Not sure if your wife will commute, but AMR are the ambulances up here in Cheyenne. I believe they're a private service, not associated with the hospital. Which is probably a good thing. CRMC sucks.
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Not sure if your wife will commute, but AMR are the ambulances up here in Cheyenne. I believe they're a private service, not associated with the hospital. Which is probably a good thing. CRMC sucks.
What are her goals? Is she thinking paramedic route or nursing route?
It's been about 15 years since I've left EMS, but I worked in the ED at Lutheran Hospital for a while. Lot's of terrific exposure to medical patients. It was a very rewarding experience for me and I learned a TON from the nurses and docs there. Hospitals need folks for the ED as well as "ortho techs" to help set casts and some hospitals use them on the floor to assist nurses. Don't be afraid to check around at the local hospitals or at the local urgent care centers. If she is OK with nursing homes, they hire EMT's as well.
I also worked part time for Action Care. If she's going paramedic route, then she needs street experience in order to get into Paramedic School. Unfortunately, the option is private to start (AMR, Capital City, Action Care, Stadium, Pridemark, etc.) and build that street experience required to apply (it was two years street experience back in my day). In the meantime, she can work on pre-requisites including IV Certification and passing Anatomy and Physiology (most folks either fail or drop out mid semester first time through the class). Private ambulance service is tough - unless you get paired up with a good Paramedic, you're basically just a driver unless you pick up a patient the Paramedic doesn't want to deal with (bloody nose, drunk, etc.). There are a few Paramedics that work in the fire service that pick up part time hours via private ambulance....sometimes that's good, and other times not so much. The other option is the "safety patrol" at Denver Health - basically you drive around all day picking folks up to take to detox.
Fire service is very difficult to get into. I applied to Aurora Fire twice and took the DRCOG and never got past the written exam (it's basically a personality test to be sure they group you in with like minded folks).
Either way, she would be much more competitive when applying if she were IV certified (one semester - or a couple of weeks if you take it in the summer) and that will help. I know that Aurora PD and other local police departments are always there recruiting during the fire exams. Has she thought about law enforcement? It's another option.
She is IV certified and finally got a call back from a couple of places today. She has been working weekends for "Motocross Medics" which is just that, a for hire EMT service that is at most of the local bicycle and motorcycle races so she does have some experience. She has some connections at Poudre Fire (where she is a volunteer FF) which I think should be her end game, to get a full time paid position with the FD.Quote:
Originally Posted by Soapy Smith