paramedic

emergency medical technician

emt-basic

dispatcher

vehicle technician

Falck

Clock in, rig check, usually get a call right away to relieve the previous shift. (Dispatch is pretty nice about trying to avoid calls at the end of someone's shift) Most days you get out on time, very rarely stay past shift, unlike a lot of ambulance companies. You can average anywhere from 4-6 calls per 12 hour shift, so there is down time between calls. 

It IS a transport company so you almost never get 911 calls. There's a limit to how much you can learn from this job. A lot of calls are transport from ER to patient's residence, "wait and returns" where you bring someone to an appointment (MRI, CT, etc) wait for their appointment and then bring them back. Those calls take a couple of hours. During night shifts there are a lot of ER to residence calls and especially psychiatric transfer calls. These are people that go to the ER both voluntarily and involuntarily for delusional behavior, suicidal ideation, other abnormal behavior and pattern of speech. They will be transported from ER to a psychiatric unit or hospital. Sometimes they require restraints based on behavior and history, but most of the time psych patients are not violent--if they are, hospital usually already has them sedated by the time you get there.

Because you're mostly getting transport calls, you show up to pick the patient, receive a verbal short report from a nurse about history, chief complaint and interventions and discharge instructions, then transport and upon delivery you relay the information from the short report and summary of how they did during the transport ride. So you don't get to practice the skills you learned in EMT school. Maybe sometimes give oxygen like to someone with COPD.

There are critical care transport units that get more "action." but all in all being an EMT here is a pretty boring job. On the other hand, it's not stressful, it's very flexible with scheduling, you get time to rest between calls instead of go, go, go like other places. It's good with people with second jobs or students. You get your patient contact hours in for med school or nursing school applications, but you don't get to practice your skills. 

A lot of people get bored and leave, usually for AMR since they have fire contracts and pay more-- $17/hr last time I heard and you get more hands-on experience. This is especially the case for people that are working as EMTs as precursors to fire academy.

As for other aspects of the job... other EMTs are bored or burnt out, very lazy. A lot of people will call out sick last minute and because of that, a unit will be down and you'll end up having to take a higher call volume than normal. They are nice people though. Most EMT pairs/teams get along pretty well. 

Management takes their job seriously and they're always there for you, you just have to speak up. It's a good work environment overall, very "family-like." 

Dispatch is very nice and try to help you do your job the best they can. Some EMTs will push it though and complain about getting calls and try to get out of them by making excuses why they can't transport the patient.

Pretty much the only reason I see people leave is they get bored and they want to use their EMT skills. It's a good place to work if you want to ease into EMS, just not the place you want to go if you want hands-on experience.

For years the Philadelphia Area has not had a private ambulance service willing to make large investments in employees, equipment, and Fleet. In early 2014 Falck (formerly lifestar response) emerged in Philadelphia as a New player with the large hospital systems bringing in a newer fleet of Vehicles/equipment. First contract signed in the city was Jefferson/Jeffstat followed by crozer then Temple Transport and Mainline Health. Investments were made and even newer vehicles purchased. Management was brought in from NJ and Bethlahem PA locations. Contracts were aggressively serviced and staffing levels appropriate. Plans were then discussed to attack the weak areas including pay, clinical care, and further upgrade equipment. This past fall a major rebranding effort was completed which included vehicle body repair, repainting, falck lettering placed, and new uniform shirts distributed. During this time the majority of Employees had been organizing under UEMSW. In late January Falck was given notice by Union that it had filed an election petition with the NLRB. FALCK CORP responded that there was no need for an election because the company planned to discontinue its operations in the State of Pennsylvania effective 06/30/2016 citing Poor insurance reimbursement in area. This followed days following Transcare Corp filing for bankruptcy and shuttering all operations. Clearly there is an issue with reimbursement that needs to be addressed however whether that is the real reason Falck is shutting down in Philadelphia remains unknown. Despite some small issues regarding pay, clinical care, pto, and schedules Lifestar/Falck remained one of the better places I've worked for. There is however a systematic problem in EMS which I find to worrisome. One is due to the labor intensive nature of the job employees continue to go out with career ending  injuries and have no support system. Another part of that is that little or no investment is being made in available technology and practices which prevent these types of injuries. Second, is the Stagnant and in most cases decreasing compensation to employees. Many employees are making less then they did 10 years ago in this field while inflation has had a devastating effect on Families. Requirements have become more costly and time consuming for employees. Costs for Major Medical, Training, and retirement once paid by employers and now passed down to providers. Little is being done to protect and represent providers making collective bargaining necessary. We are at a critical point right now in this industry.

