Oregon EMT job openings

[bk84nation]

Hello everyone. I just finished an EMT course in Portland and will be testing in couple weeks. Multnomah county doesn't really employ EMT-B's in the EMS, so I'm looking around to see where I can get my feet wet. Anyone know of who's hiring in Oregon/WA/CA? Any suggestions? Thanks!

[Dustdevil]

Ask your instructors. They should know. If they are turning out people without having the slightest clue themselves whether or not they can actually get a job in the area, that borders on criminal. Hopefully, they should have enough experience and exposure in your area to know the score. And it is their fiduciary duty to assist their students in finding placement.

And, I'm afraid I have to say -- no offence intended -- that if you didn't do a rudimentary job market analysis BEFORE you spent the time and money on EMT school, you *might* be too impulsive to be a good EMT. Think about it. Leaping before you look is not a sign of particularly good judgement.

Good luck! :thumbright:

[bk84nation]

Actually that is somewhat offensive. Im using as many resources as possible to find a job--this just happens to be one of them. I was told when applying to the school that the local job market was good and that I'd get assistance in finding a job, etc...I really could care less about moving somewhere else to find a job. I was just asking for advice, not a character judgment. I'm sure I'll do fine as a Basic. If you're so quick to start judging people in this "virtual city," *maybe* you should switch to decaf and get a new hobby. Think about it.

[NREMT-Basic]

Actually that is somewhat offensive. Im using as many resources as possible to find a job--this just happens to be one of them. I was told when applying to the school that the local job market was good and that I'd get assistance in finding a job, etc...I really could care less about moving somewhere else to find a job. I was just asking for advice, not a character judgment. I'm sure I'll do fine as a Basic. If you're so quick to start judging people in this "virtual city," *maybe* you should switch to decaf and get a new hobby. Think about it.

Youll find over time in the city that Dust is not usually intentionally offensive and when he is, its pretty clear that he means to be. You will also find that he speaks from years of experience in civilian and military medicine. All that being said, job markets in any given area do sometimes just fall apart. I got work fairly quickly after EMT school only to have the private service I was with go all paramedic and leave me in the unemployment line. I do agree with Dust that instructors and programs that continue to turn out EMTs with no sense of concern about whether or not those folks will be able to find work its a pretty shisty thing to do. But just as a patient can be doing well one second and crunk in the very next, so go job markets and EMS is no different. The service that I was guaranteed a job with lost some of their grant money from Homeland security and so instead of hiring another basic, they decided to bump up their pay offer (not by much) and buy themselves a medic instead and I cant say that I would have done anything differently if I were them, though some choice words were had at the time since the Ops Manager that swore he would hire me was also my preceptor, so I felt a little bit like I had been left to twist in the wind. Since then I have found work off and on and do some volly work. I intend after the first of the year to do some serious uptraining and expand my job market by getting reciprocity in two neighboring states. Im sure you will do fine as a basic but after many of the spankings I have taken on thte City from people of differing opinion, I am growing myself some thicker skin, and I also know that nothing is more tender than a new Basic, desperately wanting work and not finding it. Hang in there. Unfortunately, I think that limited funding which causes services to buy another medic instead of two Basics is part and parcel of this line of work and its probably why so many inexperience Basics go straight into medic school...to find work, which is what folks like the developers of the "accelerated" medic school out of Nebraska are, in my opinion, preying on. I am using time with limited actual work available to keep training, getting CEUs etc. If your dedicated to making EMS a career, you will get there. I think you just have to be willing to get knocked around a little bit first. Im sure just about every member of this site has their stories of dues paid and lumps taken as they gain experience and made themselves more marketable.

[bk84nation]

Thanks NREMT-Basic. My long-term goal with healthcare is becoming a PA. With a degree in biology I have all my prereqs in line for the master's program and Im just looking to chalk up some serious paid patient-interaction experience. Becoming an EMT was my first choice and was highly recommended for the PA's I spoke with. I gained a lot of respect for EMS workers throughout the course and in my clinical rotations, but I slowly realized the reality of job markets for B's as the course came to a close. I'd love to work as an EMT-B, but if I can't find work, then I might work in a hospital doing something else with my EMT. That said, I'm going to try very hard to work as an EMT-B before I resort to that, and that's why I'm on this forum: research. I want to be a PA, but I want to be an EMT, too. I had a great time on my ambulance ride alongs and look forward to working in the field if its in the cards for me. You have to roll with the punches. Best to you and thanks again.

[buckeyedoc]

Don't be afraid to look at the private ambulance companies. That will allow you to tweek your diagnostic skills (B/P, lung sounds, blah, blah, blah). Check out the volunteer EMS agencies. This will allow you to gain valuable experience. Don't be disheartened if you don't land a $40,000 a year job as a basic. Some medics don't even make that much. Oh, and about Dust. He's one of the Been There/Done That's that you can gain a lot of info and education from. I've consulted Dust on advice and hope you do the same. I even have a little shrine to Dust in my locker at work. Best of luck with everything. Welcome to the City and learn all you can.

Doc

[bumpus]

What does the shrine look like, Doc?

[buckeyedoc]

What does the shrine look like, Doc?

Have you ever seen the shrine to Jobu in Major League?

[chaser]

What does the shrine look like, Doc?

Some places are just too scary to venture into...............

[bumpus]

Have you ever seen the shrine to Jobu in Major League?

Hell yeah, it looks like that? That's sweet!

So instead of the Jobu statue, is it a little dust action figure or what??

I'm sure he appreciates the liquor you leave him!