What happens between calls

[danderson900]

I'm a total newbie here. Thinking about becoming an EMT. Was wondering- what do you normally do between calls, back at your base of operations?

[cosgrojo]

I'm a total newbie here. Thinking about becoming an EMT. Was wondering- what do you normally do between calls, back at your base of operations?

Naked pillow fights... sometimes play cards... but mostly the pillow fights.

[spenac]

Many places you sit in your ambulance and wait.

Slower places you do chores, CEU's, sleep so when night comes around and it gets busy you are ready. Often you go w/o sleep or meals.

[okmedic]

Naked pillow fights... sometimes play cards... but mostly the pillow fights.

God I love my job!

[crotchitymedic1986]

Edited due to crossing the line...AK

[ERDoc]

Sometimes there is a line and some people don't see it. They end up crossing it much to the chagrin of others. I think that line has been crossed.

As for what happens between calls, it all depends on where you are employed/volunteer.

[Dustdevil]

As for what happens between calls, it all depends on where you are employed/volunteer.

Completely. Many large systems these days don't have a "base of operations". You spend all 12 hours sitting in an ambulance on a street corner somewhere, waiting to be dispatched. And you often don't wait long, because you are busy going from one run to the next constantly, without much of a break in-between.

Other places, you may have a station to go back to, but short shifts where you can't actually sleep there. You just sit and watch TV or surf the Internet. The more conscientious medics will study or do something constructive, like care for their equipment. Others will just vegetate in a recliner. Some stations will have weights, treadmills, or other workout facilities you can use. Most all will at least have a television and a couple of recliner chairs to relax in.

You may work somewhere that there is an actual station to retire to, and be slow enough to actually enjoy it there. Most employers require that you be awake and dressed during the daytime, and may only go to sleep after a certain time. This sort of blows, since there is a good chance that you'll be too busy to sleep after those hours, which gets real old really fast. Other nights, you may get lucky and sleep all night long without interruption. Again, this is entirely dependent upon where you work. There are ambulances that make 20 runs in 24 hours. There are ambulances that don't make 20 runs a month. Consequently, there is no typical ambulance shift nationwide.

Also making a difference is if you are actually working in EMS, or if you are just a private transfer ambulance driver. Those guys tend to stay busier than many EMS medics, and doing nothing exciting the whole time, just being a horizontal taxi. That is the job that most new EMTs can get, as actual EMS jobs are pretty scarce. In private transfer companies, they will sometimes have you driving around from nursing home to nursing home, handing out candy and pens and business cards to nurses trying to drum up business all day long.

You can get creative on how to keep yourself occupied during down time. In mobile systems, where we were stuck in the truck all night long, I usually carried a glow in the dark Frisbee with me, and my partner and I would find a dark parking lot to have some fun in. The Internet and portable video games are popular. I've played many a card and chess game in the ambulance too. I've gone to bowling alleys and bowled or played video games while stuck mobile. In the very old days, we might even go to a drive-in movie in the ambulance. If you live in the service area, you can go home and take care of business, or go to your girlfriend or mistress' house and take care of her "business".

Of course, in many systems, you may be stuck in a neighbourhood where you don't want to leave the safety of the station or the ambulance unless absolutely necessary. In those cases, you often just have to find a big, open, well lit parking lot somewhere, park with your doors locked, and keep both sets of eyes open for anyone approaching, until you get your next run.

If you're talking about volunteers, that too varies greatly. There are volunteer agencies that have people assigned to specific shifts, and must be at a station or nearby during that time. There are others where it's a free-for-all, and everyone just busts ass to the station when the tones drop. In either case, what you do during down time is up to you.

And I'd be lying if I said I've never engaged in a naked pillow fight at the station.

[HERBIE1]

I'm a total newbie here. Thinking about becoming an EMT. Was wondering- what do you normally do between calls, back at your base of operations?

Tons of smart alec responses come to mind, but...

Depends heavily on the type of service you work for. Volunteer- you may be at home, at another job and respond when on call.

Paid- you may drill, check out the rig, study, clean, etc. You may be assigned to hold an area- sit in your rig in a fixed location until you are needed. If you are fire based you may return to the fire house. Private- you may hold an area, have a HQ or garage. You also may be hospital based and function as a tech in that hospital's ER until you are needed.

In busier areas, you may run back to back calls your entire shift-there is essentially no down time.

You need to do some homework as to what types of services are in your area, or the location you intend to work in.

Good luck.

[cosgrojo]

Dust- That was incredibly comprehensive, and I doubt that anybody could really add anything to it... I do feel that I need to elaborate on my previous post though... I only participate in co-ed pillow fights.

[chbare]

Come on now, where is your sense of adventure?

I worked one of the slowest shifts of my career a couple weeks ago. Actually wrote a ten page paper on gas diffusion in full APA format.

Take care,

chbare.