Questions on sleep and lifting

[danderson900]

Thinking about becoming an EMT and have 2 questions:

1. How difficult is the sleep routine if you were to work 4- 12 hr night shifts then are off for 3 days.

Looks like it would be difficult to go from sleeping during the day to sleeping at night, back and forth.

2. I'm 52 years old and retiring from a job as an engineer. Not a spring chicken. I really want to work on

increasing my back strength (it's ok now, but not the best) How much should I be able to lift.

How frequently is heavy lifting req'd?

[EMT Martin]

Thinking about becoming an EMT and have 2 questions:

1. How difficult is the sleep routine if you were to work 4- 12 hr night shifts then are off for 3 days.

Looks like it would be difficult to go from sleeping during the day to sleeping at night, back and forth.

2. I'm 52 years old and retiring from a job as an engineer. Not a spring chicken. I really want to work on

increasing my back strength (it's ok now, but not the best) How much should I be able to lift.

How frequently is heavy lifting req'd?

Unfortunately, as a young guy, I can't really comment on the sleep routines. Some people, it gets to them...others, it doesn't. Of course, this is from the volunteer-side of things; four duty nights a month, 2100-0500 served time, et cetera. However, I do know that both vollies and paid have a lot of heavy lifting. In America, at least. With obesity on the rise and people unwilling to do much but laze about in their 'off' time, you often get the big people with chest pains/trouble breathing/et cetera that need you to lift them. If you're working on the volunteer side, no problem: call the fire department for hose jockies to come out and assist. Not sure what the poor, paid guys do...

Edited September 19, 2009 by EMT Martin

[rock_shoes]

Thinking about becoming an EMT and have 2 questions:

1. How difficult is the sleep routine if you were to work 4- 12 hr night shifts then are off for 3 days.

Looks like it would be difficult to go from sleeping during the day to sleeping at night, back and forth.

2. I'm 52 years old and retiring from a job as an engineer. Not a spring chicken. I really want to work on

increasing my back strength (it's ok now, but not the best) How much should I be able to lift.

How frequently is heavy lifting req'd?

1)Personally I don't have much difficulty switching from days to nights and back again. However, I'm also 25 years old and have done shiftwork since I was 17. Natural daylight lamps and Melatonin can be a huge help for some while others just never adapt and truly suffer for working nights. Have you ever worked shiftwork in the past? If so how did you fair?

2)For my service new hires need to be able to lift 150lbs from floor to waist level while maintaining proper form. Don't just focus on strenthening your back. You need to keep your entire core as strong as possible (abs, back, everything) and focus on proper lifting technique during every lift. Every time I do a lift, no matter how critical the patient, I take a brief moment to think through the entire lift and plan best possible allignment for the entire lift. You're not going to be able to help anyone if you destroy your back the first day.

One more question. Are you looking to do this a second career or is EMS going to be more of a hobby to keep you busy as a retiree?

[HERBIE1]

I'll echo the comments about keeping a strong core and strong abdominals. HUGELY important.

You could have the strongest back in the world, but unless your core is solid, you will be in trouble. As anyone in the business can attest, back problems are almost a given if you do this for any length of time or frequency. As for sleep schedules, it can be tough to get used to, and some people never really adjust. It also depends on the length of your shift- 8, 10, 12, or 24 hours, as well as the time off between shifts. Does your area stay with permanent shifts or do you rotate days, to PM's to nights? Ask around in your area, check on the volume of calls, how much help, and what type you get if you need it.

Good luck- but be careful- this business gets in your blood like a drug.

[Dustdevil]

Agree with the others. You should be lifting with your arms and legs, not your back. The back is there for stability. While it certainly should not be neglected, it should also not be overly focused upon. I've always been the runt of the litter, and there have been very few times in 35 years that I found myself needing assistance lifting a patient, so the need for exceptional strength really doesn't come up that often at all. When it does, there are usually enough firemonkeys around to make it happen. That's why they get the big bucks. If you are of average adult male strength, then simply staying in good condition should be your primary focus.

I too am 52 years old, and I've never had a problem with night shifts. I was raised nocturnally by nocturnal parents, so it's the natural time of day to be awake for me. On days off, I don't revert back to a day schedule. I still sleep days and stay awake at night on those days to avoid that constant roller coaster. Notice what time it is right now that I am posting, and I am not at work. Most night shift friends I know do the same thing. If for some reason you absolutely have to stay up during the day on your days off, then whether or not you can adjust is a very personal thing. Some people simply were never cut out for nights, biologically or psychologically, and trying to do so will screw them up both biologically and psychologically. Others have no problem. If this is what you end up doing, I hope you find it as natural as I did.

