surviving a 12hr./24hr.

RanchoEMT

RanchoEMT

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Just wondering your guys' thoughts/tactics for working loooong hours... Coffee puts me2 sleep and i'm not big on sugar. This is Not Limited to Diet/Food, what activities help pass the time????
(i.e. DVD player, books, 21 Questions)
 
Sleep.

Laptop, video games, study (But I sleep)

Good partner? Play games

If you can drive somewhere, go people watch

Build a rocket

Seriously

Cocaine/Ecstasy

Might get you fired and arrested though.

Straighten everything up on the truck

Eat

Play more video games

Cook new meals
 
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Ritalin.
 
Sleep, WoW, sleep, Kindle/Nook loaded with books, people watch, sleep, study, sleep.
 
If you're lucky enough to have the time, sleep. TV only gets you so far, books help too. Around here we don't get much down time so the shifts go by quick.
 
Sleep if your lucky enough. I try to study a couple of hours a day. Mindlessly argue on internet message boards.

Lately here I've passed the time by running calls and writing the resultant charts, don't you HATE it when work gets in the way of downtime? :D
 
usalsfyre said:
Sleep if your lucky enough. I try to study a couple of hours a day. Mindlessly argue on internet message boards.

Lately here I've passed the time by running calls and writing the resultant charts, don't you HATE it when work gets in the way of downtime? :D
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Not runnign calls gets really old fast. I've done 24s here where we haven't turned a wheel except for errands around town.. I was about to bounce off the walls or go out and push some old lady into traffic just so I would have something to do
 
jtpaintball70 said:
Not runnign calls gets really old fast. I've done 24s here where we haven't turned a wheel except for errands around town.. I was about to bounce off the walls or go out and push some old lady into traffic just so I would have something to do
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Try doing 72 hours in a row...not one..call...


My partner and I were about to kill each other at the end of it
 
jtpaintball70 said:
Not runnign calls gets really old fast. I've done 24s here where we haven't turned a wheel except for errands around town.. I was about to bounce off the walls or go out and push some old lady into traffic just so I would have something to do
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My last job we had a roughly 25 day out of service event. Out of service as in "the helicopter is in pieces in the hangar and you don't even need to put a uniform on" out of service. So I know what you mean, during that time I volunteered to make a close to 300 mile round trip just to have something to do. I do however, wish I could find a balance between that and working 18-23 hours out of a 24 hour shift.

It could be worse though. At least we're not like Linuss, not running calls while trying to get FTO'd....:P
 
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usalsfyre said:
My last job we had a roughly 25 day out of service event. Out of service as in "the helicopter is in pieces in the hangar and you don't even need to put a uniform on" out of service. So I know what you mean, during that time I volunteered to make a close to 300 mile round trip just to have something to do. I do however, wish I could find a balance between that and working 18-23 hours out of a 24 hour shift.

It could be worse though. At least we're not like Linuss, not running calls whe trying to get FTO'd....:P
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Lol that is true. The white cloud is strong with that one :P I'm hoping my black cloud makes another appearance tonight since there's a possiblity of freezing fog on the roads tonight at the split
 
jtpaintball70 said:
Lol that is true. The white cloud is strong with that one :P I'm hoping my black cloud makes another appearance tonight since there's a possiblity of freezing fog on the roads tonight at the split
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Freezing fog just sounds like the grim reaper is not far behind...:ph34r:

Be careful tonight, in addition to weather it's amateur drunk night.
 
usalsfyre said:
It could be worse though. At least we're not like Linuss, not running calls while trying to get FTO'd....:P
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Meh, yesterday, my first half of the 48, wasn't too bad. We actually 'only' posted for 10 hours out of the 24, luckily we slept all night which will make this 48 easier.

Had 5 calls, which is shockily the most we've had on my truck since we've started, while every other unit is running all day on truamas... I've yet to have a trauma. Oh well, it's NYE, and I just heard another unit launch the helo for a 2-person entrapment, so hopefully we'll get something out this way.


As for how to deal with a 24 hour shift (trust me, 12 isn't "long" in EMS, that's the norm), we sleep, watch TV, play video games (laugh at my partner getting his butt handed to him online) sleep some more... and repeat as necessary.



And do the crap load of paperwork that comes with our PCRs... yeesh. A refusal alone takes 20min to do when I'm fast, let alone when tired.
 
Take online classes.

Buy a set of kettlebells and do some exercise. I recommend a "greasing the groove" approach, where you do a set of something every 15 mins to 1/2 hour, maybe 50-60% of what you could do to failure. You don't tire yourself out, but you get a ton of reps and overall work in. Best of all, running calls doesn't affect the program. Just get back at it when you return to the station.
 
After our last state inspection we had *PLENTY* to do on EVERY shift, including:

Look for expired items on the trucks.
Learn EVERY menu on the LP15
Double check the backup LP12
Re-inspect the longboards for cracks and recessed pins.
Wash the trucks
Wash the bay
Inventory the stock room
Station chores

I'm in the minority, I know that, but I am not at work to play video games, watch sports/movies, and eat.
 
Simusid said:
After our last state inspection we had *PLENTY* to do on EVERY shift, including:

Look for expired items on the trucks.
Learn EVERY menu on the LP15
Double check the backup LP12
Re-inspect the longboards for cracks and recessed pins.
Wash the trucks
Wash the bay
Inventory the stock room
Station chores

I'm in the minority, I know that, but I am not at work to play video games, watch sports/movies, and eat.
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So assuming your shift starts at 7, what are you going to do by say, 10:00? Realisticly finding work related task for 24 hours is nearly impossible. You should make sure your equipment is taken care of however.
 
usalsfyre said:
So assuming your shift starts at 7, what are you going to do by say, 10:00? Realisticly finding work related task for 24 hours is nearly impossible. You should make sure your equipment is taken care of however.
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Yes, I agree that I could not fill 24 hours every time. I do like to prioritize the important stuff though. It irks me to see coworkers laid out in a recliner spending hours on facebook when I know there are supply problems.
 
I definitely agree that slow shifts are the most difficult of shifts.
Working for a county ambulance, we can go an entire shift with nothing more than a hospital to hospital transfer.

As for the busy shifts, I don't mind them so much. What gets to me is the day after a busy 24. I usually end up sleeping the day after the 24 which means my family dosen't see me till the following day. That's kinda of a drag.
 
Most overnights I have plenty to do just keeping the truck stocked and cleaned and writing reports after calls (God! Firehouse sucks so bad whoever designed it should be shot. Twice.) On 24 hour weekend rotations I have a bit of free time, and almost all of it is spent studying up, practicing with equipment, or getting answers to all the questions I still have from last shift. I spend very little time in front of the TV. It's a good opportunity to learn from experienced Basics and medics and so I don't waste my time. But I'm just wired a little differently. :wacko:
 
Rockstar/NOS and my station has a Xbox.
 
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