# Can you sleep OTJ?



## Milla3P (Nov 17, 2012)

Just that. 

I have always been able to sleep/nap/lounge during down time at work, but recently learned that there is an agency near me that requires their employees to be awake at all times with disciplinary action if found otherwise. 

I've always believed that a well rested mind is sharper in stressful situations. 
So can you sleep at work? If so what kind of accommodations do you have and what kind of response requirements do you have?

At my FT gig we have a bunk room with twin beds and crappy mattresses and are required to be out the door in 2 minutes. You?


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## Tigger (Nov 17, 2012)

BLS crews are in the truck for the duration of the shift unless you are coming out of a small base, in which case you can post in quarters. Technically no sleeping is allowed for BLS, but that's not really all that enforced. As long as you answer the radio and are not blatantly sleeping in the public eye, it's not an issue.

Evening and overnight BLS are in the truck too, which sucks a lot.

Medics work 24s, are allowed in bed at 10 and in quarters after 4. After 10 they have three minutes to get on the road.


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## Medic Tim (Nov 17, 2012)

Milla3P said:


> Just that.
> 
> I have always been able to sleep/nap/lounge during down time at work, but recently learned that there is an agency near me that requires their employees to be awake at all times with disciplinary action if found otherwise.
> 
> ...



What are the shifts?
Where I work it is all 8 and 12 hour shifts.  It is policy that we not sleep and we have to be enroute to a call within 1 min of page or call out.

That said if it is a slow night and we are in quarters the boots come off and we will nap on a couch or chair.


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## phideux (Nov 17, 2012)

I work 24s, we have a station with a small day room, and a bunk room. As long as our station duties are done, which take less than an hr per shift, we can do as we please between calls.
The usual norm is napping on the couch in front of the tv between calls.


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## medicdan (Nov 17, 2012)

Milla3P said:


> Just that.
> 
> I have always been able to sleep/nap/lounge during down time at work, but recently learned that there is an agency near me that requires their employees to be awake at all times with disciplinary action if found otherwise.
> 
> ...



WHen I work 24s, in theory, I have a bed to go back to, and am permitted to sleep, but our call volume doesn't allow for much of that. We try to get to bed as early as possible (8, 9, 10, 11P), but often get 3-8 calls overnight, so it's all moot. Our bunkroom is not at quarters anymore, so we need to wake up early for shift change. 

Although local laws and policies vary greatly, labor laws generally require crews to have access to a bed, shower, etc for shifts longer than a certain length (10 hours). Also recognize that EMS is often except from these laws.


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## Milla3P (Nov 17, 2012)

Medic Tim said:


> What are the shifts?



7-3,3-11,11-7

8s, 16s and occasional 24s. I've had 18 calls on a 16 and one on a 24. So we aggressively nap when we can.


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## DavidM (Nov 17, 2012)

We're allowed to do as we please in quarters. We have individual bunk rooms so each person gets their own bed, TV, and a closed door if they want it. We're not supposed to sleep on the couches in front of the TV but it still happens.

I generally try to get to sleep by midnight but if I'm up in the rotation I wait until the inevitable 1 am call to comes in before I turn the lights out.


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## JPINFV (Nov 17, 2012)

Something to think about. Sleep rules, enforcement of sleep rules, and the practicality of being able to sleep (sure, you can sleep, but you're going to be running back to back calls anyways) are all different questions.


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## Jon (Nov 17, 2012)

911, we've got bunks.

One of my jobs is "sleeping after your chores is OK". other job is "sleeping at NIGHT is OK".

For transport, there's no rule, except that we aren't supposed to sleep on the spare stretchers. I brink a camping mattress and sleep on the floor in the break room. Soda machine white noise for the win!


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## NYMedic828 (Nov 17, 2012)

Hard to get caught sleeping when your supervisor is out cold...


Just stay out of the public eye or it ends up on YouTube.


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## medic417 (Nov 17, 2012)

DavidM said:


> We're allowed to do as we please in quarters. We have individual bunk rooms so each person gets their own bed, TV, and a closed door if they want it. We're not supposed to sleep on the couches in front of the TV but it still happens.
> 
> I generally try to get to sleep by midnight but if I'm up in the rotation I wait until the inevitable 1 am call to comes in before I turn the lights out.



Really?  Where you at?


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2012)

Anything over a 12 hour shift and we are allowed to sleep. 

On 12 hour shifts we are not allowed to sleep.... But it is not an enforced policy as long as the crews wake up when a post move or call comes in. Also we have to hide from the public if we want to sleep (hence the reason a lot of EMS people wear dark sunglasses).


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## exodus (Nov 17, 2012)

we make a cave out of the rig! Sunshade and jackets ftw.


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2012)

exodus said:


> we make a cave out of the rig! Sunshade and jackets ftw.



Exactly. Cover up every window. People don't know if your asleep or watching a movie or dead haha


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## TRSpeed (Nov 17, 2012)

firefite said:


> Anything over a 12 hour shift and we are allowed to sleep.
> 
> On 12 hour shifts we are not allowed to sleep.... But it is not an enforced policy as long as the crews wake up when a post move or call comes in. Also we have to hide from the public if we want to sleep (hence the reason a lot of EMS people wear dark sunglasses).





Just gotta look for the right spots  also refer to post below.




exodus said:


> we make a cave out of the rig! Sunshade and jackets ftw.



It must be nice working out in the desert you guys actually have time put put all that up. 20 calls a day for your whole valley we will do in one MoVal shift lol


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## DesertMedic66 (Nov 17, 2012)

Maybe a couple of time a month will we only have 20 calls a day. My unit averages 10 calls per day for a 12 hour shift and that's only one unit.


