Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate
(Male, Age 27) from Schererville, IN
This is a REAL-LIFE job profile written by a Male aged 27 who works as a Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate in Schererville, IN. We have removed all names and personal information in order to protect privacy. This professional kindly spent a bit of their time to complete one of our job profile surveys so that prospective job seekers like you could read their insights. Please excuse any punctuation or grammatical errors in this profile.
At a Glance
Current Job
Basic data on your current job
| Job Title | Emergency Medical Technician Intermediate |
|---|---|
| Salary | $32,000 |
| Other Compensation | None Set |
| Hours/Week | 48 |
| Company Size | (not answered) |
| Location | Schererville, IN |
| Years Experience | 4 years |
Career Ratings
Opinions on your CAREER overall (i.e. not just your current job)
| Years in Career | 0 |
|---|---|
| Education | (not answered) |
| Income Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Interest Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Work-Life Rating | 0 / 10 |
| Fulfilment Rating | 0 / 10 |
Current job Q&A
Describe the type of organization you work for.
Prompt Ambulance Service is a provider of emergency and non-emergency medical transportation serving Northwest Indiana. Prompt employs about 275 employees currently.
Describe your job role and responsibilities.
Provide emergency medical care to sick or injured persons. Maintain standards set by State and medical director.
Please list an additional benefits (beyond compensation) that you receive.
Full medical, dental, vision insurance. Paid time off, flexible schedule.
Do you feel you are under/over or well/fairly compensated at your current position?
Well compensated compared to others in my field. The field itself is vastly undercompensated.
Does your job entail you working with others on a daily basis? Is this something you like/dislike about your job? Please explain.
I interact with members of the public everyday, as well as my assigned partner for extended periods of time. If you have a partner you enjoy working with, this is a benefit. If not, it can make for a long, unenjoyable day.
Do you work collaboratively with supervisors/managers?
Yes
Do you work collaboratively with your co-workers?
Yes
Describe your work location (e.g., office, home, theatre, in the field) and what you like/dislike about working in it.
My supervisors and co-workers are generally trained to the same standards I am and work in my field, so they have knowledge of what it is like to work in my psotion. This allows free flow of ideas or complaints.
Please rate each of the following aspects of your current job on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the highest/best):
Income: 5
Benefits: 4
Hours: 8
Co-Workers: 7
Supervisors: 3
Job Title: 6
Level of Responsibility: 4
The Actual Work: 7
A day in the life of…
Please describe a typical workday for you in your current job:
| 5am to 6am | |
| 6am to 7am | |
| 7am to 8am | Morning ambulance inspection. Checking amounts of medication, fuel levels, oxygen levels, cleanliness, filling out checklists, and correcting any deficiencies. |
| 8am to 9am | Breakfast, taking care of personal errands. (Running to the bank.) |
| 9am to 10am | First call of the day. 87 year old female who fell. From start to finish ths call took about an hour. This is average for a call of this nature. |
| 10am to 11am | Restocking ambulance, returning to service. After each call, a report must be typed and sent to the office via computer. Entering a report takes about 20 minutes, longer on more complex calls. |
| 11am to 12pm | After the last call, spent time inside our station. My partner went to the cafeteria while I played some video games on the Xbox 360. |
| 12pm to 1pm | Had lunch. Decided to eat-in. We have the option of eating anywhere within the town borders but it gets expensive eating out every meal. After lunch I laid down and tried to get some rest. |
| 1pm to 2pm | 2nd call of the day. 31 year old male found unresponsive by his girlfriend. By the time we arrived, he was awake but acting drowsy and uncoordinated. The man was a diabetic but we found no problems with his blood sugar. We transported him to the hospital. We suspected the man had a seizure but there’s no way to be certain without witnessing it. It was extremely hot out and the patient was 300 lbs and had to be carried fom the house. |
| 2pm to 3pm | Spent approximately 30 minutes restocking the ambulance while my partner wrote the report. After that, I laid down to cool off and tried to take a nap. |
| 3pm to 4pm | I’m pretty sure my partner spent the next 2 hours playing Guitar Hero on the Xbox 360 while I slept. |
| 4pm to 5pm | Continued sleeping. |
| 5pm to 6pm | Dinnertime. Due to the heat, neither myself or my partner felt like eating anything heavy, so we went out to the local ice cream stand. |
| 6pm to 7pm | Watched the news. Paris Hilton was released from jail, in a stunning victory for repressed blonde socialites everywhere. |
| 7pm to 8pm | Another call. This time for a 2 car accident. A pickup truck rear ended a sedan with 2 elderly drivers. None of the people involved wanted to go to the hospital. This also requires a written report. |
| 8pm to 9pm | Finished writing reports. Brushed my teeth and got ready to go to bed. Watched some TV |
| 9pm to 10pm | Went to bed around 9:30pm |
| 10pm to 11pm | Sleeping |
| 11pm to 12am | Continued to sleep until 7am, at which point my shift ended. Sleeping the entire night happens about 1/3rd of the time. Friday and Saturday nights tend to keep you awake all night, or at least until the bars close. |
Table of Contents
How you got your job
How did you get your current job?
