Start Basic Training Soon...worried about long shifts..sleep is essential.

[Chall09]

Dear Everybody,

I start EMT Basic training on September 9th and I'm already worried. I have no worries about school or training. In fact, I'm extremely excited for the chance to do my best in school.

The thing that keeps making me second guess my decision to become a EMT is the shifts. It's extremely important that I get my sleep. I want to be fully acute and alert so I can do my best at the job.

It's important for everybody to get sleep, especially EMT's.

Can anybody respond with some reassurance? I had a ER doc for a Dad. He had a lot of sleep problems when he worked extremely long shifts. It was a rare site to see him awake after a shift. Up all night and sleep by day......is this what I should be looking forward to?

Please respond with past experience. Hopeful words would be nice.

-Chall09

 

[Ridryder911]

This has became a serious issue as sleep deprivation is one of the problems. More and more EMS are going away from 24 hour shifts but it is hard economically and as well alike my personnel like the 10 days a month working over working more days. Not all EMS work 24 hour shifts but 12 or 8 hour, most of those are require being in the truck during those hours.

One has to be able to grab naps as much as possible and alike fire services that work 24 be able to relax as much as possible as well.

There are nights were my crews never get sleep and the are other times they get to sleep all night (rarely) but again a choice to work or not. We are very cautious though the amount of sleep time, and I always want my personnel to get at least 2-4 hours before leaving to drive home.

R/r 911

 

[detox187]

Well, I worked for a company doing the 7pm - 7am shift. I won't lie to you, there were plenty of sleepless nights, but there were nights we did nothing and got a regular nights sleep. Thats not to say that all companies permit sleeping on an overnight shift. I know a lot of guys who weren't allowed to sleep at all.

As for being alert for the job, adrenaline helps with that. As soon as you hit the cherries, peel out of the garage and head to the call you'll have so much running through your mind as to what your coming up against you won't remember that you just woke up. It almost becomes like a 6th sense.

Anyway, good luck in class, it's a great step into moving onto better things.

 

[Shishkabob]

You get used to "less" sleep, as anyone who's ever been to boot camp knows.

Having said that, many agencies have shifts that are short then 24. There's 16, 12, 8 and many others.



Heck, I've done a shifts where it was so dead we slept the whole time, and other shifts where you can't even get 5 minutes to get lunch. It's all part of our field of work.

 

[thatgirl00]

Yea I did my ride along the other day and not a single CALL. Go figure!! One paramedic slept for like 4 hours straight...the other took like 2 15 minute naps and the rest of the time was doing stuff around the station. I studied and slept..haha. Everyday will be different in the EMS field and that is one reason why I and most people want to do it.

 

[mycrofft]

It's Darwinian.

If you can hack it, you might make it. If you can't, or if you don't want to, then you won't.
Eight hour shifts are a convention because they work. The myth of 12 hr shifts saving money is mostly true because you wind up working short of people so shifts go unpaid and your remaining workers have to double up jobs. I worked 16's when I went to pre-nursing classes but that was part time.
With the plethora of available candidates, it ought to be a legal matter. No fooling around.

 

[HNcorpsman]

deal with it... your body will learn to adjust...

 

[Sapphyre]

Can anybody respond with some reassurance? I had a ER doc for a Dad. He had a lot of sleep problems when he worked extremely long shifts. It was a rare site to see him awake after a shift. Up all night and sleep by day......is this what I should be looking forward to?

Please respond with past experience. Hopeful words would be nice.

-Chall09

I work 1815-0545, some nights are DEAD, others, we never stop moving. Yes, we're in the rig the whole time, no stations for us while we're on the clock.

Dead shifts, we try to sleep. Shoot, even the less than dead shifts usually allow for at least a 15 minute nap here or there. Like most people who work night shifts, I actually do most of my sleeping during the day, off the clock. If I get off on time, that's home by 0630, asleep by 0700 or 0730, and awake to do it all over again by 1530. It's the nature of working the night shift.

To detox, once you get in the field, and working regularly, you'll find that the adrenaline rush doesn't hit you anymore. In fact, my partner and I have had nights where we managed to fully crash out, and been, for all intents and purposes, still asleep during the response. The adrenaline just doesn't hit anymore.

