Guest guest Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 What is it that you want to know? Phil -- Inquiring Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Hello, I worked for ISOS in 2004-2005 during the Coalition Provisional Authority project and was stationed at the US/UK Embassy in Kirkuk, Iraq. The pay was better than some (KBR/Halliburton, for example) but not as good as other opportunities, such as security medic (shooter) or EOD work. Depending on the contract, your support from them (supply-wise) may range from " great " to " who are you? " I spent over a year bartering for supplies through military and local resources and never received what they (ISOS) promised. Their infra-structure as far as medical oversite, personnel/human resources, and communication is excellent. They have an experienced and competent medical control physician (Dr. Druckman) and an available staff to communicate with, 24 hrs a day. The bottom line though is that they are a business and such are in the money-making frame of mind. For example, they may pay you for 5 days, while charging the client for 7. If you are good at negotiation and present yourself well, however, you can get an occasional decent job thrown your way, such as the stand-by medic for the filming of Pirates of the Caribbean II, which was covered by ISOS medics. Hope this helps. ------- Original Message ------- From : fdau4me[mailto:fdau4me@...] Sent : 9/16/2006 10:46:35 PM To : Cc : Subject : RE: Inquiring Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Yes I used to work for them. They are CRAP and will not back you up they just want to please there little contracts they have, bad support they tell you, you must first call medical control before giving any type of hard core drugs etc class 1 narcs but when there clients come to you they demand you give them the drugs and keep no records of it, if you tell them no like I did you are laid off for the excuse lack of work --- fdau4me <fdau4me@...> wrote: > Just wondering if anyone knows anything about Medic > Systems a > subsidiary of Bristow. You can email direct at > fdau4me@... > > thanks > > > > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 If their pay is good? Overall are they a good company? Philip ARDELL <kiwimedic@...> wrote: What is it that you want to know? Phil -- Inquiring Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 18, 2006 Report Share Posted September 18, 2006 Gidday . I see you are a Kiwi. Where ya working and what ya doing mate. Im presently doing the medic thing in Kabul. Cheers Monte >From: " Philip ARDELL " <kiwimedic@...> >Reply- >< > >Subject: Re: Inquiring >Date: Mon, 18 Sep 2006 09:27:10 +0100 (GMT Daylight Time) > > > What is it that you want to know? > >Phil > >-- Inquiring > >Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 where are you working now ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 As per other commments ISOS are a huge company and get lots of jobs in interesting locations. However they pay at the very bottom end of current pay rates. If you are looking to get a start in international work then consider it as a means to building your C.V . Remember you will be a very small cog in a very big and impersonal organisation but you are likely to get repeat work. The level of support you get depends on which of the regional offices you site/contract is managed by. With my diplomatic hat on I would say that on three jobs over 3.5 years they failed to live up to both my and the respective clients expectations and certainly to their promises. I now earn twice what ISOS were paying me at the same site but with it costing the client less than they were paying ISOS! There have been several threads on the pros and cons of the various companies, including ISOS, on the site before. All that glitters is not gold... Regards > > Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Yes Small Company ,Bluecross Insurance, Good support and pay can pay around 300 a day look then up on the internet, Walsh Offhssore have the Big contracts like Chevron and other big ones and the good thing is they will trian to to work as an HSE advisor put you through all the schools and then the money goes up and up, I hope this helps --- Texas Paramedic <fdau4me@...> wrote: > If their pay is good? Overall are they a good > company? > > Philip ARDELL <kiwimedic@...> > wrote: > What is it that you want to know? > > Phil > > -- Inquiring > > Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > > > --------------------------------- > Get your email and more, right on the new .com > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been > removed] > > > > > __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 Dear All Just to let you know, I am not slacking with replies, but have answered them offline. Ian would kick my arse for any comments about employers. I have answered them as accurately as I can. Regards Philip Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted September 19, 2006 Report Share Posted September 19, 2006 I tend to agree with what says, especially about building your CV. I have a lot of respect for the organizational abilities of ISOS to evacuate patients internationally, arranging the permits, aircraft, receiving facilities, etc. Their alarm centers are pretty impressive. Working for them: as one colleague pointed out, it's not like 1 big company, but a lot of small independent companies working under one name. Thus working for them in China or Russia might be a completely different experience than working for the Paris or Johannesburg offices. (As an aside, I found the Paris office to be very good to work for. The managers who worked there a few years ago genuinely seemed to want to support the medics on the job). There is a definite mentality that paramedics are a dime a dozen, and those who rock the boat, as in any corporate environment, are not well loved. I was amused to be sent to Equitoreal Guinea without so much as a tab of doxycycline in my pocket...by the company whose foremost business is protecting the health of corporate travelers. Hopefully the pictures of the Malaria Survival Kits that Transocean issues that I sent to ISOS motivated them to actually do something about the health of their OWN employees. If you do good work for them and keep the client happy, I do feel they are very good about trying to keep you employed. As far as I know, they are basically unconcerned with your medical abilities or continuing education. I don't ever recall an interview with a physician on my medical knowledge or an offer of any sort of continuing ed. As long as your certificates are in order, thats enough. The medical control/medical direction seems absurdly limited (a 911 paramedic in just about any place in the US has vastly more advanced protocols) given the nature of the service provided. Basically, you call an alarm center and talk to a MD who quite possibly has no idea what a paramedic is, or what level of equipment/skills you possess. Then again, thats sometimes also the case in major cities in the US..... " Yes doctor, we do have oxygen on this ambulance.... " This is not necessarily the case though where you work with one regional office that provides its own medical control, so again, it varies by location. Lastly, be aware that you can negotiate your pay with them. Especially if you have already done a short term contract and they are calling you back for more work. I would ask for 10-20% more than they quote you. If they turn you down for that, then at least demand they pay for some continuing ed/ACLS/BTLS recertification if the contract will last through the expiry date on your cert. I negotiated health insurance for me and my family (though of course I paid for it) through ISOS. That was surprisingly difficult, and took a lot of time to iron out the details of withholding the premiums from my paycheck, etc. I got the impression they hardly ever provide insurance for contract employees. [That noise you are hearing is any chance of me working for ISOS ever again going up in flames like a napalm drop for what I just wrote, LOL. Oh well!] cpfmedic wrote: > > As per other commments ISOS are a huge company and get lots of jobs in > interesting locations. However they pay at the very bottom end of > current pay rates. If you are looking to get a start in international > work then consider it as a means to building your C.V . Remember you > will be a very small cog in a very big and impersonal organisation but > you are likely to get repeat work. > > The level of support you get depends on which of the regional offices > you site/contract is managed by. With my diplomatic hat on I would > say that on three jobs over 3.5 years they failed to live up to both my > and the respective clients expectations and certainly to their > promises. I now earn twice what ISOS were paying me at the same site > but with it costing the client less than they were paying ISOS! There > have been several threads on the pros and cons of the various > companies, including ISOS, on the site before. > > All that glitters is not gold... > > Regards > > > > > > > Can anyone tell me anything about ISOS. > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You are posting as a guest. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.