How it works | Suffolk County Medics

Where the answers come from

A medic opens an agency's page and fills in the Medic questionnaire, answering what they know and skipping the rest. Everything is sent together.
The answers come to us privately and are reviewed together. Nothing posts automatically.
Approved answers are added to the agency's page with the date they were updated.

What we ask about

The agency: Call volume, Call volume per shift, Annual budget, Do they bill for EMS service?, Call types and nursing home load, Do they respond to fires?
Schedule and pay: Full time, part time or per diem?, Chances of going full time, Shifts: 8-hour tours, 12-hour tours or rotating?, Holiday pay (how much?), Mandatory overtime?, Required meetings? Are they paid?
Staffing and response: Response structure: alone in a fly car, double medic, or medic/EMT?, EMT support, Volunteers, Are the chiefs EMTs?
Equipment and scope: Power stretchers?, Ventilators and pumps, Monitor/defibrillator: Zoll, LP15 or LP35?, RSI, Ultrasound
Training: Paid refreshers?, Employee development, Mentorship, Do they take medic students? Are you paid for precepting?
Quarters and uniforms: Co-ed quarters?, Internet and kitchen access? Any restrictions?, Uniform allowance: boots, pants, shirts, jackets?, Is sleeping allowed? In a chair? On a couch? On a bed?, Are sleeping quarters single or multiple person environments?, Do they have lockers?, Do they have showers? Any restrictions?, Do they have a gym you are allowed to use while on duty?
Culture: Fire department culture, How is harassment of women handled?, Commissioners: rate 1–5, Do the volunteers wear uniforms?, Do the volunteers drive emergently to the hospital with stable patients?
Perks and negatives: Additional perks, Pertinent negatives: what should a medic know before taking this job?

Employee satisfaction survey

Every agency page has a short survey for people who work or worked there. It asks for 1–5 ratings of overall satisfaction, pay and benefits, schedule, leadership, supervisor support, equipment, training, and safety and respect, plus whether you'd recommend the job. Average scores show on the page once three people have answered, and visitors can't see individual responses. Each person has one response per agency and can update it from the same browser. Optional comments go only to the site owner and aren't posted.

Posting rules

Share what you know firsthand. Say if something has changed recently.
Describe policies and conditions, not individuals. Answers that name or target a person aren't posted.
Pay and benefit figures should be what you were actually offered or paid.
Your name and email are optional and are never posted.

Please note

Answers are personal accounts from medics, not official statements, and they can go out of date. Always confirm pay, schedules and benefits with the agency. Suffolk County Medics is independent and is not affiliated with Suffolk County government or with any agency listed.

The list of agencies comes from New York State's fire department registry (DHSES), the NYS Department of Health EMS agency list, and Suffolk County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services.

Sources

The addresses, phone numbers, emails and websites in the contact directory and on each agency's page come from these sources, checked October 2026.