Night Shifts

Sol03

Sol03

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Are night shifts for EMTs Mandatory? How about 24 hour shifts?

Thank you in advance for your help and comments. :)
 
Depends where you work, but if you're categorically opposed to overnight shifts, your options in EMS will be more limited.
 
mgr22 said:
Depends where you work, but if you're categorically opposed to overnight shifts, your options in EMS will be more limited.
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How about 24 hr shifts? I'm from Massachusetts. :)
 
Again...depends on where you work. Not what state, but which employer.
 
Sol03 said:
Are night shifts for EMTs Mandatory? How about 24 hour shifts?

Thank you in advance for your help and comments. :)
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As people above have said all depends on where you are working.

I would say if you're in the market for a job then take what you're offered where you applied and be happy you have a job. If you get multiple offer's then you can pick what you wanted based off of things like shifts/schedules. Starting out questioning the schedule or only wanting to work dayshift will not start you off on the right foot, both with the employer and your future co-worker's.
 
I worked 7a to 7p and 6a to 6p for years. accepted a new job, and ended up stuck on nights for 6pm to 6am for 5 years, until I gave my two weeks notice

Night shifts aren't mandatory, however when you are looking for a day time only job, it cuts your availability by 50%.

24s aren't mandatory.... many places are getting away from them, and switching to 12s due to call volumes. But that's completely employer dependent, and there are still plenty of places that do 24s.

Personally, I tell every new person to work a day shift, a night shift, a 24, a weekend shift, and every tour, just so you can see what things they do differently. Day shifts tend to be busier, because the call volume is higher; but night shifts tend to have lower staffing levels.

But as others have said, it is all depending on your particular employer.
 
Different companies use different staffing models, some more flexible than others. I’m sure there are some companies that require rotations including weekends, nights, and such.

At my company, in Massachusetts, there are no BLS 24s. There are plenty of BLS nights, but far more day/evenings.
 
As everyone has said, it's dependent on your employer. My department has several peak load ambulances that only run from 09:00 to 21:00, one that runs 07:00 to 19:00 (except Sunday) with the rest being staffed 24/7.

Like Dr.P said, if you're getting into EMS try working different shifts to see what you like. I hate night shifts, and I don't even have to post anywhere. However I don't mind 24's, go figure...
 
Where I work FT we work 48 hours on, 5 days off; but we are very very slow; if it was busy it would kill us.
PT job (paid on call) it is up to us what we want to work, we average 3 to 5 runs a 24 hour shift (for company); but it is 110 miles to closest hospital. usually 3 crews on per day. can be 2 hours 1 way to the scene also. A couple of times it has been 8 hours total drive time, plus scene and hospital time.
 
I worked for one company where night shift was desired, almost all of the high seniority EMTs worked them, because there was like a $6/hour differential for working them. New people worked day shift, lol. My current company I work for only has 10 and 12 hour shifts. Another company I work for had 9.5, 12, and 24 hour shifts. This is all in the around the same area. So like what others said, it varies greatly by who you work for.
 
EMS is a 24/7/365 job.

There are "EMT" jobs that would not require night shifts (think, event standbys and that sort) but it would be entirely impossible to have a career in this field and not at some point work a night shift.
 
chriscemt said:
EMS is a 24/7/365 job.

There are "EMT" jobs that would not require night shifts (think, event standbys and that sort) but it would be entirely impossible to have a career in this field and not at some point work a night shift.
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I disagree. Unlikely, sure. Impractical, ok. But entirely impossible? Whoa there fella. Back it up a bit. An EMT could stay at my company for an entire career(:full body shudder:) and never see a night shift and we employ basics at every level of the company’s hierarchy.
 
chriscemt said:
EMS is a 24/7/365 job.
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EMS is a 24/7/365 INDUSTRY, however there are plenty of services, primary private services or inter-facility companies, that only operate during the day. Some don't even work weekends. I think you are comparing the two
chriscemt said:
There are "EMT" jobs that would not require night shifts (think, event standbys and that sort) but it would be entirely impossible to have a career in this field and not at some point work a night shift.
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That's wrong. plain and simple. I worked on the ambulance for years, and the only night shifts I ever worked were those that I volunteered to pick up for OT. I know people that never work nights, because their shift was daytime only. Maybe it was because they had kids who they wanted to see, or health conditions that precluded working nights, or the fact that they just like sleeping in their own bed when the sun goes down. That was their choice.

As an industry, particularly in the 911 world, EMS works 24/7/365; that doesn't mean you have to work 24/7/365. However, if you are new, and have little to no experience, and want the job bad enough, and the only positions they have open are on the night shifts, well, how badly do you want the job?

One other thing: when you work less than full time (part time/no fixed shifts or PRN), you can choose what hours you want to work, and submit your availability to your employer. If your availability lines up with their need, you get the shift. If no, you don't. If you only put in daytime availability, you will only get assigned day shifts.

BTW after my 5 year experience working full time on night shift, I will never do that again unless I am really really desperate and can't find another job. the night differential of 15% wasn't worth it, nor were all the other drawbacks. But if you are a night owl, and prefer the night shift, I won't stop you. and I, too, have no problems with 24 hour shifts; and my current part time job is primarily on the night shift.
 
@DrParasite I'm one of those night owls. 3-3 is the best shift I've ever had. No traffic either way. I run after work and the city is quiet (no traffic to watch either). Days off I wake up when my sister's get out of school and can go hang out with them. The gym is dead when I go. I've worked 08-20 and 19-07 before this and I didn't like either of those.
 
I've worked several Night Shifts & did enjoy them. Every company is different. Some have 3pm-3am, some 4pm-2am, 10pm-8am, 8pm-6am, etc. The only one I had a hard time adjusting to was a 6pm-4am.
 
@StCEMT, a buddy of mine worked 2p to 2a, and 4p to 4a on the weekends, and he enjoyed it and didn't want to work any other shift.

Personally, I would love to have worked a noon to midnight shift (they didn't have it at my first job, and my position didn't allow it at the second). Sleep till 9 or 10, plenty of time to get ready and go to work, and when your day is over, you are in bed at a normal time.

it doesn't mess with your circadian rhythm, nearly as much as a 6p to 6a shift.

BTW, I don't have a problem with the night shift; it was switching to a daytime schedule (because the rest of the world operates on days) on my days off, my part time job was only day shift, in person college classes were only during daytimes (and evenings conflicted with my night schedule) and my girlfriend at the time worked day shifts. and the first night back when switching back to night schedule when I went back to work was really what was really hard.
 
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