Good suggestions on adjusting your environment. Many night shifters have their bedroom windows blacked out to avoid sunlight, to help trick their body into day sleeping. Others, like me, are put to sleep by daylight anyhow, so we don't have that problem.

Props for doing some intelligent research into this before taking the plunge. There is a lot to learn about the job and profession itself before simply deciding it's something that looked fun on TV. This is not at all like anything you've seen on TV or a movie. There's no glamour, no money, and damn little excitement or satisfaction to keep you interested long term. It's a grunt job full of a lot of low-education, low-motivation losers who were looking for a quick job where they could drive fast and play with a siren. And those losers come and go so fast that the entire profession remains very unstable. If you decide to do this, it should be because you find the practice of medicine to be the most interesting intellectual challenge you can imagine, and no other reason. If you think that you want to do it because you want excitement, or to help people, forget it. You'll be quickly disappointed.

Good luck!

[spenac]

But Dust we are not all vampires like you.

But if not a vampire you learn to adapt or find a new job. Yes EMT is just a job. Not a profession, not a life style, just a job. If you want a profession get a Paramedic degree and by the time your done maybe Paramedic will be a profession.

[cosgrojo]

If you want a profession get a Paramedic degree and by the time your done maybe Paramedic will be a profession.

Oh Splenac... why do you have to promote such drivel? There are hundreds of thousands of successful "professionals" engaged in "professions" who have never received a diploma past high school. Your assessment of what a profession is, is simplistic at best, and ignorant at worst. Just because the vast majority of EMT's do not treat it like a profession and endeavor to make it a profession, does not mean that some of them do not do their best to enhance EMS... even at the Basic level. The disco patch infected you so quickely... it muddles your brain, sir.

danderson- what Splenac should have said is... if you want to make a profession out of it, you have to work hard, continue to learn past your local protocol and licensure education. If you want to make more money, and have more responsibility, become a Paramedic. Being a Basic does not define your professionalism, or your knowledge base. I refuse to believe that a 52 year old adult who has been successful as an engineer could change jobs, and then as a product of his new license, considered to no longer be a professional. Your "profession" is what YOU make it, not others biased opinions of the median quality of other providers.

Thank you, and good luck in your decision.

[spenac]

Oh Splenac... why do you have to promote such drivel? There are hundreds of thousands of successful "professionals" engaged in "professions" who have never received a diploma past high school. Your assessment of what a profession is, is simplistic at best, and ignorant at worst. Just because the vast majority of EMT's do not treat it like a profession and endeavor to make it a profession, does not mean that some of them do not do their best to enhance EMS... even at the Basic level. The disco patch infected you so quickely... it muddles your brain, sir.

danderson- what Splenac should have said is... if you want to make a profession out of it, you have to work hard, continue to learn past your local protocol and licensure education. If you want to make more money, and have more responsibility, become a Paramedic. Being a Basic does not define your professionalism, or your knowledge base. I refuse to believe that a 52 year old adult who has been successful as an engineer could change jobs, and then as a product of his new license, considered to no longer be a professional. Your "profession" is what YOU make it, not others biased opinions of the median quality of other providers.

Thank you, and good luck in your decision.

Cosgrojo you are welcome to dispute my opinion but to be a rude jerk like you have complained of others being is uncalled for.

[CBEMT]

The only reason my father doesn't have his boss's job is his lack of a degree aka piece of paper. But being the head of sales for a multi-million dollar company is nothing to sneeze at either. Certainly not with a high school education and a few years in the military. 30 years of experience in his industry (starting on a delivery truck) got him to where he is today.

A retired engineer probably won't find EMT-Basic work intellectually stimulating, but he IS retired. There's nothing wrong with going into a field he considers worthwhile for reasons most of this board considers beneath them. Last time I checked, this was still America.

I'd rather have this guy on the truck with me than some 19 year old punk with delusions of grandeur and 2-3 years of (bad) driving experience.

Edited September 20, 2009 by CBEMT

[Mateo_1387]

But Dust we are not all vampires like you.

But if not a vampire you learn to adapt or find a new job. Yes EMT is just a job. Not a profession, not a life style, just a job. If you want a profession get a Paramedic degree and by the time your done maybe Paramedic will be a profession.

Why get on the defensive when you call every EMT through to Paramedic out as doing 'just a job'?

Thanks a lot bro...

Matty