Looked in the yellow pages under ambulance.
What was the application process?
Written application
Did you have to interview for your current job? If yes, what did the interview process entail?
The interview was a quick process. The interviewer wanted to make sure I had the required certifications, a clean driving record, no major crimes, and open availability. I was also required to submit to a drug test.
If you can remember, what questions were you asked during the interview?
See above.
Do you feel your employer properly prepared you for your job? Explain.
Not exactly. We are expected to be certified and competant EMTs prior to starting. We did receive a 2-week orientation, but everyone learns in their own way.
Was there training for your current position? If yes, what did it entail?
Yes. I received my training from the Army, although this is just one of the many ways to become an EMT. My course was 6 weeks, 8 hours a day M-F. It culminated in a standardized nationally-based written and practical exam.
Do you feel your educational background prepared you for your job? Explain.
Yes. Although training in simulations and from books cannot completely prepare you for an actual emergency, I did feel I had the necessary skills to perform adequately as a new EMT.
If applicable, do you feel your internship experience helped you prepare for your job?
N/A
If someone wanted to go about getting a job similar to yours, what would you recommend for him or her to do?
Several ways. Stop by the local fire department and ask around, call up some local hospitals and ask about EMT classes, or stop by a local emergency room and (politely) ask the EMTs outside where they received their training. EMT classes generally cost $500-$700 and last 6 weeks to 6 months.
What skills do you think a person should have if they want to pursue a position like yours?
Moderate physical shape, good time management skills, excellent at working under pressure, ability to adapt to problems or things not going as planned, no severe psychological disorders.
Do you feel that you need a certain level of education or training to be successful in your job?
Yes, EMTs and Paramedics must complete a standardized course, and pass a written and practical exam, as well as continuing education classes every 2 years.
What advice would you give to someone who was about to start work in your position/ line of work?
1. Everybody dies. It’s your job to precent that if possible, but it won’t always be possible. 2. You won’t be regarded as a hero, so don’t take the job as an ego booster. 3. Patients are people, too.
Long-term career plans
Is your current employment part of your overall career plan? Why or why not?
Yes. I am building experience and education to eventually move on to a permanent employer.
What are your current career goals?
leave the privately-owned ambulance industry in favor of a fire department based service. Continue my education in EMS and possibly go to school for nursing.
Is there anything else you would like to share about your career?
your enjoyment of being an EMT is largely a factor of where you work and what you want out of a job. EMS is one of the only jobs I can think of where you can be paid to sleep. However, you have to be ready to go at a moments notice and be on the ball. I currently work 24 hours, with 48 hours off in between shifts which gives me a lot of time off. in a 24 hours shift it’s possible to do nothing the entire day, or be awake for a full 24 hours. This is a job for people who don’t want to do the same thing every day.
Prior work history
Please list your most recent jobs prior to this current job:
| Title | Length | Salary | Description | |
| Prior Job 1 | Health Care Specialist | 2 years | 28000 | Emergency and supportive healthcare of civilians and soldiers. |
| Prior Job 2 | Crane operator | 1 year | 37000 | Used industrial crane to transport iron beams where needed. |
Educational background
Please list your educational background:
High School GPA:3
| GPA | School | Degree | |
| College (Undergraduate) or Technical/Vocational |
N/A | ||
| Graduate or Professional (Masters or Doctorate) |
N/A |
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