Paramedics moving to Hawaii (Hilo: lawyer, income, jobs)

[megabuttface]

Greetings all,
I've decided to move to Hilo...I have a friend there that I lived in California with and as far as the logistics go, he answers pretty much every question I have except jobs(he's clueless about my work)...I have searched for the type of EMS Hilo has and have basically come up with AMR and I'm assuming some sort of Fire Dept.(assuming they have fire-based EMS)...I was hoping somebody in this thread knows anything about being a Paramedic in Hilo, wages, hours, 911, transport, hospital.....The other threads have been a tremendous help and I love reading them...Basically, I'd like to know what kind of job openings there are in the pre-hospital setting....
Thank you all for the help!

[Sweetbeet]

I'm an EMT here in NY, with a volunteer fire/rescue company, and I'm planning on moving to Kauai next summer. Here's what I know so far (not much!). Please, anyone correct me if I'm wrong.

There is a shortage of Paramedics on most of the islands, certainly on Oahu and Kauai. Not sure about the Big Island. Not so much for EMT-Bs, but definitely paramedics. If you train as a medic, you will most likely be able to find work.

Hawai'i has NO reciprocity, even with NREMT. To practice in HI, you must retrain there. They have two categories: Basic and Paramedic. Basics can do some of what Intermediates and Critical Care EMTs do here in NY, medics are basically pretty much the same as on the mainland.

You can train at the community college on Oahu; sometimes courses are offered on other islands. You will probably be able to find some training on the Big Island; I just discovered that courses are being offered on Kauai now because of the shortage of medics. It takes a while to train up to medic, you have to take basic and do a certain number of calls - 200, I think - before you can take the paramedic course.

There are some volunteer FF units on the Big Island, but not on any of the other islands. On Kauai they are all paid, and they don't run any ambulances (they do carry surfboards on their trucks, so I guess they do some rescue, but I don't know if the firefighters are trained as medics). I don't know if the volly units on BI run ambulances or not - they might. The only ambulance service in Kauai is AMR.

I'm not sure what EMTs/Medics make in the islands. I remember looking at something that was about 50k for a medic, but that might have been a general AMR site, not HI-specific. They might pay more there because of the cost of living and shortage. They do provide good benefits. I have heard that medics work long hours, lots of overtime because of the shortage.

I have also seen articles about long response times on the Big Island because of the distances involved. You could try searching some of the Hawaii newspapers for articles on the topic; I have run across some things by googling "EMT Hawaii" and stuff like that.

Good luck! I am thinking that I might train up when I get there, maybe all the way to medic (I haven't had the time to do that here, but I don't know what my regular work is going to look like out there), IF there is part-time work available (I'm not sure whether AMR hires PT or not), just for some supplemental income. I look forward to reading more info on here, perhaps from some actual medics working in Hawai'i! There is a dearth of info on the internet, or at least I have not found much.

[megabuttface]

I've contacted AMR in Kona, and they start their medics @ $45K/yr(if you would like the HR contact their, I'd be happy to give you the email address). I'm still trying to find Hilo's AMR contact(which is where I'll be moving). As far as reciprocity, I suppose I'll have to take the actual HI State Paramedic exam, despite having NREMT-P. Oh well....that's how some state's are....As far as you training in HI for your medic, I think it's a great opportunity!! I believe they pay you while you're in school and, of course, you're guaranteed a job once you graduate/pass your state test. Also, it sounds pretty involved, so you should come out a competent medic. As far as EMS is Hawaii, I still have no clue....is it private(does AMR run it? Does the Fire Dept? Do the Police(Allentown, Pa)? Or is it an entirely seperate civil service vector(Pittsburgh)? I believe Honululu is fire-based because it's urban. As far as the rural parts of HI....I'm clueless. Not much more to say for now, but I'll have my friend in Hilo start to find out things for me....and share his answeres on the forum....take care and thanks for the reply.

[Moke]

as an emt you can work for an ambulance or in an ER. same goes for MICTs. A few people around are members of that national registry of emts, but very few people are. None of the fire departments do EMS. Firefighters are all first responders. Around where Im from the firefighters wear slippahs and surf shorts to work with MFD t shirts. The surf boards are not necessarily for rescue.
Fire does Fire, PD does cop stuff and associated "justice" work, and AMR does EMS. Granted it is not like AMR anywhere else. No corporate crap, we do it Island Style.
sweetbeet is wrong, you get to make what everyone else does, and live like everyone else. NO special bonuses because you are an MICT and poor because you chose EMS as a job.
If you want an EMS job, get to know everyone. Start in an ER and get to know the EMS folks and make it known gradually that you are interested in a job. Nobody cares what you did on the mainland.

Here is a PDF of the MICT standing orders.

Feel free to ask any more questions you have.

[Sweetbeet]

If you don't mind me asking, could you please be more specific about what I was wrong about? When you say "you get to make what everyone else does", do you mean everyone else in Hawaii, or every medic working for AMR (regardless of location)? Could you please be more specific about what AMR pays for starting EMTs and MICTs (it sounds like you work for them)?

Is anything I wrote about training, shortages, overtime, etc. wrong? Which island are you on, if you don't mind me asking? Do they ever hire part-time?

