NYC EMT Shortage

[Medic137 6]

City residents hoping for a disaster-free summer have even more reason to hope they get their wish - there will be fewer Emergency Medical Technicians to respond if something happens.

In a city smarting from a shortage of police recruits, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta revealed Thursday the city will be down 121 EMTs by the end of June - roughly 7% of the 1,900-member force.

NY Daily News

Edited May 17, 2008 by ems-buff
Not giving proper credit to the NY Daily Newspaper

[Guest Yankee medic]

City residents hoping for a disaster-free summer have even more reason to hope they get their wish - there will be fewer Emergency Medical Technicians to respond if something happens.

In a city smarting from a shortage of police recruits, Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta revealed Thursday the city will be down 121 EMTs by the end of June - roughly 7% of the 1,900-member force.

NY Daily News

The civil service site says they are not hiring. Maybe I can now convince the wife to move back, (above the line) Being she said I could only work in the city if we moved back. Oh twist my arm. I would go right back to East NY again.

What is the reason for the soon to be shortage?? They aren't having medic classes?

[Danger 160]

Pay me enough to live and I'd do it.

A report released by the Journal of Emergency Services last year found that basic EMTs across the country earned between $18,354 to $65,840.

That doesn't mean you should pay the median either...

[nycemt728 49]

The article sites a turnover rate of 20% People retiring, simply leaving etc all contribute to the aforementioned shortage. The artice is no surprise to anyone in the field...as has been discussed on this website many times, EMS is not payed nearly what it is worth.

This problem is nothing new, at the very minuimum there have been no raises in 2 years. I'm not sure what exactly sure what people think will change the situation now. If FDNY/the city won't authorize funds (and again, if they haven't in the past, I'm not sure why they will stary now), then they need to fill the gap somehow. Let the voluntary hospitals add units to pick up the slack if they're willling. If they worried about quality, let them add an extra supervisor to monitor the non FDNY (and FDNY) units.

[Goose 188]

There is no incentive to work for the FDNY. Maybe if they threw EMS a legitimate union and a livable wage i would consider it. Until then, i'll keep talking with the privates.

[ny10570 745]

Yankee, they are constantly hiring. EMS is one of the few city jobs that hires almost exclusively from a provisional hire list and grants its members civil service status once they are working with the dept. Call (718) 999-2169 or (718) 999-2179 between 9 and 4, Monday through Friday. They'll ask for your name, state number, driver’s license number, home address and telephone number. Rumor has it the provisional list is lees than one class deep so anyone who calls is likely to be offered a job within the next three months or so.

There are medic classes running year round, but that shortage is due to expansion. The new shortage to strike the dept has been clearly coming for over a year now. They have run out of EMTs. For a few years they have been hiring EMT's as fast as possible to keep up with attrition. In the last two years the majority of the new paramedic hires to cover the depts ALS expansion have come from EMT's upgrading to Paramedic and fire is about to take close to 100 EMT's and Paramedics for the July academy.

The no raises for the past two years are due to an expired contract that is currently headed towards arbitration. This is only the second contract we have been able to negotiate as an independent city agency (before we were part of DC 37's negotiations). This next contract should show where the job is heading. Our fist contract, while far from bringing us up to par with other emergency service workers gave us respectable raises without any givebacks.

[StOpGoBlUE 11]

I got called on thursday for my EMS backround interview its been almost a month since I took my agility we should see what happens

[Oswegowind 17]

Maybe it is time to raise pay to reflect the job and its duties...not to mention its importance to everyday events around the world. EMS is getting news folks...maybe someone will take up their plight...and if one day it becomes worth it, maybe I will switch back.

[DaRock98 76]

I never understood why EMS gets paid so little. I feel for you guys, it's a VERY important and vital job. Why not get paid like it is. I hate to say it, but thats one of the biggest reasons I never really wanted to get into that field. I feel like I could never survive on that kind of salary. Most EMTs and medics I know work 2-3 jobs and a crazy amount of hours just to get by.

[Goose 188]

I never understood why EMS gets paid so little. I feel for you guys, it's a VERY important and vital job. Why not get paid like it is. I hate to say it, but thats one of the biggest reasons I never really wanted to get into that field. I feel like I could never survive on that kind of salary. Most EMTs and medics I know work 2-3 jobs and a crazy amount of hours just to get by.

Politics. Check out http://www.advocatesforems.org/ to see some of the stuff thats going on.

I think if i expand on anything I'll just end up getting pissed off and subsequently starting a firestorm here so I'll refrain.