerg Response Plans) for your drilling or sevice rigs. There are also times where you are working with a slashing crew that are doing right-a-way's for seismic operations or clearing leases.

Call volume or actual Pt contact is usually very slim, mostly minor injuries but when the perverbial feces hits the air movement device, it is usually quite major. The wages for industrial are very good and it is a place where quite a few EMR's go to work to save for the EMT program and also EMT's do the same for EMT-P.

As for reciprocity, you will have to check Alberta College of Paramedics, there is a process where the college has to approve your training from another province for equality. I have not known many people to come from another province and be able to gain status here without taking the EMR program and also doing the provincial registration exam.

[BEorP]

I guess now I'll ask the second part of my question or explain why I asked it in the first place. I'm a first year Paramedic student in Ontario now... I've been looking at various options of things to do in the summer and this seems like a potential way to get out of the province while still making money (as opposed to just traveling or just doing pt transfer here in Ontario). The plan would be to come back to Toronto in September to continue my PCP education.

Does anyone have any thoughts on that? I guess it will be a bit of a waste to need to take an EMR class when I should already know most of the stuff... but it still seems like a good opportunity to make some money and see a different part of Canada.

[MedicNorth]

You can make some really good money as a medic in the oilfield. There are definitely some issues with out-of-province licensing, however, especially in BC. They are in the throes of changing their system, and it is further complictaed in that EMS and advanced first aid are controlled by different organizations. In Alberta you would have to check with ACP to find out what kind of hoops to jump through for certification. Just ask Dust - it ain't as easy as it should be. The EMR course can be taken in a relatively short time and is fairly inexpensive, but you would want to plan it so you finish just before one of the testing dates, so you aren't waiting around for a long time.

Good luck on this - there are tons of jobs available.

[medic_911]

It might be a little tricky for you to go from Ontairo to Alberta when you havn't graduated your program (from personal experiance)... you would have to do a EMR course which is acredited by ACP... even if you have your EFR and BLS from ontairo... After you take your exam you'll have to write your provincial exam and then wait 6 weeks for your results before you can work for the summer... if you don't mind jumping through the hoops and spending about a grand on getting your EMR course and then doing your testing and then your registration then you could probally make about 4 back over the summer months...