AMR / King County EMT Jobs

[ktcan]

Hi, Everyone.

I know that this is just barely related to getting hired for a fire department, so I appreciate your patience with this post.

I am interested in moving closer to my family in Washington State, and while I am in the process with several departments up there, I was also considering moving up there and resuming work on an ambulance.

I am not opposed to paying my dues and running IFTs for any given length of time, but I would eventually like the option to promote to 9-1-1 transports, so here are my questions:

Does anybody know anything more about how AMR and/or other 9-1-1 departments up there function? Do they require a certain amount of time working IFTs before going to an emergency car, etc.?

Does anybody know how hard it is to get a job close-ish to the city centers up there?

Thanks again everyone!

[CaptOldTimer]

http://www.amr.net/Careers.aspx

[nwavant]

I would say give them (AMR), TriMed, and Rural Ambulance a call and see where they are at in the process and for openings. I have a couple of friends who are trying to get on with them and most of them have lists. From what I hear TriMed might be the best option out of the three, but calling the HR department is always the best bet verses hearsay.

[powerhourcoug]

I worked from Tri-Med for a bit. They're very easy to get on with.

Pros:

24 hour shifts (Modified Detroit, no "K" days)
Lots of experience
Fire/EMS interaction (on 24 hour cars)

Cons:

Owner is a complete chode
Poor pay
Poor benefits
Poor working conditions
Lots of poor partners (bad drivers, punk 18 year old kids, etc)

I have a cousin who worked for AMR. He seemed to like it. I think they have a 3 on/4 off schedule there (3 x 14 hour shifts).

Rural Metro is mostly in the north end (Everett). Pretty sure they have 24 hour cars as well.

I believe Tacoma is bidding out their ambulance service again. Heard AMR and TM are neck and neck.

[KCFF84]

I worked from Tri-Med for a bit. They're very easy to get on with.

Pros:

24 hour shifts (Modified Detroit, no "K" days)
Lots of experience
Fire/EMS interaction (on 24 hour cars)

Cons:

Owner is a complete chode
Poor pay
Poor benefits
Poor working conditions
Lots of poor partners (bad drivers, punk 18 year old kids, etc)

I have a cousin who worked for AMR. He seemed to like it. I think they have a 3 on/4 off schedule there (3 x 14 hour shifts).

Rural Metro is mostly in the north end (Everett). Pretty sure they have 24 hour cars as well.

I believe Tacoma is bidding out their ambulance service again. Heard AMR and TM are neck and neck.

I second that. I had the same experience with TM. I was stuck in Burien and while I got a ton of great experiences we were averaging 18 txpts a day with around 2 hrs of sleep broken up. Mostly fire calls but some interfacilities mixed in there. I'm now at a local ER as a tech and love it.

The owner is a d-bag who fires people on a whim for no reason and you get stuck with a bunch of mutants as partners. Other than that good experience.

[ktcan]

Hey, guys.

Thank you so much for the input! It's the opinion of other boots on the ground and word of mouth that I feel are really helpful, so I appreciate everyone taking the time to post a little something.

[GoCougs]

I work for AMR in portland. AMR in seattle does scene calls, but not primary. That is done by Medic One. They run a dual basic (I believe) car.

Tacoma I believe was just awarded to AMR. No, maybe Rual Metro got that contract. I forget I remember reading something about it at work. Everyone is gonna have pros/cons to working for private EMS. I personally think anyone who wants to be a paramedic needs to spend some time in transporting EMS. You learn a lot about patient care

[ktcan]

I work for AMR in portland. AMR in seattle does scene calls, but not primary. That is done by Medic One. They run a dual basic (I believe) car.

Tacoma I believe was just awarded to AMR. No, maybe Rual Metro got that contract. I forget I remember reading something about it at work. Everyone is gonna have pros/cons to working for private EMS. I personally think anyone who wants to be a paramedic needs to spend some time in transporting EMS. You learn a lot about patient care

Thank you, GoCougs. I completely agree about transporting EMS and learning a lot about patient care. I've been an EMT down here for almost three years now, and I look back on my previous plan (EMT school, straight to paramedic school) and giggle a little, because I feel better prepared now and I'm still learning something new every single day.

How do you like working for AMR in Portland?? Pros? Cons?

[ckjibber]

Having read this post, I am on the fence as to which company I should work for. I have conditional job offers from both and am trying to weigh the pros/cons. AMR has a bit better hourly pay than Tri-Med, but transports only BLS and the schedule isn't as desirable (12 hr shifts). Benefits I assume are better at AMR because they are unionized. Better equipment at Tri-Med (mods are a little bit more tall guy friendly).

Anybody have feedback for me? Which is the better company based on the big picture....experience, pay, working conditions......

Thanks for your feedback

[powerhourcoug]

Take one offer...if you don't like working there...go work at the other place.

[KTF]

I have friends that work for both and this is what I hear. AMR pays better but tri-med has a better schedule and you can work a massive amount of ot. AMR is more career minded while tri-med knows most of there employees are there to one day be fire fighters. If I had to choose I'd go with tri-med so I could work 24s and sleep in quarters and not in a aid car.

[ckjibber]

Thanks for the info guys. I think that I am going to take the job at Tri-Med. ALS transports and the fact that the OT should offset the pay difference helped me make up my mind. I'm used to the 24 hr station shifts too, so being trapped in the rig for 12-14 hrs a day might get a little old. Again, thanks

[ffbam24]

AMR more career minded than TM?
I wouldn't go as far as saying that. There is plenty of turnover in KC operations base, and that is mostly people getting hired or moving on. All ambulance transports are usually a stepping stone and the companies know it. How long one is on that particular stone is subject.
AMR has been around a lot longer than TM; therefore you have several individuals who have been there for awhile. Some have made a go at testing and didn't get on elsewhere or are still quite active with their respective departments in the area as volunteers.
And being stuck in a rig for 12-14 hours vs having a quarters to go back to? Even though you have quarters, doesn't mean you're going to be at it in your downtime.

Don't hesitate to stop and ask questions of some of the crews you see around. They are your best bet to get a feel for each individual company.

Good luck.
bam