Goose

Thats if NJ ever got back to people requesting reciprocity. I've been waiting for two years... Presby...not to be a douche, but there is no way your going to get into Presby with no career or high volume experience. Like i said, your best bet is working commercial - you will have more flexibility and get the experience you want.

no issues with mutual aid here. Why? We cover 99.99% of our jobs as is, when we request mutual aid its absolutely necessary and our primary mutual aid comes from career agencies. The two central issue as i see it are as follows: 1) Volunteers - Lets face the facts, the ambulances are just not getting out anymore. The call volume is too high. Start paying for a staffed ambulance so your not requesting mutual aid 3 times a day. 2) County wide dispatch - It would be great to have county wide dispatching makes things far more efficient. I know thats a pipe dream - but i have to say when i talk to 60 (only on mutual aid jobs) they are more than helpful - extrapolate that to the county wide scale and things would be so much easier.

FDNY is a full time only gig and you need to apply for a civil service exam, get called go through the hiring process and then the 3 month academy. So if you're doing this for a year thats not going to be an option. Besides they have "postponed" classes due to the request for budgetary cuts. Voluntary hospitals in NYC: You're unlikely to get on any of those for two reasons 1) your experience is rather limited (vollie is nice but it's not the same as experience in a high volume system) and 2) they are extremely difficult to get into. So really, as i see it, you're best bet is a commercial - transcare or empress (or any other - but you used those names so ill stick with that), both are going to have you jump through the hoops everyone else does before getting some 911 action. If you excel, you may get there sooner - really don't know. I think transcare might be a little bit more tight about who they let work in New Rochelle and White Plains. You can go full time if a company needs full time position, its all based on the company. As far as trades/swaps/mutuals - all depends on the company. Every agency has their own policy and procedure on how to get time off. Just like anything else, your going to have to slug it out like the rest of us are/did in commercial EMS before you can get to some of the more comfortable/better paying systems.

Damn and i thought working in Highland and going out to Modena was the sticks... I see a few familiar faces... Sounds like a nice gig though, not too busy, but it seems this is an area where ALS can really make a difference.

The biggest issue is that the system (federal) favors incumbents - they have access to a war chest built up over their term in office (house or senate), access to professional staffers in their office, access to free postage, they can point to tangibles they have brought home (aka pork), and most of all name recognition. The other issue is that there are a whole lot of dumb Americans who don't bother to follow politics, learn the issues and listen to what candidates have to say. They enter the voting booth ignorant and pick a name that sounds familiar.

Very sad but a very fitting tribute. Any contingents from NY up there?

Relax. This is a democracy - well democratic republic - and discussion is what makes our country so damn great. I can question and be critical of Obama until i'm blue in the face. He chose to run for public office and that's just part of the deal. No one has a perfect tract record and no single man or woman in a position of power is going to make decisions which will please every man woman and child in the country. It's just not possible. Obama is no different. He is a man - and politician, not a savior or a messiah. Also, can we stop reading off the "Fight The Smears" script please?

Now, now, lets be nice to Mr. Chapaquitic, his niece may very well be our next senator (if Patterson has half a brain, he wont allow that...). But just to reiterate, Bush did the right thing. Hopefully this extra money will ensure a safe and orderly inauguration for the entire country.

You don't need to constantly defend Obama and every choice he makes bro. Some of the stuff she is associated with scares me...thats all..and I'm entitled to that. Besides, have you stepped outside recently? If not, go for it...its pretty cold. If that's not enough for you, head over to Obama's home turf...its like -9 out there... But, the best is, Obama's Mother-In-Law will be shacking up in the White House....i want to know who's going to foot THAT bill...

I would venture to say there is no shortage of tax payer monies, the issue is our lovely government representatives have failed to show any fiscal responsibility.

AMEN BROTHER! Couldn't have said it better myself. As a side bar - it's beyond me why people look to the federal government to solve all of their, and the world's, problems. This is the attitude that got Obama elected and people will shortly see that he is not the pipe dream he tried to aspire to. ...wait...thats already coming true: he's nominated a well known socialist as the chief environmental policy czar, a tax evader as his secretary of treasury and a mark rich pardoner as his attorney general.... all aboard for Clinton redux...

