My medic school allowed field rotations for tour 2/3 only(tour one is overnight, 1800-0600, 2300-0700, etc). You can double up and work two 8's if you like, or one 12. Tour ones are forbidden. CCEMS and Fairfax are the same for students. CCEMS was 0700-1900, Fx is 0700-1500, or so. Overnights generally have reduced call volume, unless you're working the ghetto. Some agencies may reduce units at night, though. All three schools had minimum hours required, as well as a minimum # of pt contact, skills, etc. Doing two 12's should be more beneficial than working a 24- more pt contacts, and a more alert student, mainly. I can't see how sleeping is allowed for clinical hours. You're there to experience things, not dream about them. If you're fried, then practice better time management. I worked FT, worked OT, and still did 16 hours of class x 13 months per week with 16-24 hours of clinicals weekly for 11 of those months. I saved up a bunch of paid time off for strategic use prior to beginning class. a fixed 16/12/12 schedule helped tremendously. Naps on the one hour train ride to and from class helped as well. Never did I fall asleep. There's a reason a certain amount of clinical hours are required, and sleep time was not factored in to that #. We were plenty busy anyway. A certain somone from a NY medic school bragged to me how he would go into an ER, and get several signatures during one shift, such as working with two nurses, and another in peds. Going to the CCU and having the doc sign for all three shifts, getting the psych signature, then leaving for the ER, and having a co-worker from his job sign for multiple shifts he never worked, complete with tubes, med admin, and other skills. Sleeping during clinicals is loosely analagous to getting credit for fraudulent hours as above. It's difficult to be productive while you're unconscious(it's why you're there, period). Explain to me how that isn't so, if you can. At both CCEMS and Fx, we never required students to do chores. I'll frequently quiz them on various topics, and do call review for every pt. For those being pressured into doing housework at the station, how you conduct yourself is vitally important, whether or not you intend to work there. Word travels fast. The EMS world is way smaller than you might think. Many individuals work multiple jobs nowadays. "So and so went to xx medic school. Were they at your station? What do you think about them? Would you hire them? Thanks." I received job offers from Flushing Hosp and Victory Hosp. for per diem work due in part to the impression I gave towards my preceptors. In both cases, I was told that the supervisor asked them about me, and they put in a good word, unbeknownst to me at the time. Word of mouth is of prime importance in the EMS world. Unless you want to complete your career working for some second rate private IFT company.
