12 hr or 24 hr shift?

[danderson900]

If you had a choice between a 12hr (over-night) shift or 24 hr shift, which would you prefer and why.

[Dustdevil]

Totally depends on where I am working. Every system is different. Working 24s in a busy urban system blows goats. Working 12s in a slow rural system that's a two hour drive from home blows goats too. You have to be more specific. But generally speaking, I don't like sleeping at work. Or should I say, I don't like not getting to sleep at work. And I hate daylight, so 12s allow me to avoid most of it.

Edited September 21, 2009 by Dustdevil

[spenac]

In a slow system I like 96 hours on which means I'm off for 8 days in a row. It's like a vacation every time I get off duty. But in a busy system any more than 12 hours is dangerous to you, the public, and your patients. Heck 12 hours is to much in some places.

[P_Instructor]

It does depend on the system that you work for as well as the area you service. I believe that it also depends on the type of person you are. I've worked both the 24 and 12 (day and night) shifts. The only draw back is screwing your biorhythms up when you keep changing the shift pattern. It does create a provider to patient problem when you are up and working for the whole 24 hour shift (it can be done, but who wants to keep the coffee companies in business). My advice is if your employer is willing to let you try out each shift, do so, and choose the one that best fits.

[crotchitymedic1986]

24 hour shifts are dangerous, I can't wait for the day when they are gone (being one of the fortunate ones who was in a 3am ambulance accident because my partner fell asleep at the wheel). If there are any bloated services left that run too many ambulances, I am sure this economy will correct that. With most services running lean, you are probably better off working 12s unless you have a really long commute. If you do work a 24, stay up the whole 24 and sleep on your day off, too me it was easier than trying to sleep 20 minutes here and maybe an hour later on. Your body will get used to the change.

[HERBIE1]

I recall a study years ago that stated any more than 13 calls in a shift is too many. Mental acuity suffers, mistakes become more common, and it's simply not good for your health.

That said, as several people have mentioned, it depends HEAVILY on your situation. Urban or rural? Long transport times or less than 10 minutes? What type of assistance do you get? 2 man crews or 3? All paramedic providers, all BLS, or EMTB with EMTP?

Except when I first started years ago as an EMTB, I've only worked 24 hour shifts, with various amounts of time off in between shift days.

As anyone in a busy urban system can attest, your run totals can easily be 20-30 calls in 24 hours. This call volume can and will take a toll on your body over time-even if you get used to the platoon schedule, and it is certainly not optimal for your patients. Yes, the vast majority of calls are nothing that taxes your skills or your brain, but what happens with that complicated cardiac call at 3AM, when you are on call number 22 for the day? Is your patient getting the best care possible?

Even doctors during their residency have had their schedules cut back for fear of medical mistakes. It is long past the time when we need to do the same for EMS, but as always, this is about money, politics, and now, a bad economy. Everyone is being asked to do more with less, so the notion of easing some of the workload is probably still a pipe dream at this point.