# first 24 hour shift....EVER!!!



## crtarheels (Feb 21, 2011)

Hey everyone, I am new here and I am working my very first 24 hour shift tomorrow. I have done a few 12 hour shifts, but never a 24. I am wondering what people bring with them? I have no clue at all, I am in the EMT-Intermediate class, so I will be bringing my books, laptop etc. but what else should I bring? Any tips or suggestions on this? thanks so much for your help in advance

Jessica
EMT-B


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## Anjel (Feb 21, 2011)

a pillow, food, drinks. And a blanket. 

I had 2 clinicals back to back equaling 24hrs. And man I really wish I had a pillow lol


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## abckidsmom (Feb 21, 2011)

Small pack of toiletries.  Toothbrush is handy in the last 8 hours.


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## MEDIC802 (Feb 21, 2011)

All of the above mentioned stuff plus an extra uniform because your gonna get peed on, puked on, s**t on and bled on sometime during your shift.


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## medicdan (Feb 21, 2011)

Above, plus more food-- of the snack variety. You'll be glad if you get slammed, it's nice to have something to grab quickly between calls. Learn what kind of volume is normal for overnights at your service. For now, I'd advise against reverse 24s (PM to PM) until you get used to the pace of things.

I'm coming off a 24 where I did 5 calls between 7A and 7P, and 13 between 7P and 7A. Yes, 18 calls in 24 hours. Our average transport distance was 0.2 miles, intra-facility, but it was still 18 sets of paperwork, times, strips, etc. 

Good Luck!


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## TransportJockey (Feb 21, 2011)

At my station I keep a sleeping bag and pillow, change of uniform, toiletries, tea, food, snacks, and a spare jacket.
My pack has a laptop, textbooks, NookColor, Kindle, Zune, chargers for my toys, and spare pens and shears. 

I work anywhere from 12-72 hours at a time depending on how our schedule is laid out that week.


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## adamjh3 (Feb 22, 2011)

jtpaintball70 said:


> At my station I keep a sleeping bag and pillow, change of uniform, toiletries, tea, food, snacks, and a spare jacket.
> My pack has a laptop, textbooks, NookColor, Kindle, *Zune, chargers for my toys, and spare pens* and shears.
> 
> I work anywhere from 12-72 hours at a time depending on how our schedule is laid out that week.



Nice, another Zune man. 

But yes, chargers are very important, there's nothing worse than watching all of your toys slowly die half way into your shift. Pens, bring tons of them, they have a habit of disappearing because you're partner is a lazy schmuck who has poor pen retention techniques and never brings his own. I'm not bitter...

And yes, snack foods. I usually keep a couple promax bars just in case we get one of those back to back to back days, they'll fill you up like a meal and they're quick to eat. 

Don't forget spare socks and underwear, too, never know what's going to happen.


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## Madmedic780 (Feb 22, 2011)

I'm station based, so I do sleeping bag, pillow, laptop, snacks, toiletries, extra uniform AND a set of scrubs. 

For the love of Jesus n' friends make sure to have mints/mint gum either in the cab of the ambulance or in your pocket so you don't get in your patient's face with morning breath.


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## truetiger (Feb 22, 2011)

I think everyone has pretty much hit this head on, so I'll throw a few accessories your way. Xbox 360 and a netflix account.


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## Icenine (Feb 23, 2011)

My personal work list looks something like this

- Nexflix account and Hulu Plus
- Total Pillow
- Good Coffee (I can't drink mud)
- Wisp toothbrush
- Listerine pocket strips
- Chargepod
- Collection of toiletries
- Spare uniforms
- Small Fan
- Ear Plugs
- Bose Noise cancelling headphones
- Laptop and HDMI cable
- Instand
- Various snacks and meals
- Several pairs of socks
- I keep a boot dryer at the station, and keep my old pair of boots in the truck.


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## Dominion (Feb 23, 2011)

My day to day stuff:
Spare uniform
Laptop (maybe, not always)
nook
Charge cables
headphones
food & snacks
GPS (not supplied for us)
Glasses
Spare Contacts
I keep a pillow case and blanket at station.  We have hospital pillows that I can wipe off and put my pillow case on.  I also keep a toothbrush, soap, shampoo, toothpaste, q-tips and floss.  

For a 24 or 36 i bring all the same stuff except more of it.


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## crtarheels (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks guys! Well the shift went pretty good. We had a total of 4 calls, which is pretty light for that station. But one call was a stemi so there was def. some action. But overall it turned out pretty good. I ended up taking a pillow, blanket, laptop some snack foods, and my books. Thanks for all your help!


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