Working in private, paid EMS.

What is it like to work in private EMS?

• What are the difference between 911 and IFT?
• Is it possible to make a decent living in NYC working a single paid EMS job?
• What is the difference between 3rd service (Municipal), private, and volunteer EMS?
• How has COVID changed the scope and practice of EMS?
• How do EMTs and paramedics work in such a stressful environment and continue on?

This essential question and sub-questions are extremely important to me as EMS and the people I work with in EMS matter a lot to me personally. I have spent a lot of time becoming an EMT, applying to different agencies, and putting in time actually working. With that said, I have only worked in a 911 setting for one particular volunteer agency. This is entirely different from say working at a private company doing both emergent and non-emergent interfacility transfers. Further, the people you work with in EMS become like family as you spend tens or hundreds of hours with them in a metal box. The people who are EMTs or paramedics in their professional lives face many challenges on a daily basis and learning about and addressing those problems is paramount.

For my senior project my day to day activities include taking shifts at Midwood ambulance service (covid vaccinating/interfacillity transport shifts), taking 911 shifts at  the Central Park Medical Unit, and taking time to reflect on both of those both in terms of individual experiences and how they answer my essential questions.

The challenges of working in EMS that I will face personally include working long, strange hours, working in stressful conditions such as driving emergency vehicles, taking care of patients, etc., maintaining professional relationships with the company I end up working for, and, how to later quantify this experience for people who have had no exposure to it.

For the experiential portion of the project I will work for a private ambulance service called Midwood ambulance where I am already currently employed. Due to the nature of EMS in general and other factors, private companies are generally a revolving door for young employees. This combined with COVID and a shortage of EMTs and paramedics around the country means that these companies are always hiring and are willing to hire people in entry-level positions. With my experience I could obtain a better job than I am taking, however, I am one of the few people who managed to get a 911 position without first doing interfacility transport as most new EMTs do. This means I missed out on those experiences and it is something I would at least like to get a sense for.

The backup plan. While I am 99.99% sure that I will be able to work for SeniorCare I do have a backup plan in place. I have worked for a company in the past providing COVID testing for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I was offered a position to do this on a regular basis but turned it down due to the time constraints with school and my volunteer EMS job. This position (as far as I am aware) is still open to me should I choose to take it. Another backup plan I have is to work as a COVID-19 vaccine administrator. As an EMT I am authorized by the governor’s declaration of emergency to give the COVID-19 vaccine, there are many opportunities to do this and almost certainly will be for the next couple of months.

One book I will read (and probably will also watch the movie) is Bringing Out the Dead by Joe Connelley. This book is supposed to be a (although fictional) extremely realistic account of what it was like to be a 911 paramedic on the streets in New York in the 90s.

I will have no problem making the 30 hour a week requirement. I will take at very least two Midwood Shifts and I will try for two Central Park shifts a week. That will far exceed the 30 hour requirement as Midwood Shifts are 12 hours (for right now).

I will document my project through a journal aimed at documenting my daily experiences with patients, with supervisors, with equipment etc.

I do not need any outside materials. The only circumstance where I really would not be able to continue my project would be if I was injured and unable to lift patients/treat them effectively. Should this be the case, I would move into vaccinating full time and participate in ride along shifts as opposed to working them.

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1jXjBYMWxBoC0UmJQkPRnC6bPOYoc_P1oohwCTDGmbwI/edit#slide=id.p