"Short Staffing today! We need you for help!" emails.

[TornWingedAngel1]

So, question for everyone.


Lately—within maybe the past 6-9 months or so, at my company we seem really short staffed. It seems like almost every day on you’re day off your email/pager is going off “Anyone want to come in today?” . Now, to be fair, my company is going through some big management changes.


But as I talk to more people around me it seems that’s a common theme. Ur local fire departments seem to be getting more backed up, other privates are getting so swarmed they can’t even help us with mutual aid, etc. Now, while I realize this is a common issue for huge cities like New york, LA, Chicago, In big cities I’m sure it’s far more common to send a BLS crew on chest pains. So if you work for a major city like that I do apologize if this sounds like I’m “whining”. I have a genuine concern.


I recently oversaw something about a national EMS shortage. I didn’t read the number or anything. One of those things where you see a headline about it on facebook as you’re dispatched to a Priority call. Not a valid source. And I have noticed commercials trying to get people to become an EMT/Medic. I’ve never noticed things like that before.


I’m in the north suburbs of Detroit, and I was just kind of wondering are other suburb areas experiencing an extremely increased call volume and low staffing? Are the “we need help” emails I keep getting a problem elsewhere in the country?

 

[gotbeerz001]

SF Bay Area, we are paying mandation (2x) rate for up to 15-20 open spots each weekend day and some weekdays shifts; that does not include the units downed as acceptable shortages. We run 911 only (no IFT) but are responsible for 5150.

 

[Tigger]

My AMR place goes through phases. A lot of hiring recently happened, so there's few hours for us part timers and certainly no OT. In a month or two I bet we'll be back to daily texts from the supe phone begging for coverage and adding incentives (free dinner, gift card, etc). They won't increase your pay rate unless it's snowing. Call volume remains the same, the units just get busier.

 

[Bullets]

We occasionally have open shifts but rarely below minimum. My supers know that i wont come in for anything less than double time and the beach truck

 

[Scmedic08]

Very shortstaffed here with callouts. Seems like every shift you have a few that call out sick. Plenty of OT around, but now becoming a problem as the few people including myself are getting to the point it's too much and need a break ourselves. We work 24/48's 911 only and they are becoming very dependent on AEMTs to make due for Paramedic call outs. I blame it on minimum number of staff and units per day for a call volume too large for the service the way it is especially working 24's.

 

[EMT2015]

SF Bay Area, we are paying mandation (2x) rate for up to 15-20 open spots each weekend day and some weekdays shifts; that does not include the units downed as acceptable shortages. We run 911 only (no IFT) but are responsible for 5150.

What company is this??

 

[NomadicMedic]

I get one EVERY day. The hybrid hospital/county service I'm working for is about to start a heavy recruiting campaign. If you live in GA, let me know if you're interested.

 

[TransportJockey]

Plenty of those messages at the company I'm leaving ft with. We are so short staffed and a lot of the problems for us arise from our chief

 

[RocketMedic]

Rare here in LJ, but they do happen.

 

[squirrel15]

What company is this??

If you know the bay area you know the 3 main players for 911. If you work in the bay area, you know which 911 companies you see at psych facilities. Pretty simple deduction will get you the answer to that question.

 

[EMT2015]

If you know the bay area you know the 3 main players for 911. If you work in the bay area, you know which 911 companies you see at psych facilities. Pretty simple deduction will get you the answer to that question.

I'm currently not working on a rig. I know that there's AMR, Rural Metro(now AMR), but am blanking on who else runs 911.

 

[DesertMedic66]

During the summer there aren't many open shifts for employees to pick up because it's our slow season. Now for the fall/winter/spring it is the exact opposite. Multiple pages going out everyday for shifts. Double time is offered for employees to pick up shifts. Our dual medic unit will get split up along with a BLS unit to form an extra ALS unit.

 

[DrParasite]

My former employer had openings all the time. the biggest issues were not approving OT until the day before the shift (because almost everyone worked part time elsewhere), not enough full time employees to cover our routine staffing, constant getting denied for vacation requests due to lack of staffing, and a general rise in call volume coupled with a lack of increase in our routine staffing levels to handle the call volume. Plus even the ones who pick up OT all the time were getting tired of working all the time. And it has gotten even worse since I left.

The only time I would EVER come in for last minute OT (ie, less than 2 days notice) was if I had absolutely nothing planned, and felt like working. If management wanted to schedule me several weeks in advance, sure, but I have a life outside of work, and I don't wait by the phone on the off chance of being able to pick up a shift.

now if any job would pay me double time, then I might even cancel my plans to come in, but I didn't know that exists in EMS

 

[Tigger]

My AMR place pays double time if you get called in for a "snow car." They cannot be excused from response time fines until they have a at least one snow car on the street (sometimes more if there is a blizzard warning I think), so they really want people to come in.

 

[TF Medic]

I’m in the north suburbs of Detroit, and I was just kind of wondering are other suburb areas experiencing an extremely increased call volume and low staffing? Are the “we need help” emails I keep getting a problem elsewhere in the country?

Yep. I'm not far from you. We get an average of 4-5 emails per day with a list of open shifts and sometimes quasi guilt-trips on why we should pick up a shift. I send every email to the trash before opening it. If I'm looking for work, I know where to find the schedule and pick a shift.

 

[johnrsemt]

When I worked in Indianapolis for a private service we would get anywhere from 5-25 pages a day: It hit the point (when I wanted OT) that I would NOT respond til the pages had been going out for at least 3 hours (I had coworkers upset about how much OT I was working) and still had more than I could possibly work. I understand it isn't much better.
In Northern Utah where I am now, I have no idea what Private companies (only one for the most part) are like on OT, where I work we have a few shifts a month that need covering, but never a problem to get someone to work them

 

[COmedic17]

Yeah it's been happening at my work.
We get shift bonuses. So I'll pick up an OT shift and get $100 shift bonus on top of it.


Or if I don't feel like working and they keep sending me emails, I'll just send the grumpy cat meme that says "no".

 

[jwk]

So I'm curious - is the problem mainly poor management/scheduling or people calling out?

 

[Scmedic08]

That's service dependent, but in reality they both seem to be the problem if you break it down. High call-out is a problem. Most of the time boils down to high call volume per truck and "tired medics" who call in sick...which in return goes back to poor management and little to no disciplinary action...and said story repeats itself again. But I'm speaking in my region alone.

 

[ZombieEMT]

This is an ongoing issue in many places. I think it is for many reason but it does seem to fluctuate. I work for a service that provides 911 to most of the county, as well as heavy transport for several local hospitals. My employer, wants to get trips on the board and make money. We constantly have open shifts, but they typically get filled with OT. My employer is not afraid to pay overtime. A normal 8 or 12 hr shift can make profit at the BLS level with only two runs. We typically do 6... We have several reasons for openings. The typical call outs and PTO exist. We also have a high turnover, due to low pay for new EMTs. Many people also try to get with services that are 911 only, creating more employee turnover. The summer typically has a huge number of open spots, because we provide rescue services to a local track, and during summer months, many employees switch to track services. I love the OT. I make a decent pay for the area, as I have been here for a while. With OT, even better.