Volunteers – Your Job?

[ccmedoc]

How is it clouded. From the beginning it was stated that the reason that paid paramedics were paid so badly is because of the volenteers. And I was making my opinion on the fact that volenteers are not the problem with your pay scales. My union is the one that goes to bat for us on wages why would it be any different for you unless your not union. I was basically talking about dustdevils comment.

Volunteer emt/Paramedics are definitely a contributing factor to the low wage that most EMS personnel endure. Union is absolutely not the answer due to the fact that they generally do not improve wages or conditions for the exemplary workers, and tend to be more of a benefit for the least common denominator. In areas where there are no vols, and companies have increased educational standards, I think we are seeing increased wages...competition tends to increase wage standards, not union rhetoric....IMHO

Many variables affect the wage issue in EMS, as in most other professions..In as how the volunteer ambulances affect professional EMS wages, I believe that Dustdevil's comments are right on the money 8)

[stocktonfiremedic8827]

I am a volunteer firefighter-EMT with 2 of my local depts and i work full time for the one of the 911 providers in my county and part time at the other you know if i could go just one day with out seeing a sick person i dont know what i would do lol.

[Just Plain Ruff]

I am a volunteer firefighter-EMT with 2 of my local depts and i work full time for the one of the 911 providers in my county and part time at the other you know if i could go just one day with out seeing a sick person i dont know what i would do lol.

Stockton, you need to take some time off. You have to have time to yourself or you will become just another of those burned out medics/emts we all hear about. Please take care of yourself.

[firemedic37]

I am a volunteer on both a fire and ambulance service. However in the area I live there is a lack of full-time EMS jobs so I currently work at a convince store as a cashier and pizza maker. Not a glamorous job but a job. I have flexible hours which allows me to cover the ambulance more often than my last job as a night manager at a local grocery store. I also provide EMS coverage at a local raceway on the weekends.

[medic5740]

I am from a very rural area, and when the weather is foggy, or there is a blizzard, and you can't transport a patient off this island, then you can't get any more rural than 32 miles of water from the closest hospital. When there is no boat, no plane, and no way to get the patient off, then you have some time to remember why you are doing this EMS service. We do it for free because our community cannot afford to pay us. None of the fire service is paid, so none of the EMS service is paid. So, here is the bottom line, if we didn't volunteer to provide EMS here, there would be no EMS here.

We do EMS as volunteers because we care about our friends and neighbors. When someone gets ill or injured, someone needs to be available to help. As soon as the local governmental units come up with a paid position, you can bet that I will gladly apply. The thought that all EMS is the same no matter where you are is not at all true. Rural EMS IS Different! Check out the website: http://ruralemsisdifferent.com

OR email me at medic5740@yahoo.com and I'll gladly send you a few stories about how different it can be.

[Chief1C]

Ehhhhh.. Really, the only difference I've noticed is time. Hospitals, advanced care, etc, are farther away. People put themselves farther away, then blame everyone else when their house burns down, or their spouse dies before EMS arrives. The reason we're not paid, people are cheap. They want better roads and parks; and don't care about EMS till they need it personally. The fire depts here will always be volunteer, their call volume doesn't warrant any change. They have no problems getting out, their dedication and time spent on their organization have earned them modern and better equipment than most small cities.

EMS on the other hand, consolidation is what will make the difference. Consolidation and modernizing rural EMS systems would be better, for everyone, all around. There would be no downside, other than hurt feelings, and they'll get over it eventually.

If we didn't volunteer, they would have to provide EMS some way. It's the law. Every municipality in the United States must have a fire dept, an ambulance service and a police dept, to cover them. Whether it is by providing their own, contract or mutual aid. Someone, would have to do it. EMS is a necessity. It would be taken care of, no matter what. I'm not saying they could do a better job than you, but there would be some alternative on hand.

[mcmedic18]

I have been a volunteer for nearly 28 years on a rural department. I have also worked as a career medic for the last 19 years. As a volunteer, I have served as a Board Member for our non-profit EMS Corp.. When it was established in 1973 it was one of the premier systems in the U.S.. Unfortunately, like many such organizations, it became stagnant. Over the years, the leadership failed to keep up with the times and were happy with the "status quo".

Fortunately for the unit that I am a member of, we did not follow that thinking. We were the first unit in our county to have a paramedic, a defibrillator. ALS capabilities, etc. While at times we were at great odds with our leadership, we persevered and were given permission by them and aggressive protocols by our Medical Director, and were able to lead the way for our system. We have always been forward thinking and progressive.

As a result of this, we are the only unit in our system to have adequate staffing. We never seem to be hurting for volunteers and have new people coming onboard on a frequent basis. We are paid by the 'run hour' which means that we only get paid while we are on a run.

As a full time paramedic, for a hospital based service, I do not believe that volunteer units have anything to do with low pay for full timers. I make very good money at my job. However, it is not on par with municipal public safety employees. This is not a local issue, it is a national one. EMS as a whole is the ugly step-child in public safety. Until we, as a whole, join together and demand equality, this will not change.

That is why I joined the National Association of EMT's. This is one of the largest national organizations for EMS people. They work on the state and national levels to further our cause. Until we speak as one, nothing will change. We need to stop the in-fighting and the paid vs. volunteer crap and work together. You paid people who like to bash volunteers should get to know them better. There are many volunteer departments who are as professional as any paid department. You might even learn something from them. There are many such departments who do not have the luxury of calling someone else to help them when things go bad. The same can be said for the volunteer departments learning from the paid people. Do not be so quick to judge others based on what kind of system they function in.

If you really want to improve EMS as a whole, join NAEMT or a state EMS organization and become proactive.

[Dustdevil]

If you really want to improve EMS as a whole, join NAEMT or a state EMS organization and become proactive.

Waste of time. Waste of money. Completely without redeeming merit.

They spend more time debating special licence plates and the official Class A uniform for the president than they spend on issues that affect the future of the profession. They've been stuck in the "good ol' boys club" mode since the late 1980s and have absolutely no hope of ever pulling out of it.

In order to boost their membership, they cater to the firemonkey and volunteer crowd instead of focusing on the future of the PROFESSION. This dilutes their efforts and lowers their expectations to the lowest common denominator. Any organisation that encourages either of those two entities is an organisation that is not working in our best interests, and an organisation I cannot support.

I have no use for them.

[spenac]

If we didn't volunteer, they would have to provide EMS some way. It's the law. Every municipality in the United States must have a fire dept, an ambulance service and a police dept, to cover them. Whether it is by providing their own, contract or mutual aid. Someone, would have to do it. EMS is a necessity. It would be taken care of, no matter what. I'm not saying they could do a better job than you, but there would be some alternative on hand.

Please provide me with the law that requires ambulance in every municipality. The last time I checked we were still not considered an essential service and that being the case it is optional.

[Just Plain Ruff]

i agree with Spenac, show me the law too. I worked in an area that covered an area that was uncovered. It was basically no mans land but that city did not see fit to provide Ems service.

If we arrived to take care of them so be it but there was no ambulance service dedicated to that town.