shift lengths

[buckeyedoc]

We work 24 on and 72 off. Its pretty sweet only working 7 or 8 days a month. The reason we have 24 hour shifts in our area is to reduce overtime on the 12 hour units. We have mostly 12 hour bases seperated by a couple of 24 hr bases. That way there are units avaliable to do calls, coverages and transfers during the critical hours where other units are coming up on a crew change. ie. between six and eight oclock in morning and night.

I'm on 24/72's as well. I love them. I work 91 days a year and still have time for my other 3 jobs (PRN schedule). My wife is on weekend work at the ER and she only works 96 days a year. I have overtime built into 7 out of 8 pay periods without picking up any additional shifts. On my light week, I pick up a 12 hour shift and 9 of that is overtime. Most shifts we have a fair amount of down time, but there are those shifts that we run our butts off. That's just the nature of the beast.

[Dustdevil]

Not only are 24 hour shifts cheaper for the agency, they are simply easier to schedule. A 24 hour shift schedule pretty well runs itself without a lot of administration. You only have to worry one time a day about people not showing up instead of three times a day. That's one-third the hassle for administration, which is a significantly attractive factor.

And of course, the up-side for employees is the time off. Take one vacation day, or simply trade one shift with somebody, and you suddenly have a five day vacation with pay, just about anytime you want it. And only working every third or fourth day is very conducive to working other jobs, running a business, or simply devoting a lot of time to your hobbies and interests. All of those do a lot to keep you from burning out. And hell, who doesn't like the idea of getting paid to sleep?

There is also a down side of 24's, both for agencies and employees. For the agency, it creates the need for a very costly infrastructure of living facilities (stations) for your employees that you would not otherwise need. Stations aren't cheap (although it can be argued that keeping ambos running on the road for 24 hours straight without rest is equally expensive in wear and tear, maintenance, and fuel).

For employees, 24 hour shifts make attending college or university very difficult. In fact, it is why I left the fire service. Unless your only goal is to take fire courses at the junior college (where they schedule the classes to accommodate fire schedules), you will have a hard time attending MWF or TTh classes when you work 24's. Of course, it really doesn't matter since firemen are just overpaid manual labourers anyhow. What do they need with a university education? But still, if you find yourself wanting to improve yourself and get a meaningful education, it's quite tough when working 24's. Also on the downside is the stress factor. In a busy system, where you rarely get a full night's sleep, burnout comes much faster to the 24 hour shifter than the hourly shifter. Half of the time you end up wasting your entire first day off catching up on sleep from the day before, effectively cutting your two days off in half. Your performance is also decreased when operating on low, no, or broken sleep, which is detrimental to patient care. Not only is your mind not as sharp, but your give-a-damn is decreased too, causing you to no-ride people in order to get back to sleep, or simply not treat them as compassionately as you would when wide awake.

I know there are even more significant factors to be mentioned, but I'm drawing a blank now. I'll get back to you.

[Nate]

For employees, 24 hour shifts make attending college or university very difficult. In fact, it is why I left the fire service. Unless your only goal is to take fire courses at the junior college (where they schedule the classes to accommodate fire schedules), you will have a hard time attending MWF or TTh classes when you work 24's. Of course, it really doesn't matter since firemen are just overpaid manual labourers anyhow. What do they need with a university education? But still, if you find yourself wanting to improve yourself and get a meaningful education, it's quite tough when working 24's.

Maybe if everyone on opposite shifts hates you, then I could see an issue with being able to go to school MWF, MW, or TTH. I have no problems going to college full time and working a 24/48 schedule. I simply happen to be nice to those I work with and they are willing to trade the three shifts a month I need switched so that I can go to class.

[Dustdevil]

That's exactly what I did for almost five years, and it was a pain in the arse. People stop returning your phone calls after awhile because they are tired of filling in for you. You miss classes because of late runs. The day you can't get to class because nobody was available to fill in for you is the day of the major exam with no make-ups. Not to mention the logistics of trying to arrange all of this for four to six years is simply stressful. And of course, all the days you either sleep through class or don't make it there at all because you were up all night.

Yes, Nate... it can be done. I've done it. But the point was that 24 hours shifts makes it much more difficult. It is FAR from being ideal. It is full of pitfalls that either delay or completely derail your scholastic plans. And frankly, damn few people in EMS have what it takes to git 'er done.

[RaceMedic]

Our shifts here are 24's but the schedule runs a bit different. we are 24 on, 24 off, 24 on, 48 off, 24 on, 24 off, 24 on, 96 off.

so every week and a half we have 4 days off in a row and still cover 10 days a month. the admin is screwing us on over time though, not bad but enough. every other month we are scheduled a 12 instead of a 24 so we lose that 12hrs of overtime. anyway thats how we roll!!!!LMAO

Race

[Sassafras]

We haven't had 24 hour shifts in a few years. I actually preferred them. We had a "home" so to speak and relations between fire and EMS were much more amicable since we worked together more closely. I now work 3 14 hour shifts per week (in a row) and have a 4 day weekend every week. My partner and I run a lot of calls but it's definitely worth it to me. It gives me plenty of time to rest up and get errands and chores done. Now, the majority of the other shifts are 12 hours, and there are a few 10 hour shifts as well. Please don't ask why, because I don't have a clue!

[JoelEMT]

I currently work 96 H on and 96 H off. It has both advantages and disadvantages. work and average of 15-16 days a month. (without picking up extra days.) Usually end up picking up about 4-5 extra days a month.

[Nate]

That's exactly what I did for almost five years, and it was a pain in the arse. People stop returning your phone calls after awhile because they are tired of filling in for you. You miss classes because of late runs. The day you can't get to class because nobody was available to fill in for you is the day of the major exam with no make-ups. Not to mention the logistics of trying to arrange all of this for four to six years is simply stressful. And of course, all the days you either sleep through class or don't make it there at all because you were up all night.

Knock on wood I haven't had any of those issues. I will admit, I'm very lucky to have two other paramedics at my station on opposite shifts who support my education and believe in me. Often I make the deal attractive by offering to trade my weekday for their weekend shift.

Yes, Nate... it can be done. I've done it. But the point was that 24 hours shifts makes it much more difficult. It is FAR from being ideal. It is full of pitfalls that either delay or completely derail your scholastic plans. And frankly, damn few people in EMS have what it takes to git 'er done.

The 24 hour shifts make it easier, I couldn't imagine going to school full time, working four 12 hour shifts, and trying to have a personal life. Also keep in mind that I'm not working on an ambulance, so I only go on the calls that are dispatched as ALS or that request me (so that helps).

[medicgirl69]

I've worked many different shifts through the years, while climbing the seniority ladder - but recently I moved to a set schedule, every Wednesday, Saturday and every third Sunday. In theory, I thought it would be a good shift, but management decided to change us back to the standard Kelly (1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 1 off, 1 on, 4 off) and I realized how much I had missed the rotating shift. People do not like to trade for my Saturday shift, and I was always missing out on events with my "non-EMS" friends and family. So, can't wait to go back to a rotating schedule and get a few weekends off here and there.

On the other hand, my husband - also a medic - works four (4) 12 hour shifts a week, great for the overtime built in, but kills any time we would have had together. Fortunately, he will be moving to a 48/96 schedule soon - then maybe we can have some time together again.

In the end, 10 days a month - even when we are up the entire 24 running calls, DEFINITELY beats working 4 or 5 days a week - I absolutely value my time off and have been able to actually attend my kids ball games and concerts, go back to school myself, and I'm home with the kids 20 days a month - what more could I ask for.