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## TransportJockey (Nov 17, 2012)

We can nap at my IFT job, but still have to be on the road within a minute. At my 911 job we work up to 48 hours shifts, so we can sleep when ever we have down time.


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## TRSpeed (Nov 17, 2012)

firefite said:


> Maybe a couple of time a month will we only have 20 calls a day. My unit averages 10 calls per day for a 12 hour shift and that's only one unit.



Send him back to Hawaii man. Lol it will lower your call volume.


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## NomadicMedic (Nov 17, 2012)

On night shift we are allowed to sleep from 2200 to 0630. Most of our stations average 3 to 4 calls per 12 hour shift. 

Sleep is a good thing.


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## Wheel (Nov 17, 2012)

It depends on what kind of station you're working out of. Outlying shift, working 24s you can sleep whenever in between calls. City shift, working 12s you can nap in the truck, but you better answer the radio for a call or post change.


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## DrParasite (Nov 17, 2012)

At my old job (and my current job actually), there is a written policy against sleeping.  the logic is if you are being paid to be at work, you shouldn't be sleeping.

At my old job, I was woken up numerous times by the supervisor when I was dozing on the couch during the day time.  If she had a task for me to do (regardless of how menial) I was always up in 4-10 seconds and did it.  It was annoying when she woke me just for the sake of waking me up.

As long as you are doing your job, what's the big issue?  so I can spend 6 hours of facebook, watch 4 hours of the same old crappy TV, watch a movie, read a book, have a sandwich, call my mother, call my girlfriend, call my wife, call my baby;s momma, and change clothes 2 times to pass the time during my downtime, but the moment I close my eyes, it's a major problem?  talk about a stupid policy.

BTW, as long as you are out the door 2 minutes after dispatch finishes giving you the job, your chores are done, your rig is checked, and everything is clean that you are supposed to clean, who cares what you are doing during your downtime??????

Simiarly, why should you be allowed to sleep during the night and not day?  I get tired during the day, and 12 hours is 12 hours.  If the call volume permits, and you have your responsibilities completed, it should  not matter what time of day it is, as long as you answer the radio/pager when a call is given out.


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## Handsome Robb (Nov 18, 2012)

We run system status with the few random hard posts. We can sleep provided you answer the radio when hailed and mark en route from the radio on your unit, not a portable, within 60 seconds. 

Clock starts when the call taker answers, within reason of course. Can't blame them if ding dong on the other end can't give a location for the call taker to relay to the dispatcher for them to dispatch the unit to.  So if it's busy it may take 60-90 seconds to officially dispatch a call rather than just "traffic in the area of x and x". With 8:29 for P1 calls, a 60 second dispatch time and a 60 second chute time you've now cut the mandatory response time to 6 and a half minutes...


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## Shishkabob (Nov 18, 2012)

As long as we respond to the radio quickly, and are on the way to the call, who cares?



I love when civilians come to my truck and go "Do my taxes pay for your sleep?" to which I respond "No, because we aren't funded by your taxes.  Must be nice to get a lunch break during your short 8 hour shift"


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## Devilz311 (Nov 19, 2012)

Current job, not allowed per policy. Do people sleep? Of course. 

My last job, sleeping was just about a normal of a routine as the truck-check in the morning. I found it was a lot easier to sleep there, simply because our radios would alert to wake the dead.  My current job all of the ALS units use the same tones, so we always have to keep an ear out on a dispatch.


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## Anjel (Nov 19, 2012)

We use SSM. 

We are encouraged to sleep as long a we:

Wake up for calls and post change

Don't do so in a public place l like in front of a store.


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## exodus (Nov 19, 2012)

TRSpeed said:


> Just gotta look for the right spots  also refer to post below.
> 
> 
> 
> ...




More like 80-100 with about 14 units on!


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## medicnick83 (Nov 19, 2012)

I don't sleep on duty - sometimes I take a nap but generally I don't because if I do and then I wake up - I'm very grumpy - so I avoid this by not.


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## TheLocalMedic (Nov 19, 2012)

I work in a fairly rural area with a (sometimes) low call volume.  Being that we work 24-72 hr shifts with roughly 6 calls per 24 hr period we get plenty of time to sleep.  I have nearly perfected the art of napping and am thinking about writing an instructional book titled "Napping Sutra".  It will include positions such as 'Snoring Lotus', 'The Reclining Dog', 'Lazy Cat', and 'Gutter-Dweller's Pose'.  

-_- zzzzzz


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## Impulse (Nov 20, 2012)

Linuss said:


> As long as we respond to the radio quickly, and are on the way to the call, who cares?
> 
> 
> 
> I love when civilians come to my truck and go "Do my taxes pay for your sleep?" to which I respond "No, because we aren't funded by your taxes.  Must be nice to get a lunch break during your short 8 hour shift"



Civilians?


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## Handsome Robb (Nov 20, 2012)

Impulse said:


> Civilians?



Pretty sure he means the general public.

Linuss, I too enjoy answering that question...isn't it awesome to work for a Public Utility Model system?


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## Veneficus (Nov 20, 2012)

I sleep at work whenever I can.

My boss has taken pictures of it on his iphone and I still have a job. 

So I guess it is ok.


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## TheLocalMedic (Nov 20, 2012)

I work for a private company, and I do get a chuckle out of the people who will walk up to us as we shop for food and huff and say "Our tax money at work!".


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## Ace 227 (Nov 20, 2012)

Depends on the shift.  If I'm working a 24, its pretty much expected that we sleep when we can throughout the day because when the daylight crews go home there are only 3-4 trucks covering the city and we might not see station all night.

If I'm on a 12 or 16 hour shift, I most likely won't be sleeping.  Not that I couldn't if I had down time but that is a rarity.


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