What happens between calls

[Siffaliss]

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.

Sleep ... eat ... goof off with the cops ... never had a naked pillow fight, but there's a first time for everything ... study ... talk about what kind of call you WANT to get ... get excited when you get the call you wanted to get ... get mad because you got blood on your pants on the call you wanted to get ... stick things to co-workers cars ... fill station mailboxes with random crap ... clean - NO ... watch 5 minutes of the ending of a movie you keep missing the ending on ... go for coffee ... fret about whether or not you'll get off work on time ... have "meow" night on the radio ... dream about days off ... think about how nice it would be at that time to be jumping out of a plane ... help your partner play tricks on their spouse ... go up to their house and ask for random things from the fridge because you "need them for a call" ...

I dunno ... I think a lot of us are ADD. Whatever amuses us ...

[Richard B the EMT]

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...

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.

OK, when I was at the vollies, we held station IN the station between calls, sometimes drilled, mostly watched TV.

Privates, we sat at whatever location dispatch told us to hang out at until a call came in.

I'm Fire Service based, but we have an assigned street corner we're to hang out at between calls, or be relatively close to between calls. If we were at the station, we were restocking ot cleaning the ambulance, glomming down a meal bought on the way to the station, or using the latrine (the "head", the "can", you get the idea).

Presume each provider to be different with what they do, or allow their crews to do, between assignments. As stated, research them, ask the folks currently working for them.

[Dustdevil]

... watch 5 minutes of the ending of a movie you keep missing the ending on

That is an incredibly profound observation right there!

Once you've spent any amount of time in EMS or fire service, you will for the rest of your life find yourself having to frequently say, "Well, I saw pieces of that movie, but never the whole thing." It's annoying as Hell.

[Richard B the EMT]

That is an incredibly profound observation right there!

Once you've spent any amount of time in EMS or fire service, you will for the rest of your life find yourself having to frequently say, "Well, I saw pieces of that movie, but never the whole thing." It's annoying as Hell.

Amen, brother!

One private service I was with paged us out for calls. I got paged out during the final episode of MASH. A few months later, they reran the episode. Damn if I didn't get paged out again at exactly the same point!

[HERBIE1]

Amen, brother!

One private service I was with paged us out for calls. I got paged out during the final episode of MASH. A few months later, they reran the episode. Damn if I didn't get paged out again at exactly the same point!

I'll echo that comment about missing the same parts of a show or movie multiple times- especially before we could so easily record things we want to see. These days, thankfully we have TIVO or a similar device so we can go back and watch them at our leisure.

I guess that's one of the major benefits of being a fireman- they generally have plenty of time to see entire movies, entire ball games, and take incredibly long and uninterrupted naps.

[Canadian Caesar]

Two words... "Shower Soccer"

[funkytomtom]

There should be at least one class night in emt basic devoted to proper time management. I always tell myself I'll study or do something productive, but inevitably end up sitting around telling raunchy jokes or watching tv and eating ice cream. How professional.

[letmesleep]

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.

LOL, your a sick, sick man!

[aussiephil]

There should be at least one class night in emt basic devoted to proper time management. I always tell myself I'll study or do something productive, but inevitably end up sitting around telling raunchy jokes or watching tv and eating ice cream. How professional.

I have done time managment courses.

They are not compatable with EMS. They rely on predictability, routine, & repetition. EMS has none of those, ergo, waste of time.

Depending on what I have going on, i will study for recertification, we talk through protocol changes as a team. However, I am proficient at Project IGI, IGI 2, GTA3........ The extensive DVD collection gets used frequently......... as does the iPod touch.

I also read fiction, tends to be a good distraction.

chbare, you need a life man.

Edited September 23, 2009 by aussiephil

[CBEMT]

That is an incredibly profound observation right there!

Once you've spent any amount of time in EMS or fire service, you will for the rest of your life find yourself having to frequently say, "Well, I saw pieces of that movie, but never the whole thing." It's annoying as Hell.

At my old job, trying to watch Bad Boys II was a guaranteed call-maker. I didn't see the middle of that movie for a year.