In short things were slowly improving and showing a lot of promise until Corporate came in and pulled the plug.

This company is a good company to work for two years ago. Is a company’s that strongly believe in his values and Appreciates there employee.  However the management team on the floor is a complete joke. There is one in particular, that maybe back in his days use to be pick on or bully..always looks high or he on something. Very wired personality. I would call him (water boy )this individual which I won’t put his name here just to be ethical. But a brief  description will not hurt. At first you hear him speak, and you think or believe he a well education,  intellectual individual. Best believe that he has no work ethics, does not know how to lead nor explain properly. Lacks common since. Never back up what he says This list goes on. Certified clown 🤡   Known as AKA Cabeza de Cucaracha💩
The company is experiencing chances. Which they have outsourced four departments already. If you are considering to apply be a collector. Your supervisor has common since, pretty much everyone goes to him for help, everyone else is lost on there own world. Working for Falck is great. Unless they change there management team. I believe a strong  Acknowledge team is what makes a company strong. Not the  Circus they currently have going.  Unless management is changed completely, I won’t apply. There is better places with serious people. That has real knowledge how to run a department. The new director great guy, poor men he just doesn’t know what he put himself through. I won’t be surprised his own people give him hard time🤦‍♂️ I hope this help.

First off, you do not learn that Fire is always scene-command until you've already started and moved. And due to the other problems, fire is slow to warm up to you and trust you, if ever; but I don't blame them, Falck has some bad medics.
Second Management is money focused and not patient care. Fire is primary scene-command so they expect you to roll over and please them. Put your certs and license on the line even if you do not agree with the treatment. Performance reviews are based on demographics and signatures. How billable are your patients? Patient care and treatments are not considered. The pay rate is based on how long your shift is. If you work a 24H shift, the less safe and relatively more dangerous and unhealthy shift, you are paid less not more, than the 12H shift. 
Management is also a fan of the micromanagement methodology. Deciding when you are ready to clear a hospital, deciding if a scene is safe or not without knowing anything about it. You will hear "It's policy at least once a shift, working nights. RIP to the day crews.
automatic write-ups for calling out on holidays, the recognized holidays do not align with the holidays in which you are written up. NONcompetitive wages, no employee retention incentives. 
EMTs are expendable to them and they make it clear. 
Safety is not a concern. If you die or get injured, they will replace you; they will be fine, so do not worry about them.

You can get this job fresh out of passing the NREMT without needing IFT experience. It offers the opportunity to gain 911 experience doing a very limited set of activities (dependent on the volume and variance of calls) compared to what's covered in an EMT class. It's mostly just gurney operations, driving, and paperwork. Since the fire service takes the lead on EMS in LA and OC, you're basically acting as firefighter-paramedics' assistant. The culture is very corporate and you often feel like just a number. Operations managers are nice and helpful. Opportunity for in-house fire station shifts.

Some EMTs (from those with under 6 months to those with 10+ years of experience) may be questionable characters who cut corners and/or are cruel to patients in their most vulnerable moments. This extends to some other EMS roles too (nurses, police, fire, security guards, etc.). Complaining and smack talk is heavy. Recent dispatch practices have resulted in counterintuitive posting, especially overnight, that results in inefficient utilization of EMTs and sleep-deprived EMTs even in low-call shifts. 

Pay is low but time-and-a-half, overtime, and holiday pay could make the job lucrative. Not a bad job for aspiring paramedics, firefighters, nurses, physician's assistants, physicians, police officers, etc.

