RENO, Nev. — REMSA Health is looking abroad to solve a local staffing crunch, teaming up with International Medic Solutions to bring trained paramedics from Australia into its northern Nevada workforce.
REMSA Health COO Adam Heinz said close to 60% of EMS agencies across the country are short-staffed, even as Australia has more trained medics than it needs, KOLO reported. Under the IMS program, international candidates go through vetting, testing and training before they’re cleared to join REMSA Health or any other U.S. agency.
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“There’s not a lot of paramedics that are here in the Reno area that aren’t already working for a public agency such as the fire service, the hospital system, or here at REMSA,” Heinz said.
Heinz said REMSA Health graduates about 30 paramedics a year, but with Reno’s continued growth, he said the agency needs to keep expanding to meet community demand. He said international medics bring a unique perspective that complements the care REMSA provides.
Australian Paramedic Kyra Krukowitch has worked in Reno for the past year and a half and now trains new international medics joining the program. She said the transition has been one of the more challenging experiences of her career, but one that’s helped her grow and take on work she never imagined during her university years in Australia.
“So it’s been a bit of a learning experience; it’s definitely been one of the more challenging things I’ve ever done, but it’s made me grow so much over the last few years since being here, and I’ve done things I would’ve never thought I would’ve imagined doing while in university in Australia and the work experience out here has been phenomenal,” Krukowitch said
Krukowitch said having gone through the training herself gave her insight into the differences between the Australian and U.S. programs, allowing her to help guide new recruits through the distinct EMS systems, a transition she said was a major hurdle when she first arrived.
Is recruiting internationally a smart fix, or does it point to a bigger retention problem?
