What does an EMT do during his/her job?

Need job input - PCT or EMT?

• I am looking for a job and I need your opinions. I live in NYC, but cannot decide whether I should become a Patient Care Technician (PCT) or an EMT-b. I am a stay-at-home mom, but need to bring in some income to help with the new baby. My husband works in the daytime (8am-4pm), so I would need an evening job. If you have experience in either field, please leave your input. How many days and hours a week do you work? How long are the shifts, both part-time and full-time? How is the salary? Are there good job opportunities for newcomers? Is there flexibility in the schedule (for example, are jobs available for different shifts)? If you are a PCT, do you work in a hospital or a different setting (such as adult home or rehab center)? If you are an EMT, do you work for the fire dept, a hospital, or a private company? Do you recommend your field? I appreciate any additional info you want to leave.

• Answer:

  Well, I am an EMT. The issue with being an EMT is that 70% of the jobs are in privates and out of those, 85% are day cars meaning you would work some shift like 7 am to 7 pm, 4 am to 2 pm, 5 am to 1 pm, 9 am to 5 pm, 1 pm to 9 pm, etc. We do have an additional car that is 7 pm to 7 am due to legality of not being allowed to run a 24 hour shift but we were allowed to run a 12 hour day shift and a 12 hour night shift. We also have 6 people that work the 24 hours shifts as 1 on and 2 off. Usually there are only a few 24 hour shifts though since the majority of runs occur during the day for dialysis patients who go 3 times a week and different routine appointments like wound care, dentist, or doctor appointments. My job in a private EMS company was horrible and they were very, very inflexible. You had to get your own coverage and most of the time no one wanted to switch with you. They also usually run you over at least 1 hour and tried to call you back in. I worked the 12 hour 7 am to 7 pm shift and I hated it. With transports that take a few hours, it was horrible, horrible. As for fire departments, most of them are volunteer positions or require you to get your fire 2 card which is usually 240+ hours. I volunteer and we're paid 18 dollars per run, flat rate, and an additional 18 if we transport. The average call is about 30 minutes long or 1 hour if we transport. The shifts are usually 24 hours if you're full time although some do 12 hour shifts or they do a 9-5 shift in my area. All the departments around here are combined fire/ems so do you both. You would make more as a firefighter/EMT usually, but not always. I've seen some departments advertise for part-time at 8.50 an hour. One firefighter was full-time at minimum wage before he went to my company to make 10.00 an hour. Our minimum wage is 7.70 an hour and our cost of living is on the lower end. You can sometimes get a job as a PCT as an EMT, which is what I am trying to get right now. It's a little bit more flexible, but they prefer road experience and paramedic level. I am in a paramedic class right now along with my nursing courses. Hospitals are slightly better in terms of scheduling and the shifts really vary depending on the hospitals. A lot do 12 hour shifts with a mid that comes in for about 8 hours for the ER. On the actual floors where I have done nursing clinicals, it's usually one or two nursing assistants or pcts that work 12 hour shifts per unit. Sometimes more in the more critical areas. You would probably have an easier time finding a night time shift as a pct in an assisted living facility or nursing home. EMT jobs for night time probably would not happen. It's rare. Now, don't get me wrong, I love my job as an EMT but I hate my company.The best advice in regards to the companies is that they are all the same so find a shift and a partner you like and never leave. He was a little burnt out though. If you want to become a pct in a hospital, definitely take a medical terminology class and apply as a unit secretary/clerk or a ward clerk too. Basically you enter information into the computer. Some places have added unit secretaries to the nursing assistant jobs. For a PCT, CNA cert/license may be better than an EMT license/cert. Having to work during the night shift limits you as a lot of students want to work at night.