I am currently part of a county EMS system that covers 500 sq. Miles. This area is covered by 4 ambulances which are all paramedic units. We have an education coordinator that feels it is inappropriate to have permanent stations and/or partners.He gets upset very easily when he is not made aware of any changes to the schedule and often times will force people to leave the station they are at to go back to their originally scheduled station. My question to you is this; is it more important to ensure there is a paramedic on every truck or ensure that everyone rotates through the stations? Any input would be great!
Trading Stations/ Partners
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akflightmedic
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Station rotation is imperative. While yes I loved having a permanent "home" and permanent "partner"...for the benefit of the service, rotation is way better.
At my old county job, every 3 months we rotated. One medic went one direction and the other medic went the other. Eventually, you worked every station and with every partner on your shift.
At my old county job, every 3 months we rotated. One medic went one direction and the other medic went the other. Eventually, you worked every station and with every partner on your shift.
Interested in your opinion. To me, yes it should be obvious; we feel folks should be able to trade as long as it doesn't lower the level of care of providers for that station.
akflightmedic
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Everyone has preferred stations and preferred partners. As I stated, it is better for the overall service and the patient population that every provider is knowledgeable of every area and is able to work with various partners.
And quite honestly, if the person making the schedule is officially tasked with that...then you are usurping their authority by then changing it every single time. There may be reasons the schedule is set the way it is, things above your pay grade.
And quite honestly, if the person making the schedule is officially tasked with that...then you are usurping their authority by then changing it every single time. There may be reasons the schedule is set the way it is, things above your pay grade.
Tigger
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We rotate stations but do not rotate partners, which I like. That said, we only have two stations at the main station the three or four members of the on duty crew rotate partners call to call. Works fine for us.
Why is your educational coordinator involved in this at all? Is he also responsible for making the schedule? Did he try and implement a rotation for "educational" reasons and was rebuffed?
With only 4 stations and an area that size rotating through each truck wouldn't bother me that much...if it was done over the course of a year; every shift is excessive. There is something to be said for moving so that you remain familiar with the different geographies, roads, cities, fire departments, hospitals, police departments, nursing homes and so forth, although this only works for departments of certain sizes; if you work in NYC not much point to moving from Queens to Brooklyn to the Bronx every month or so. Conversely, if it's a small enough place there also isn't a point since you'll still cover the same ground no matter where you are stationed. There is something to be said for only working in one smallish area as you will come to know it very, very well. And if you are going outside that particular area often enough to keep some level of familiarity with the surrounding places, it's not a huge deal. Again, this is dependant on the overall size of the department.
Partnering up with people can be a tricky thing. When you've got a good partner it's great. But when you get a lousy one...I'm just going to shudder quietly in the corner for a bit. And if you have any lousy people where you work, somebody will draw the short straw. Of course, there is always the option of putting 2 lousy people with each other, but often the work tends to suffer when that happens.
There's no good answer really. Having a permanent home and partner is awesome...when it's a good spot and you like who you're working with. When you don't have that, less fun. At least with a rotation you know there's a definite end to the misery.
With a place with only 4 different trucks I'd suggest coming up with a rotation that will have you moving trucks and partners every month or two; you still hit each location and I'd guess work with most people, but at least you'll have more of a home than rotating every shift. If you can come up with a way that people can request to work together at various times/places, even better.
With only 4 stations and an area that size rotating through each truck wouldn't bother me that much...if it was done over the course of a year; every shift is excessive. There is something to be said for moving so that you remain familiar with the different geographies, roads, cities, fire departments, hospitals, police departments, nursing homes and so forth, although this only works for departments of certain sizes; if you work in NYC not much point to moving from Queens to Brooklyn to the Bronx every month or so. Conversely, if it's a small enough place there also isn't a point since you'll still cover the same ground no matter where you are stationed. There is something to be said for only working in one smallish area as you will come to know it very, very well. And if you are going outside that particular area often enough to keep some level of familiarity with the surrounding places, it's not a huge deal. Again, this is dependant on the overall size of the department.
Partnering up with people can be a tricky thing. When you've got a good partner it's great. But when you get a lousy one...I'm just going to shudder quietly in the corner for a bit. And if you have any lousy people where you work, somebody will draw the short straw. Of course, there is always the option of putting 2 lousy people with each other, but often the work tends to suffer when that happens.
There's no good answer really. Having a permanent home and partner is awesome...when it's a good spot and you like who you're working with. When you don't have that, less fun. At least with a rotation you know there's a definite end to the misery.
With a place with only 4 different trucks I'd suggest coming up with a rotation that will have you moving trucks and partners every month or two; you still hit each location and I'd guess work with most people, but at least you'll have more of a home than rotating every shift. If you can come up with a way that people can request to work together at various times/places, even better.
Bullets
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What matters is making sure you have appropriate staffing on every rig. While a set rotation isnt a bad thing, changing every day is absurd. You are all coworkers and professionals and you should all be able to work together. You need to suck it up. I would rather be stationed out of a Dan Bilzerians house but thats not reality.
As an EMS manager, i would be aggravated that my crews were switching round without telling me after i had published a schedule. Though my people have set partners
TransportJockey
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Each tour we are expected to rotate stations (every 3 weeks), and we have three stations. We keep partners.
escapedcaliFF
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If all he is an education coordinator and not involved with scheduling or ops then bring it up with your supervisor.