# Shifts in California? Hours?



## tawnymarie (Jul 25, 2012)

Hello,

So I am new to California...Only been here a few years.  I know the EMS agencies back home were all county or city affiliated.  Since moving to California I've noticed A LOT of private companies.  What are the standard shifts like for these companies usually?  Are they 24 hour?  8 hour?  I'd be curious to know from others who live in the SF Bay Area or work for agencies in California.  My parents were both Paramedics and always did 24's and even a few full weekend shifts but, they were employed by the city or county.  

Also, are these agencies usually student friendly?  If I'm in class during the week do they offer just weekend shifts?  I know back home 36 hour weekend shifts are of the norm but, here it seems different.

Thank You!


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## BeachMedic (Jul 25, 2012)

tawnymarie said:


> Hello,
> 
> So I am new to California...Only been here a few years.  I know the EMS agencies back home were all county or city affiliated.  Since moving to California I've noticed A LOT of private companies.  What are the standard shifts like for these companies usually?  Are they 24 hour?  8 hour?  I'd be curious to know from others who live in the SF Bay Area or work for agencies in California.  My parents were both Paramedics and always did 24's and even a few full weekend shifts but, they were employed by the city or county.
> 
> ...



As far as I know the Bay Area is mostly 12 hour shifts. Some on a 3/4 day schedule. Some a straight 4 day week. A few 24s are available if you are lucky and hired at the right time; or if you get some seniority.

I've worked in both Alameda and Santa Cruz County. I live in Santa Clara County.

Last I heard, when Paramedics Plus took over Alameda County they did not have any 24 hour shifts available. That could have changed over the last 6 months or so.

San Francisco FD operates on a 10 hour schedule, but historically they only have an EMS test every 4-5 years or so.

AMR in San Mateo and Contra Costa have mostly 12s and some 24s.

In Santa Cruz we have almost all 24 hour shifts. Come Sept. it looks like we are only going to have one 12 hour car.

As far as being student friendly, for AMR it depends on whether you get hired full or part time as well as staffing. Typically, as a full timer, I find it pretty easy to give shifts away; there are always going to be people who love their overtime. PTO is always an option as well.

If you're hired in a part time capacity, well then you have monthly hour requirements to fill. In ALCO it was 36 hours a month total. In Santa Cruz it's one 24 hour a shift total. This makes it extremely easy to work around a school schedule.


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## tawnymarie (Jul 25, 2012)

Thank you for all the information.  What company are you with down in Santa Cruz?  Since finding a position in an ER has been difficult I may try to find a position with an EMS Agency.  My scheduling abilities are pretty much ANY 12 hour night shift any day and any day/night on the weekend.  It's pretty much week DAYS that I have issues due to school etc.  I'm hoping to find an agency that is desperate for graveyard and/or weekend folk.





BeachMedic said:


> As far as I know the Bay Area is mostly 12 hour shifts. Some on a 3/4 day schedule. Some a straight 4 day week. A few 24s are available if you are lucky and hired at the right time; or if you get some seniority.
> 
> I've worked in both Alameda and Santa Cruz County. I live in Santa Clara County.
> 
> ...


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## tawnymarie (Jul 25, 2012)

I just saw you're with AMR.   Nice to hear from someone who works for AMR.  It was one of the agencies I was considering.  I hear though they have like 100 applicants for every EMT-B position.  It's worth a shot though!



tawnymarie said:


> Thank you for all the information.  What company are you with down in Santa Cruz?  Since finding a position in an ER has been difficult I may try to find a position with an EMS Agency.  My scheduling abilities are pretty much ANY 12 hour night shift any day and any day/night on the weekend.  It's pretty much week DAYS that I have issues due to school etc.  I'm hoping to find an agency that is desperate for graveyard and/or weekend folk.


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## BeachMedic (Jul 25, 2012)

tawnymarie said:


> Thank you for all the information.  What company are you with down in Santa Cruz?  Since finding a position in an ER has been difficult I may try to find a position with an EMS Agency.  My scheduling abilities are pretty much ANY 12 hour night shift any day and any day/night on the weekend.  It's pretty much week DAYS that I have issues due to school etc.  I'm hoping to find an agency that is desperate for graveyard and/or weekend folk.



I work for AMR.

It's a dual-medic system though.

I'd say apply for AMR San Mateo, AMR Contra Costa, Paramedics Plus, Rural Metro, and even AMR SF (they are not primary ALS in the city though). Depending on how far you want to commute AMR has a lot of other operations in the Central Valley and a couple north of SF.


