Nepotism at Work - Paramedic Armstrong Ambulance Service Employee Review

Part of a Union now Solid Pay Coworkers

Not the best support from management, easy to get stuck.

Union benefits (not that many tho), weekly pay, decent uniforms, availability for overtime (except during the summer when the students are out of school and they take all the shifts from full timers)

Honestly could go on and on… firstly, their equipment—especially stretchers—are painfully outdated, resulting in constant patient drops and back injuries. They constantly stress that you put in work orders and supply requests, and do your checklists, and even if you’re diligent with it, it does not matter. they don’t look at them nor do they address them. especially when it’s comes to mechanical issues with the trucks. this company gets sued all the time bc of the negligence of equipment, pt drops, and MVAs. most of the workers do not take pride in their work, nor do they care about the upkeep of the truck, their documentation, or patient care. every morning I come in, i clean up other people’s trash, discard of the HIPPA-violating documents they leave around everywhere, and put the back of the ambulance back together. I’ve had so many partners that lack empathy and even basic social skills when it comes to interacting with their patients. It gets to a point where they are doing negligible things. and you can report it but nothing will come of it. Not sure if this company has any sort of process to weed out the weirdos but it’s not working. And The men here very commonly push professional boundaries and get flirtatious and creepy. Not to mention there’s constant sleeping around between individuals here, married or not. but that’s a problem in all of ems. people are also not the nicest to newer people and tend to talk to them like their stupid, especially if they’re a higher level of care. “Paragods” is what they’re called i think. Management…weird. Some of them are creepy old men that pray on younger girls. A specific supervisor in particular is the rudest supervisor I’ve ever had in any job, they target specific people, including me. they are disrespectful and drunk with power but they get away with it because of their position. it has thus far been the most draining part of my armstrong experience, especially considering how much pride I take in my work. It never matters at the end of the day because I am just a cog in the machine and that specific person will always find something to dig at me for. Will even try to discipline me for my partner’s actions. The 911 experience/shifts are extremely hard to get. The shifts are extremely limited. The process of working with ALS takes forever to complete and when you’re eligible to begin it, the management sucks at coordinating it. there’s a few good dispatchers but most of them are subpar and not the brightest individuals. and they have really bad attitudes sometimes, even if THEY make a mistake and it’s not your fault they will treat you like it is. there are certain dispatchers that will also keep giving the same one or two units calls over and over and totally ignore the 20 other crews on that day. If you’re looking to work as an EMT, i would not recommend this place and consider going elsewhere. you will not be appreciated here. yes you will learn how to be an EMT quickly if you are new, whether it’s IFTs or the occasionally 911, but it will ruin your spirit. also, other local private EMS pay more than this place.