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Daysleeper


paramedicmike

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It's not just an REM song.

Yes. Nightshift.

Actually, it's not too bad. As much as I prefer, not to mention the mental boost I get from, daylight I really do enjoy working at night. Of course, due to school, this is the first time in more than two years I've done night work. But it's kinda' nice to be back. It's just got a different vibe to it. Interesting patients. Interesting stories. Some legitimately sick people.

And I get to come home and fall asleep listening to it rain outside. How cool is that?

Come on. You know you like it, too.

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Mike : I worked the night shift for years and became a night owl. come home at 7:30 relax, have a shower and sleep till 2 or 3 and get up and do my chores . then eat and take a couple hour nap until time to go back to work. The big city had a different vibe after midnight and the ER could be hoppin, depending on the night.

Best shift I ever had was Thursday, Friday Saturday, Sunday 10 am till midnight. built in overtime every week and 3 days off during the regular work week when everyone "normal was working to go out & do the shopping or the beach or skiing on off price weekdays. Did that for almost 4 years till we moved North to Maine.

My wife works 2nd shift from 2 to midnight at the hospital, so we still run on a altered time zone compared to the rest of the world. today is her sunday as she works fri, sat, sun, mon this week.

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Try the FDNY EMS Command's Platooning system. We normally have 3 tours a day. With variations so not all the ambulances are back at the station at the same time, tour 1 is 0000-0800, tour 2 is 0800-1600, and tour 3 is 1600-2400.

That was the easy part. Hang on!

Each tour has 3 platoons, defined as A, B, and C. Each platoon works 5 days, then is off for 2 days, works another 5 days, then is off for 3 days. Lets say I'm tour 3, "A" platoon. The first 3 days of my work week, I'm with the 3C guy, last 2 days with the 3B. Then I am off for 2 days, and the 3B and 3C guys/gals work together. The next week, I, as the 3A, work for 2 days with the 3C, then 3 with the 3B, and while I'm off for my 3 day "swing", 3B and 3C work those 3 days.

Whatever day of the week, and whatever platoon, you know that you're going to be working that week day or night 10 consecutive weeks in a row, then off for that day or night for 5 consecutive weeks.

You have a doctor only sees patients on thursdays? You'll know what thursdays you're off to get an appointment with your doc.

Need wednesday for a Broadway show, but you're working that particular wednesday, but off Friday? Find who is working Friday who is willing to work your wednesday, and you'll work their Friday. We call them "mutuals". just get a supervisor to approve it.

By the way, we also have a "D" platoon. Due to being in EMT or Paramedic refresher classes, teaching those classes, working some office detail, or on light duty secondary to a Line Of Duty Injury, You'll be working 0700-1500,or 1500-2300 but only Mondays through Fridays, weekends and holidays off.

I got a headquarters light duty my last 3 years on, but due to the need for people on 7 days a week we were kind of an augmented D Platoon. I was Sunday to Thursday, another person was Tuesday through Saturday, and a third was Wednesday to Sunday. Obviously, Wednesday and Thursday, we were a bit crowded, but we took turns working half hours at a time (don't make it obvious when you're on break, that you're on break).

EMS didn't come up with that platooning system, basically, we imitated the NYPD for years prior to the merger into the FDNY.

A stunt some employees got away with for an "easy overtime" was, they'd work either their normal tour 2 or 3,on Saturday, volunteer for overtime tour 3 or 2, and, as the paperwork workweek started with tour 1 Sunday, they'd do the Sunday tour 1 as an overtime. This was only available to someone who's days off started on Sunday that week. .FDNY found out about it, and cut new regulations preventing anyone from doing that following the merger.

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Mike : I worked the night shift for years and became a night owl. come home at 7:30 relax, have a shower and sleep till 2 or 3 and get up and do my chores . then eat and take a couple hour nap until time to go back to work. The big city had a different vibe after midnight and the ER could be hoppin, depending on the night.

Best shift I ever had was Thursday, Friday Saturday, Sunday 10 am till midnight. built in overtime every week and 3 days off during the regular work week when everyone "normal was working to go out & do the shopping or the beach or skiing on off price weekdays. Did that for almost 4 years till we moved North to Maine.

My wife works 2nd shift from 2 to midnight at the hospital, so we still run on a altered time zone compared to the rest of the world. today is her sunday as she works fri, sat, sun, mon this week.

My favorite shifts were usually 3p-3a thurs thru sunday. 95% of all transfers were done by then. The transfers that were going out were the patients they had transported earlier in the day from the NH's to the ER's and those were ready to go back home.

The rest of the calls were all emergency calls. Very good assorted basket of calls during those hours.

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Captain that was my shift as well. Mine started wed afternoon though. Only had two IFTs on that shift. Very mixed bag of calls which was nice.

I love night shifts, its a world most folks don't get to experience. You can keep the critters though.

I would even venture to say the people themselves are different in their attitude.

Edited by uglyEMT
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And Island, the ones that call late at night are usually genuinely sick. There are those who just call because well they have their own reasons but at 2am the guy with chest pain is usually a sick dude.

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