[megabuttface]

Hey Sweetbeet
As far as EMT's are concerned....I don't know much about how they run in Hawaii. The Board of Medical Examiners does all the licensing in Hawaii, and to apply, you need National Registry....that's it. The form states you need an equivalency form(to certify that your training program is equal to or above Hawaii's standards) but in the last year, they've done away with it. So, if you have National Registry, you can apply for certification. I know they are ridiculously short on medics(like everywhere else) but as far as EMT's....I don't know. My advice....get your Registry if you don't already have it, and apply. AMR is on all of the islands...
Take care and be well.

[HFDEMT]

Ok... first off... pay no attention to "Moke"... he obviously hasnt done his homework...our EMT's get ROTATED through the ER for post-drop-off insight... and besides, he's from Maui County and not Hawaii County, which Hilo is part of... and Hawaii Fire Dept is the ONLY county in the state that fire DOES handle EMS as well as fire/rescue/lifeguarding/anything else community needs...with AMR as kind of our backup. I know this because I'm wearing an HFD shirt as we speak (I'm at work... firefighter/emt)

As far as pay as a paramedic, you'd have to check on your EMT as well as MICT class hours as far as how they rank up to our hours...Sweetbeat is partially right, we do offer reciprocity, BUT, your class hours would have had to have met or exceeded ours. We're one of the longest classes in the nation...I know of not only a Colorado EMT, but also a Washington Paramedic (45yo) who both had to go through the same recruit process and EMT class as everyone else with no experience. Yes you read it right... a veteran paramedic retaking EMT-B classes to work his way back up.

We are all bare minimum EMT-I's unlike Sweetbeat said, BUT, no one would know that because the state doesnt recognize EMT-I's.... our dept. just trains us to the level to be better at what we do. But yes before paramedic class starts you have to log 200 runs/calls.

In any event, that's just HFD, theres also AMR which is privately owned, and is actually a favorite part-time job for our EMT's and MICT's.... I know of 3 or 4 people who work AMR and arent in Fire. If you're hoping to make decent pay as a medic I'd suggest the long and tedious recruitment process for HFD. As a recruit you'd be hitting 40k while TRAINING... and as an EMT you get a proficiency pay every day assigned to ambulance (about 60-70 bucks a day) as a paramedic for us you'd probably hit 70k easy...

HFD.... Salary so guaranteed income.... TONS of OT opportunities... work 10 days a month.

AMR... Flexible schedule... Income is partially call-based... not too much rigs... Island doesnt have TOO much calls anyway.

Be warned though... our island is FAR from short on Paramedics. Oahu is the shortstaffed one.

Hope I helped, if any questions I'll try and remember to check the thread. ciao!

[HFDEMT]

and those Standing Orders are far outdated...

we have the 06 orders but we're due for a new set this year....such is the neverending story of EMS

[Sweetbeet]

Originally Posted by HFDEMT

As far as pay as a paramedic, you'd have to check on your EMT as well as MICT class hours as far as how they rank up to our hours...Sweetbeat is partially right, we do offer reciprocity, BUT, your class hours would have had to have met or exceeded ours. We're one of the longest classes in the nation...I know of not only a Colorado EMT, but also a Washington Paramedic (45yo) who both had to go through the same recruit process and EMT class as everyone else with no experience. Yes you read it right... a veteran paramedic retaking EMT-B classes to work his way back up.

We are all bare minimum EMT-I's unlike Sweetbeat said, BUT, no one would know that because the state doesnt recognize EMT-I's.... our dept. just trains us to the level to be better at what we do.

That's what I meant when I said that there are only "basics" (what the state CALLS them) but they DO what EMT-Is do here in NY. In fact, you guys are trained even beyond our "I" level, with a lot of the skills that are part of the "CC" (Critical Care) level in NY. CC is between EMT-I and Paramedic (EMT-P here). Sorry if I was misleading.

I don't know if there are any states where an EMT-B (or even an EMT-I) would have the hours necessary to qualify in Hawaii. Certainly not from NY! What I meant by "no reciprocity" is that you can't just go to Hawaii and, because you're an EMT elsewhere, you are automatically one there, or you just have to take a test without re-training. Being a lawyer I was thinking of it like attorney reciprocity - which Hawaii doesn't have either - where if you've been a practicing attorney for X years in another state, you can be admitted in Y state without taking a bar exam.

Thanks for all that great info! Now I'll get back to studying for the HI bar... 23 days and counting...

[megabuttface]

Hi HFDEMT,
What's the story on the Washington Medic? He's going through the EMT curriculum even though he's a medic? Is that a Fire Dept. requirement?(I know here, even if you're a EMT or EMT-P or FFI/II prior to hire at the FD, you STILL have to go through their academy and training, no matter your qualifications) Interesting though. I'm in the process of applying(my paperwork has been mailed and sent out, so I'm waiting for a response). HI has ALOT of clinical hours(810!!!)....I've never heard of a program with that many(this is for medic of course)...It's great though...b/c HI standard of care is much higher than here(WAAY higher)...Sweetbeet...from what it sounds like, you'll have to get your National Registry EMT-I(and do in excess of the clinical hours NY requires so that you meet HI's requirements) After you receive your NY EMT-I(or CCEMT I think you said) will you have enough clinical hours/ride-time to apply for EMT reciprocity in HI. I was told by the Board of Medical Examiners, that I DID NOT have to fill out the training equivalency form...only my National Registry and Dept. of Health Paramedic paperwork was needed(the email said that, yes, it says to have your program director fill it out to verify your training is equivalent to HI's on the website, but that it's no longer required(they did away with it last year apparently) So, I'll wait and see I guess.