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## nocoderob (Jul 25, 2012)

Mostly 10, 12, and the ever disappearring 24. Contra Costa, my county, is not hiring at all, ALS or BLS. The BLS emt's just took a 15% pay cut and 10% more next month. Mostly do to losing the Kaiser contract. P Plus may be hiring and possibly Rural Metro. Your best bet is a small shop just to get working.


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## DPM (Jul 25, 2012)

911 in the bay area is sewn up pretty tight, but I always hear about EMT jobs at the IFT companies. Rural Metro down in San Jose just advertised some EMT jobs too. 

Have you had a look in the East bay?


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## tawnymarie (Jul 25, 2012)

I live in Oakland so I'm definitely considering the East Bay.  However, I'm interested in working in Rural Communities as well. From my experience back home...Rural Communities utilize EMT's for 911 along with the Paramedics...That meaning Paramedics are always on a call obviously but, usually with the assistance of an EMT.  Also, when it comes time to applying to medical school I have a huge interest in rural medicine.  



DPM said:


> 911 in the bay area is sewn up pretty tight, but I always hear about EMT jobs at the IFT companies. Rural Metro down in San Jose just advertised some EMT jobs too.
> 
> Have you had a look in the East bay?


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## DPM (Jul 25, 2012)

That all sounds good, just be aware that there are a lot of Hospitals in the Bay area so transport times are pretty quick. Likewise, with definitive care being so close, there is often not a lot that the Medics do let alone the EMTs.


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## nocoderob (Jul 26, 2012)

tawnymarie said:


> I live in Oakland so I'm definitely considering the East Bay.  However, I'm interested in working in Rural Communities as well. From my experience back home...Rural Communities utilize EMT's for 911 along with the Paramedics...That meaning Paramedics are always on a call obviously but, usually with the assistance of an EMT. Also, when it comes time to applying to medical school I have a huge interest in rural medicine.



Where are you looking that is rural around the SF bay area? Sadly, dual medic units are losing ground to emt/medic meaning that ALS experience is possible. In Contra Costa, BLS cannot respond to 911 calls unless an ALS unit is already on scene and they are called for additional resources, eg., multi patient mva or the like. The positive is that there are a bunch of smaller BLS companies around the area so start applying.


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## tawnymarie (Jul 26, 2012)

nocoderob said:


> Where are you looking that is rural around the SF bay area? Sadly, dual medic units are losing ground to emt/medic meaning that ALS experience is possible. In Contra Costa, BLS cannot respond to 911 calls unless an ALS unit is already on scene and they are called for additional resources, eg., multi patient mva or the like. The positive is that there are a bunch of smaller BLS companies around the area so start applying.



Hello, I was wondering how do you differentiate ALS from BLS companies? Is ALS primarily Paramedics? I am assuming they hire mostly paramedics? It may require a very simple answer just where I am from it was more rural so it was usually a paramedic and an EMT-B.


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## nocoderob (Jul 27, 2012)

By BLS I mean a transfer type business, non 911. They may also do ALS transfers, however. You are right, the terminology is different region to region. I didn't realize it myself until perusing this website.


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## Handsome Robb (Jul 27, 2012)

tawnymarie said:


> From my experience back home...Rural Communities utilize EMT's for 911 along with the Paramedics...



I work in an urban 911 system. We ride EMT-Intermediate/Paramedic cars with the rare Paramedic/Paramedic car, those are usually Paramedics in FTO time riding with a field training officer though. Generally a unit can be called ALS as long as there is one paramedic on the truck except in certain areas. Michigan comes to mind, I know in certain parts, if not everywhere there has to be two paramedics for the ambulance to be considered ALS there. 

BLS or EMT/EMT units aren't limited to IFT. Plenty of places run 911 BLS trucks with ALS intercepts. New Jersey, King County and Delaware come to mind for that. From what I've read some BLS companies do 911 backup in LA but don't quote me on that.


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## GabeC87 (Aug 1, 2012)

I don't know if this is the norm, but my county uses shift scheduling software to make sure everybody's shifts work with the rest of their lives. My county, for example, uses EZShift, so they can just define what kind of employee is needed for each shift (driver, paramedic, etc.), what qualifications each employee has (if she's a paramedic, how much experience she has, etc.), then click a button and have a schedule that fits everyone's needs in minutes. Some shift scheduling software packages, like EZShift, also have built-in messaging systems, so you can build your preference list from the comfort of your computer instead of having to be on-site to fill in a preference sheet. Talk with your supervisor to find out if shift scheduling software like EZShift (www ezshift com) is right for your company.


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