Good mix of transport and 911 calls - EMT-Basic S.T.A.R. Ambulance Employee Review

Best reasons to work at STAR is not only do you get to rotate stations and see different people but you also have the mix of the 911 calls in there as well. It is a company that you can work for and learn a lot each day. To me it feels like I have a family at work in addition to my family at home. You have opportunities for continuing education. Most of the management is also not only Paramedics but certified instructors with plenty of experience as well. There are also opportunities for runs that are long distance runs, which allow you to see other places in the state of Indiana.

Really the only Con I have is the sleep schedule. Yes we work 24 hour shift and yes we also have to do runs for contracted hospitals…especially on the BLS side of things there needs to be a set time to start rotating trucks for runs that are called. Getting on shift at noon and then running anywhere from 11-13 hours straight with hardly a break in between presents a safety hazard. If we’re tired and still running on the truck that poses a danger to not only us but to our partner and especially the patient if we have one on board. It increases the risk of a vehicle accident and crew injury and or patient injury as well.

I have absolutely no “Pros” to share at all. Call me a disgruntled former employee or whatever you would like but I’m stating the facts from my experience.

Overall you work your employees to death. Dispatch completely unorganized in their run scheduling which makes the crews look bad when showing up late to calls. Most of the ambulances very poorly maintained and equipment poorly organized. I was almost completely when coughing constantly through a 96 hour shift and requested to leave to go to the ER till I felt like crap. Turns out I had a collapsed lung which NO ONE knew about because no one even bothered to listen to my lungs. If a crew member is actively having a severe Myocardial Infarction and tells his partner he needs the other paramedic on duty for 911 assistance for himself, that Paramedic needs to be in the truck and off to them…not pawning them off on the Transport/Backup 911 truck.