Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I have a friend who worked in rural Montana as an EMT. She told me the starting pay was $8. It goes up as you get more certificates/experience, but $12 was the high end of the range. Of course, that was an area with a low cost of living, but it's still close to minimum wage, and not a livable wage even in the middle of nowhere. She moved to a different state to get $11-12 starting pay.
Paramedics here don't break more than $30 an hour some $35 an hour, but that's over a lot of time. It's sad because they can do IVs, administer medication/some places Narcotics, do EKGs, reposition bones/orthopedic care, intubate patient's, certified in ALS/BPS/PALS, and can do so much more.
This isn't really a question for here. Wondering why they don't include scope of nursing training similiar to an LPN to offer advancement of their training to a nurse. Only a few places alow medics to carry over their skills as advance standing when going for their AA/BS in Nursing. Most medics I know want to advance to management, fire, or PA/Nursing school.
I would characterize EMT's as mid level ancillary providers, along the same lines as entry level Surgical Technologists, Medical Lab Techs, PT/OT Assistants etc. Paramedics are a higher level, but still not on par with an RN, for example.
Just to clarify, in some parts of the country, what this means varies quite a bit.
Where I live, a medical lab tech is usually a medical laboratory technologist (also known as a clinical laboratory scientist) who is required to have a BS in clinical laboratory sciences or medical technology. They must pass an exam and in my state, you must pass this exam in order to be licensed.
I have also seen job postings for medical lab techs that sound more like patient care techs.
The former paramedic that owns the CPR/First Aid training center where I got my CPR card was one of the many cautioning me about leaving the trucking field for an EMT-B or paramedic position.
I then spoke to some firefighter-paramedics taking a break from their shift and even the first thing they brought up was "go for nursing instead of the EMT-B or paramedic, IT PAYS BETTER".
With this kind of attitude from some medical professionals, it makes you wonder if every single one of them is out there to just get rich quick.
Seems like the same scum I've got to deal with in the trucking industry inhabits the medical field as well.
Maybe I'll just forego all of this frustration and lies, and just slip into bum-hood instead.
I don't know, it's just a demoralizing thing when the amount of zeroes on the end of the pay-stub is all that matters any more to most.
Further to my previous post about the pay scales for Toronto Paramedics.........
The city of Toronto is now starting to use Paramedics as home care visitors, for seniors, and those who have recently been sent home from hospital. The Paramedic drives a small car, and has enough medical equipment to do most procedures on site. They have a two way radio/smart phone, that they can use to summon a EMS vehicle if needed. By doing home health care checks, the elderly are more likely to be helped before a condition gets so serious that transportation to a medical facility is required.
The Paramedics are authorised to perform all types of medical care . They do this type of duty for a period of two months, then go back to regular emergency services. The feed back has been great.....the Paramedics value the change of pace, and the patients report that they like being seen in their home, rather than having to go to a clinic or hospital.
Toronto also has a Doctor on call program, that provides home calls by Medical Doctors, which operates from 7 am to midnight, 7 days a week. The service is FREE, and is covered through the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan. All residents of Ontario are covered by the OHIP plan. The MD's are usually newly graduated, with a lot of University debt, so they can begin making a living, with out the cost of operating an office and paying rent and salary to staff.
I have read the comments about how low the pay rates are in some parts of the US, for ambulance workers. My reaction is " how valuable is your life " ? I want the best trained, best equipped, and best paid people to come to help me. Wouldn't you ?
Further to my previous post about the pay scales for Toronto Paramedics.........
The city of Toronto is now starting to use Paramedics as home care visitors, for seniors, and those who have recently been sent home from hospital. The Paramedic drives a small car, and has enough medical equipment to do most procedures on site. They have a two way radio/smart phone, that they can use to summon a EMS vehicle if needed. By doing home health care checks, the elderly are more likely to be helped before a condition gets so serious that transportation to a medical facility is required.
The Paramedics are authorised to perform all types of medical care . They do this type of duty for a period of two months, then go back to regular emergency services. The feed back has been great.....the Paramedics value the change of pace, and the patients report that they like being seen in their home, rather than having to go to a clinic or hospital.
Toronto also has a Doctor on call program, that provides home calls by Medical Doctors, which operates from 7 am to midnight, 7 days a week. The service is FREE, and is covered through the Ontario Hospital Insurance Plan. All residents of Ontario are covered by the OHIP plan. The MD's are usually newly graduated, with a lot of University debt, so they can begin making a living, with out the cost of operating an office and paying rent and salary to staff.
I have read the comments about how low the pay rates are in some parts of the US, for ambulance workers. My reaction is " how valuable is your life " ? I want the best trained, best equipped, and best paid people to come to help me. Wouldn't you ?
Jim B.
I've read about the pay discrepancy between "up there" and "down here".
What I'm really wondering now is if I could work up there after getting the EMT-B, then paramedic certification down here.
A dual citizen-ship, or work-visa thing would definitely seem easier to pull of between CAN/USA than say, here and NZ/AUS, or some place where getting back and forth often enough would be a bit of a pain.
Drive trucks in Yuma for part of the year, mend wounds and such in the NWT for the other part.
Just to clarify, in some parts of the country, what this means varies quite a bit.
Where I live, a medical lab tech is usually a medical laboratory technologist (also known as a clinical laboratory scientist) who is required to have a BS in clinical laboratory sciences or medical technology. They must pass an exam and in my state, you must pass this exam in order to be licensed.
I have also seen job postings for medical lab techs that sound more like patient care techs.
I think in my first post, I wasn't clear enough, and used the longhand "Medical Laboratory Tech" instead of the acronym "MLT". I didn't mean to infer it was a Medical Technologist, which, as you point out, is a BS degree required professional position. MLT's are are much lower position, similar to your example of the Patient Care Tech. I've never seen the MT and MLT terms used interchangeably, but perhaps in your area, you have?
I think in my first post, I wasn't clear enough, and used the longhand "Medical Laboratory Tech" instead of the acronym "MLT". I didn't mean to infer it was a Medical Technologist, which, as you point out, is a BS degree required professional position. MLT's are are much lower position, similar to your example of the Patient Care Tech. I've never seen the MT and MLT terms used interchangeably, but perhaps in your area, you have?
Sorry about the confusion.
No worries. Actually, MT and MLT are common in the laboratory world. MLTs are usually laboratorians that are only at the technician level, which means they only have an AS degree but many places still require certification. MTs would be the laboratorians with BS degrees---however, depending on where you live, MLTs may be limited as to what they can do in the laboratory when compared to MTs. Other places let them do the same work but pay the MLTs much less.
It gets confusing. They really need to just make things clearer because depending on where one lives, it varies a bit for the same job.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
