Stations or posts?

[mrsmall]

I'm very new to EMS, my county has a private non-profit ambulance company. We do not have stations where the EMS can sit and wait for a call, the ambulance have posts where they have to park their ambulance and wait, usually at like a gas station.. Is this how other EMS systems are? I find overnight it gets very sleepy especially when your post is out in the woods.

[Michael]

especially when your post is out in the woods

First off, welcome!

You'll find a lot of posts here are out in the woods, too.

[Dustdevil]

I'm very new to EMS, my county has a private non-profit ambulance company. We do not have stations where the EMS can sit and wait for a call, the ambulance have posts where they have to park their ambulance and wait, usually at like a gas station.. Is this how other EMS systems are? I find overnight it gets very sleepy especially when your post is out in the woods.

I'm afraid that is how it is in a great many progressive EMS systems these days. It just makes much more sense on a lot of levels. And so long as they aren't working you longer than twelve hours at a time (and so long as you are getting adequate sleep prior to your shift), it's not such a bad gig. In fact, a great many people prefer it for many reasons. You gotta find ways to stay occupied. I don't know how big your county is, or what kinds of diversions are available to you, but get creative and you'll find something. On day shifts, you can hang out at FD or PD/SO stations in your area and socialise with those blokes. Hang out at the mall or a bowling alley where you can play some pool or video games. At night, you have to try a little harder. Decent size municipal airports (not big international airports) frequently have a pilots lounge (with games, movies, and coffee) and all night attendant who also needs help staying awake. Check that out. If you are stuck in your vehicle or in an area with none of the above facilities, bring books, music, games, a football or Frisbee (I always carried a glow-in-the-dark Frisbee on nights). If you're lucky, your system doesn't mind if you take a nap in the vehicle. So long as you are in a relatively safe, well lit and populated location (in front of a 7-11 or similar), and keep your doors locked and your pager on, you can catch some quality Zs on the squad bench.

Fixed stations will continue to become less and less common in EMS in the coming years as leaders finally realise that 24 hour shifts are, in most cases, detrimental to the organisation, its people, and the people they serve. Get used to it.

[JakeEMTP]

(and so long as you are getting adequate sleep prior to your shift)

Good advise Dustdevil :thumbleft:.

I constantly see fellow providers when working night shifts who are tired. Our shifts start at 19:00. On numerous occasions I have seen them in bed by 22:00. By in bed I mean under the blankets, not resting on top. Upon further query, the say they have been up all day and are tired. Our first responsibility is to ourselves, our partner and our patients. I do not want you tired driving, I don't want you in the back with a pt. tired either.

Usually, the night before I start a night shift, I will stay up later, set the alarm for an early wake up and have a nap before I get reading for work. Take a little responsibility for yourself. Be prepared physically and mentally when you report for duty.

I hope my partner reads this, They have heard this speech before .

[JPINFV]

My company uses stations (motel rooms) for our 24 hour crews and posts for our 12's. Most of our posting spots are pretty decent, but there are a few that can be quite boring. One thing I like to do when posting is go and stop by the nearby Circuit City or Best Buy. The demo games are generally good for wasting a few hours. Another thing is a lot of attractions will allow emergency providers to visit for free. I know that the Hollywood Wax Museum (before it was closed) would let us in for free and so would Ripley's Believe It or Not. Also, nothing beats a good portable DVD player.

[katbemeEMT-B]

We use both. One truck sits at the station (it is the primary truck). This is a 12 hour shift. It does get boring sitting there so we do go driving around sometimes.

The other is posted in a neighboring town. This truck is only posted from 9:00 - 21:00. They then come back to the station for the remainder of their 24 hour shift. This allows them to get some sleep. While posted they usually sit at the local fire station or drive around. If they're feeling child-like they will go to the park.

[tskstorm]

I'm very new to EMS, my county has a private non-profit ambulance company. We do not have stations where the EMS can sit and wait for a call, the ambulance have posts where they have to park their ambulance and wait, usually at like a gas station.. Is this how other EMS systems are? I find overnight it gets very sleepy especially when your post is out in the woods.

appropriate sleep prior to your shift, diet, will help keep you awake, so will getting a laptop, portable dvd player, music players. frisbee and football are great idea's.

I personally like to read, even if its just a newspaper or magazine, an emt/ems book, a good novel.

now this might seem a bit foreign to some, but the company i work for we (the crew) arent required to clean the ambulance outside, and most times the inside gets lightly touched/ improperly cleaned, so if you have the time to do a through inside and out cleaning, every nook and cranny time deal.

other entertainment devices i see commonly used;

playstation portable

nintendo DS

study guides ( i have been told it is a bad idea to study anything ems related in the ambulance, last thing you want is a worried family seeing an EMT/medic textbook, while you are working on there family member, but to each his own)

sudoku/word search/cross words

there are many others im not thinking of, i liked dusts idea's

good luck

[Dustdevil]

I know that the Hollywood Wax Museum (before it was closed) would let us in for free and so would Ripley's Believe It or Not.

I believe it.

Why wouldn't I? :?

[spenac]

[

study guides ( i have been told it is a bad idea to study anything ems related in the ambulance, last thing you want is a worried family seeing an EMT/medic textbook, while you are working on there family member, but to each his own)

Excellent idea. I'll start pulling out a text book and act like I'm trying to figure out how to treat them. If it's definite BS get on some wild exotic part and start reading out loud all the wild treatments I need to perform and occasionally mumbling I never learned how to do that. As the fear creeps into the BS patients face then pick up various tools making sure hands are shaking.......... Sorry just another way to waste time on duty and maybe have fun while dealing with BS.

[Richard B the EMT]

Most of the units under the NYC 9-1-1 system sit at what we call a CSL, or Cross Street Location. Some computer program told the brass that to put these ambulances at these CSLs would improve response time, as the computer figures in area population, expected traffic delays, to the point that an 8 to 4 unit sits pointed east, a 4 to midnight pointed south, and 12 to 8 pointed north.

We run the engines to power the a/c, and the radio/computer unit. Some people complain, but I was told, tell them you are "Staging"! (Tell them politely, of course)