How To Get A Better Paramedic Job

This article is all about how to become a traveling paramedic, which is a great way to gain experience and make good money as a paramedic.

No one said you’d get rich being a paramedic.

And we make decent money. A few overtime shifts and it can be pretty good. Especially good since we didn’t have to go to college.

But who would say no to a pay bump?

Well there is a better way to work.

One that lets you command a higher pay rate.

That has a more flexible schedule.

And it’ll let you see the world you’ve been waiting to go out and see.

That way is travel paramedicine.

Hey everyone, I’m Shay. I’m a firefighter/ paramedic and I’ve been working in pre-hospital EMS for over a decade now.

Today I’m going to cover exactly how to find yourself a high paying travel medic contract. And that’s going to be through subscription job board postings.

Let’s dig in.

Certifications

So to start, you’re going to need to make sure you have a few certifications under your belt.

I’ll cover all the basic ones you’ll need to start picking up contracts. Then I’ll go over a few special cases you can get.

Of course these aren’t necessary but they make you a better candidate for a position.

National License

This should be a no brainer.

You are going to need your national license to travel and practice in multiple places around the country.

It would take way too long for these companies to require everyone get the their state license for a 3 month contract. That’s why they accept National Registry.

It’s easy for these departments to hold you to that standard. It’s already being met by every state and is taught in every accredited paramedic course.

If you have yours, keep it.

PALS, PHTLS, PEHP, ACLS

These are four of the most common certifications you’ll find in job boards.

Usually, accredited paramedic programs will certify you in these as part of your course. If you already have them, awesome. Do whatever you need to to keep these up to date.

If you don’t already have them, spend a little time and money getting them.

The classes aren’t long. Honestly, they aren’t even that hard.

First is PALS (Pediatric Advanced Life Support) and PEHP (Pediatric Education for preHospital Providers)

First of all don’t ask why PEHP’s acronym is that way. It’s annoying. I know it, you know it, everyone knows it. PEPP would have been fine but here we are.

Rant out of the way.

These two certifications focus on helping paramedics better understand pediatric patients.

Pediatrics are something we (thankfully) don’t see very often. These two classes dive a litter deeper into how kids’ anatomy and physiology changes as they develop.

They are very useful for something we aren’t as familiar with.

ACLS or Advanced Cardiac Life Support. Exactly what it sounds like. Deals exclusively with heart conditions and cardiac arrest.

Some of the information in this course feels a little outdated but that’s how big organizations roll. Slowly.

PHTLS (Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support) focuses on some of our more fun calls. Good ol’ traumas. It’s a really easy to get certification as all the information is almost exactly the same as you’ll find in your paramedic text book.

This class should be a breeze so don’t skip it.

Specialty Certifications

These can be wildly different.

And not every contract will require them. It really depends on who is hiring.

There’s no way I could sit here and list out EVERY certification you could possibly get.

Some are really common like flight paramedic or critical care. In fact, those might be good just to have. It really opens your options up when traveling.

But recently I saw an opening for a job that required a diving certification!

Until now I didn’t “Diving Medic” was a position that existed.

Moral of the story is, keep your eyes open. You may just find a spot that lets you combine a few of your favorite things into a career you love.

Job Boards

Certifications and licenses covered. Now, where exactly do you find those jobs?

Because your current job certainly won’t show them to you.

They aren’t going to pop up out of thin air.

And they can be hard to find on job sites like Indeed.

You have to find them on paramedic job board postings.

What Are Job Boards

Job boards are simply sites that departments use to post open positions.

Nurses use similar things to find travel nursing spots.

There are a few different job boards that have a pretty good selection of job postings. You just have to know where to look.

And the really good ones are subscription based.

Making people pay just to see job postings may seem annoying at first glance. Really, it helps the company cut down on applicants and only get the serious inquiries. They are looking to fill these spots quickly. They aren’t going to waste time looking through 1000 applications.

Beyond The Meat Wagon Job Board

That’s where Beyond The Meat Wagon comes in.

First of all, great name. I will now only refer to my ambulance as a meat wagon.

The company is run by some really good guys. They have great jobs available and plenty of postings to search through.

And they have a lot of support from first responders. You know we’re picky so it must be at least decent to get the following it has.

And they have a low monthly service fee that you can cancel whenever you want.

If you’re interested into looking at some postings, you can find the job board here.

Apply

License? Check. Job board? Check.

Only one step left. Apply for the job.

It’s the worst part of the process but it’s pretty simple. I’m assuming you currently have a job. If not I;m sure you had one before.

So you already know how to write a good resume.

Focus on your prior experience as a paramedic. The more experience, the more sought after you will be on job boards.

Make sure to highlight your certifications too. I keep a folder with every up to date certification I have so everything is ready to go at a moment’s notice.

And try to tailor your application to each spot.

Postings can be looking for different skill sets. It really depends on where you apply to. If you have a good resume template, fit in some personal information that can help tie you to your new job.

Yes, these are temporary spots. But adding a personal touch to a resume makes you stand out from every other person throwing their name in the ring.

Be memorable. Just keep it professional.

You’ve got this.

Conclusion

Travel paramedics have an awesome opportunity.

They have the potential to make more money.

They get to work in cool places doing cool jobs.

I believe in the near future more and more jobs will be hired out on a contract basis.

And if you’re still curious about the position, check out this article on different avenues for paramedic jobs.

Good luck out there!