vollys or payed

[Just Plain Ruff]

When you ask the question "Who is more passionate: Vollies or Paid?" It just doesn't seem like a clear enough question. Passionate about what? What kind of work they do or why they do the work? I am a volunteer at a company that runs about 10,000 calls a year. I spend almost all of my free time there. I do a lot of work there. Most of the full-timers there will even say that I do more work than some of the paid employees. Many of them look at me and say, "Why are you helping, this isn't your job?" The answer is simple really, I am in the station and on the truck, I should help. I feel its my responsibility too. I don't expect the paid employees to act like my mother and clean up after me just because I'm not paid. I'm not saying that I shouldn't clean up after myself but I feel everyone should chip in and help.

The picking and choosing of calls....I am guilty of this one. But not to the point where I say that call is BS I'm not going on it, I'll wait here for you to clear up. I am the third person on the truck so in reality I could do that but never have. On the other hand, if there is 2 calls going out at once i may pick one over the other but I have never said, "I just don't feel like going so I'm not." I go on the calls because I want the experience.

I love the kind of work I do because it is so important to me. If you ask my family, I am obsessed with going to my station. I came home early from my vacation last month just to go there. I geuss at some point I would say that I was obsessed, but I think I am one step short of obsessed, which in turn is passionate. After, a call I react the same way as our paid employees, and help clean up after any and all calls just like them.

I'm not saying volly's are more passionate than paid, but I am saying it depends on where you go. I think that as time progresses you lose the passion and it just becomes a job, more than a passion.

I am a volunteer because I am only 18 and cant get a job without being 21 because of insurance reasons. i do wish, however that i do turn this into my career. But even being paid I hope to still be as passionate about it as I am now.

That was a very thoughtful and good first post. One suggestion I'd make is why don't you take some of the enthusiasm you have for sitting at the station during all your free time and go to medic school. You will be better off for that. I am going to go on a limb here and say you want to be a medic anyhow so why not just start the program. The experience you get as an EMT will not prepare you better to be a paramedic. My suggestion is to go to medic school.

[akflightmedic]

10,000 calls a year and they utilize vollies in addition to their paid staff?

What type of department is this? City, County, Private?

Do they have a union?

If I were a full timer at your station, I would not be pleased with volunteers as they remove some potential overtime. As long as they do not use vollies in lieu of a paid member but then that would have to be in writing and you typically will not see that kind of language or agreement without a union being involved.

Please tell me more about your organization. You do not have to name it but give me a state to have some idea. How many ambos do you have, how many paid members and how many vollies?

Is this a fire/ems dept as well?

And finally, take Ruff's advice.

[PRPGfirerescuetech]

K,

As we just discussed, passion is for EMS is defined by those who have a stake in its future. That comes with being a career staff member. That said, your mind-set is already career, so I would not view you as the typical volunteer, let alone the typical non-productive V that is involved with that station.

J