They gotta do what they gotta do. I am no fan of Obama or Biden, at all but the government - as someone aptly pointed out - is responsible for the protection of the millions of attendees the president elect, his family, the current president and his family and the past presidents who will be in attendance. I have no problem footing the bill on this one.

Scary stuff. What's even scarier is that they have essentially put off hiring for an entire year, with a 95% and clear record i won't be looking at a canvas letter until 2010.

Municipalities are always going to try and lay off cops and firemen ( i'll leave EMS out because 99.99% of municipalities already throw that to the lowest bidder). The problem is that many departments do their job so well that the government and populous think that they don't need them at their current capacity any more. So it's a fight against sheer ignorance, a truly uphill battle - something that will likely never change.

Again, your best bet is a commercial or a some small VAC that hires a paid day crew or something along those lines. Once you get your sea legs you can start to look towards some of the harder to go into systems.

There seems like an awful lot of animosity towards the NYSP here and thats kind of sad. You would think the same hot headed ego tripping trooper responded to each accident referenced to again and again cross all three pages. We know thats not the case. In the 4 years i've been in the field i have never once had a bad experience with the NYSP - they have always been more than accommodating and always ensured scene safety. No question that there are bad apples across all of our ranks and all of us have bad days. I guess i just have a hard time believing that troopers (whomever they may be) referenced in this thread are the central or only problem with these scenes.

i think you need an 80% or better in every section - and study their protocol i guess. Don't know many that bothered to get this. Good luck.

To each their own. The FDNY*EMS isn't the best choice for everyone. Sure there are positives, but i make more than a 2nd step FDNY EMT and my benefits are fine so there was never incentive for me to go. The the training opportunities are probably just as good as any other agency - its all about what you, as an individual make of it. I've seen plenty of skelly FDNY*EMS members just as i have seen many skelly commercial agency workers. No question FDNY is well on it's way to something very good, just not that there yet for me personally. That said, if you want to do EMS for the rest of your life then i think you need to seriously consider FDNY*EMS. If not, then you can consider it but i would say you can probably get similar experience/opportunities at Empress with less of a commute and wait. I notice your a young guy. What really is most important is that you get a 4 year degree. I strongly suggest you look to that, if you haven't already.

There is no FDNY class coming up, they cancelled the last one. FDNY is nice but if you don't plan on doing this for the rest of your life there are plenty of other agencies to work for that offer much of the same.

Doesn't really matter, to be honest. With any commercial company you are going to have to put your time in - IE: running transports. After some of that they will let you play on the 911 side of things. As far as being busy, if you work for a commercial you will always be busy - but not with just 911 jobs. Depending on where you work and the system you work in with a commercial you may do a combination of 911 and transports. Never worked for either - but its the same stuff wherever you go, more or less from where i sit. All that being as busy as possible stuff, that may change after a month or two

NYSP doesn't like shutting things done completely from my experience. But, that said, they have never created a dangerous situation for me, my partners, other crews or the patients - so i have no complaints. They've got a job to do too - and have always been more than accommodating.

x2 rest in peace brother.

The author is a complete moron. Just hope he never needs to call an ambulance.

At some level, yeah. I think it would mean more territory for the privates instead of multi-town/village municipal solutions like there ought to be. RWC - You saying what i've been complaining (but have been lambasted here as anti-volunteer) about. The fact is there is going to be less and less of a place for volunteers in EMS in the next decade as our run numbers skyrocket. Having 1 paid crew is not going to always cut it because if they are on a job and a second and third job comes in they are not going to be any more apt to get out then they would before the paid crew. Unless of course its an MVA or something that can get them in the news paper. In fact i would argue that having a paid crew may make things worse when it comes to second and third jobs - i saw it happen first hand at a past employer. Few agencies/members will ever admit that (some do and they are to be applauded for their efforts to progress) and they will talk you/the town/village/whatever until their blue in the face how career is not the answer yadda yadda yadda. Until this stops getting looked at as a dollar and cents game and the towns/villages grow a pair and decide to get involved directly i can't see much changing.

If that was actually abided by and enforced, a lot of towns and villages would be without ambulance service...