I DID get a slight hit on a call recently, not during the response, but once we got on scene. It was a first, I'd never run this call type before, and didn't know what we were going to until we got there. The hit lasted for all of about 0.25 seconds, until I unconsciously quashed it. Can't work when you're more shaky than the pt, or the family.

 

[irish_handgrenade]

I don't know what to tell you I'm a weird one (go ahead and blast me Rid I know you are thinking it lol) but I have never really been a good sleeper. Ever since I was a little kid I have been able to stay awake for extremely long periods of time. I can stay up for a couple days before crashing as long as I'm busy. I tried going to the dr. but they just loded me up with drugs and I went to counciling and nothing worked. So naturally I started medic school lol.
Anyway you will figure out how to make it work if you love it and this is what you want to do with your life. So good luck to ya bud.

Oh and Rid I was just messing with you, not starting an argument again or anything lol

 

[mycrofft]

Medical people think they are physiologically immune.

We have that in common with drunk drivers who say they can handle it.
Some people are able to, but eventually most start exhibiting signs of PTSD (or depression) from the physiological overload...weariness as a baseline, moments or real bouts of unreasonable depression, aggitation, abuse of stimulants, self-pmedication (ETOH being popular,) damage to interpersonal relationships. Mistakes get made on the job and off.

I was basically forced to stop working the weird shifts before, and each time I was amazed at how much better things were after a couple months of real life. With these new 12 hr shifts I'm stuck with, I'm slavering for final retirement (aiming for azbout Oct next year).

 

[Seaglass]

I'm one of those people who needs a ton of sleep. Sleep deprivation for more than a day or so means I'm going to come down with a cold and be a complete moron. I'm really hoping it stops once I finish growing... otherwise, medschool won't be an option.

I survive in EMS by catnapping anywhere and everywhere, and only working part-time. I also try to schedule my shifts so that I'm not working the morning after, or so that I can at least take the bus to my day job rather than drive. Chewing gum helps. So does keeping some caffeine and sugar around, although I need to be careful with that. Oddly enough, I've also noticed that I have more energy when I don't eat much. So ensuring that what I eat is healthy becomes pretty important too.

As for patient care, rote memorization is essential. If I'm exhausted, what little brainpower I have can't be wasted on how to administer O2...

 

[Patrick.W.Steele]

People get used to sleep deprivation, if you don't exercise already start getting into it. Exercise more and take in more food *carbs, proteins, fat's in that order from high content to low content* and you'll find yourself having more energy.

 

[mycrofft]

"GO Juice" for field deployments:

Instant tea made with instant Gatorade, add water to taste. "Ahnold Schwartzpalmer", I call it.

 

[Afflixion]

Instant tea made with instant Gatorade, add water to taste. "Ahnold Schwartzpalmer", I call it.

I'm not going to lie buddy that sounds disgusting. Everyone gets used to their sleep cycle if you get hired on at a service that does 12hour shifts you'll be golden. I used to work for a company that did 24s which often times turned into 48hr shifts. It was harsh but I managed. Just as a reminder being in EMS theres times where your running all day and night and other days where you will get 2-3 calls all shift.

 

[NEMed2]

It all depends on where you work. We have companies offering shifts ranging from 8 hours to 24 hours, 36 and 48 hour shifts are typically frowned upon, although I know a few people that work for multiple companies and do it all the time.

I love my 12 hour overnight shifts, but I have always been a night person so it worked well for me. Having to get up at 0400 or 0430 for work is not usually the best, for me or my partner, especially since I don't usually get to sleep until midnight or later. Once you get in, try to get a shift that best matches your sleeping patterns now and the transition will be easier. Naps help, if you can catch one, which will depend on the service and the shift.

 

[citizensoldierny]

I have gone weeks sleeping no more than 3-4 hours a night, and have stayed up 3 days with only catnaps. Your body will hate you, your mind will play tricks, on you but you will survive. When you can sleep, sleep. If you gotta be up deal with it. You will sleep eventually. Just don't push it when it comes to things like driving, if you cant stay awake pull over, don't try to operate machinery etc. Pretty much common sense type of stuff.

 

[NomadicMedic]

I work 24s, and most nights I'll get at least 4 hours of solid sleep.

Although, on my last 24 I was up all night.

As everyone else has said, you'll either get used to it, of you'll find somethings else to do.