I could write a five page essay on all the stuff wrong with this place. Compensation is a joke, especially considering the cost of living in the area. The field supervisors are great, but management otherwise couldn’t care less about the staff. The rules are enforced incredibly arbitrarily and with extreme prejudice. The job itself is fine, you get good experience running 911 calls but the personnel is very hit or miss. The place feels like high school, complete with cliques of the worst people you’ve ever met. They also do absolutely nothing to encourage a healthy work environment while claiming to hate the culture themselves. Their entire business model also seems to be based on having a certain amount of turnover and they go through periods of mass hiring, then finding reasons to fire people to make room for the new employees, then need to hire more employees because they don’t have enough crews. Speaking of, they think it’s somehow perfectly acceptable to have nights with 6 or less ambulances covering the entire city, which is dangerous. In summary, they don’t pay enough, they allow a toxic work place because it’s easier not to deal with it, and they are chronically understaffed by their own fault. Anyone considering working here would be far better off at any other company.

I have worked at the company for over a year, and within that year I've been promoted to FTO and Operations Base Lead at my station. Management is very helpful and understanding of life outside of work. Scheduling is a little difficult for myself since I got to school part-time right now, but I maintain my full-time status with minimal coverage issues. I order all supplies for our San Mateo County station, I manage all EMTs at the station and make sure all equipment is functioning properly. I report to my GM any issues or problems that I need assistance with. My coworkers are fantastic, they're like my extended family. My partners and I checkout our rigs, restock any missing or low equipment, make sure all our equipment is functioning properly, then we run CCT (critical care transport) calls or post at different locations. The hardest part of my job is making sure all EMTs are compliant with company policies and solving any issues that arise. My favorite part of the job is interacting with patients and their families, as well as interacting with my partners and hospital staff.

The company came in promising the world, and within 6 months all the primary figures fled.  Not just managers, but support staff as well.  Promises made but not kept.  Many people feel duped; myself included.  It is a rudderless ship now, with unhappy, angry employees, supervisors with no direction or communication.  Big turnover with management staff, and underwhelming performance by those who are still here.  No enforcement of policies; most supes are happy just to have people show up to work.  Priorities are messed up.  Employees without a new contract; no raises for 2 years for supervisors and command staff.  Falck's main focus is on their new San Diego contract; all other operations are illegitimate step children.  The only thing that has kept this operation afloat is the workforce.  We have always been all about the county and its population.  We don't care what patch is on our left shoulder; it's the right shoulder patch that defines us.  Sure, people are angry, but they still come to work (well, most of us) because it's all about the patients, not Falck.  Until Falck realizes that, they are doomed to fail.

A typical day at Care is never constant. We get dispatched for calls ranging from traffic accidents to abdominal pain. We'll have two calls one day, and 18 the next, without ever being guaranteed meals or sleep. We are given the opportunity to learn a variety of skills that we can take with us through our careers. Our co-workers can really set the pace for how well the shift is going to go. If they're fun and you've worked with him or her before, you can bet that you'll have fun. If it is your first time working with this person, you're given the chance to meet and learn about somebody new. Truthfully, the hardest part of the job is the compensation. If we made what we feel is fair, we would have to really search for something else to complain about. Some shifts, we get covered in blood, vomit, feces, and urine, while barely being able to afford a room for rent that we've found on craigslist. The most enjoyable part of the job is getting to help the people who really need it. The adrenaline rush after helping bring somebody back is pretty amazing.

A typical day at work consisted of clocking in, talking to dispatch, readying up equipment, checking on ambulance, and waiting to get dispatched to call for patient transport. Typical shifts included 4-5 calls. I learned many skills from this job including how to conduct patient interview in emergency setting, working alongside fire fighters, starting IVs in a moving ambulance, working under pressure, logging calls, and providing accurate patient handoff reports. The management was good, not great. Shift coordinators were typically scrambling to get organized and human resources was seldom helpful in problem solving. Workplace culture was very strong consisting of decent co-workers all with a desire to learn and better their ability to provide patient care. The most enjoyable part of the job was helping patients on their worst day and knowing that  the work we did made a difference.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Paramedic 42 salaries reported	$33.26 per hour
Emergency medical technician 31 salaries reported	$24.55 per hour
Emt-basic 10 salaries reported	$22.33 per hour
Dispatcher 33 salaries reported	$21.68 per hour
Vehicle technician 17 salaries reported	$19.91 per hour

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