Day Shift vs. Night Shift

[Amelia]

Hello, again. I'm signing up for clinicals on Monday. I'm debating whether or not to do day shift or night shift. I'm dealing with sick kids at the moment (yay) and I know I can make it all night, I've done it twice in a row now. I'd love your guys' opinion. The only day options I have is Sat & Sunday at this point.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

Day shift. More call volume, more awake preceptors.

 

[NomadicMedic]

While the TV shows make the night shift look like a lot of fun, it's really not all it's cracked up to be.

 

[Ensihoitaja]

Do both if you can. They can be very different.

 

[BlueJayMedic]

I found days to be just generally better for my body and sanity. If I could eliminate night shifts for myself forever I would. Nights in this situation are only predictably higher call volume on holiday nights and he Friday the 13th nights and those patients aren't all that glamorous anyways!!

 

[COmedic17]

All the pshyc's seem to come out at night, if that tells you anything.

 

[Amelia]

Day it is!! Ha ha!

 

[DrParasite]

Days typically are busier over all, you have more units, and more awake preceptors.

nights typically have sicker patients (fewer taxi runs, people have waited longer to call 911), fewer units in the system so your truck can do more runs, and you will be fighting your body's desire for sleep. and it's frowned upon to be sleeping on night shifts when your new.

do both, but definitely start on days.

 

[Tigger]

Even with fewer trucks on we still get destroyed during the day compared to night. Night shifts are interesting for clinicals mostly because you likely have not worked at night before. It's different and kind of interesting in it's own right.

Find a swing shift?

 

[Amelia]

I need 12 hours and they have to be the same shift I guess. I'm signing up on Monday which is why I asked. So night is slower but weirder and day has more volume. I'm hoping to get a job 1-2 nights a week when I do graduate- do you guys think that would be too difficult?

 

[Amelia]

by the way, I know I keep saying this, but thank you guys so much for all of your input.

 

[Ewok Jerky]

There's plenty of time to experience the weirdness of night shift and all it entails when you get on with a service. The purpose of ride alongs is to get exposure, practice some skills, and interact with field crews. It's up to you but I think a day shift would be more productive and efficient use of a limited opportunity. I don't want to be showing you how to size a NPA at 0300 sorry.

 

[NomadicMedic]

It's all going to depend on your service and how they schedule. Some places don't let people move to PT until they've been FT for a year, others let PT people work whenever and others have no PT people at all. You may not be able to pick your own schedule and you'll be at the whim of the scheduling folks... Or you may be able to submit monthly availability and you'll be scheduled only when you say you're available to work.

For example, I'm a part time medic at my service. To meet the PT requirements, I have to submit 4 shifts per month when I'm available, two have to be weekend (fri-mon). I don't have to work 4 shifts, I just have to put in 4 available days.

You have no idea how your local company will staff, right? Has PP taken over yet? Have you talked to anyone there? Maybe called the HR people and asked?

 

[Amelia]

DE Medic- No, they take over the same month that I graduate (May). I know since I'll be the bottom of the totem pole, I'll have 0 say in when I work, which is expected. My niece said she can help out in early morning (getting kids to school) if need which takes a lot of pressure off. Like I may have said before- its difficult to go from Stay at Home Mom to the concept of not seeing the kids in the morning or afternoons or evening. But this is something I know I need to do and I know it will be ok. PP has kind of put me off- I"m assuming because of the chaos of this change over (you can read everything that's been going on between Rural/Metro, PP, and MedStar. Lots of unnecessary drama, in my opinion, however, my instructor told me that we are to be opinion-less. Yeah right- its pure entertainment.) I think if I get a good enough head's up (a couple days) I can get things covered at home and at work. Since I have more support, I have a lot more confidence in my career choice. I'm not sure if this ambulance service fight is normal or not, but its interesting to read about, nonetheless.

 

[okiemedic]

The last night shift I did. I was standing in line at Walmart at 0200. a lady walks up to myself and my partner and asks us if we take pics of dead people to catch the spirits...

My partner looks at her and goes oooooooh weeee oooooh...then we leave without saying anything else...

The night shift is a different place...lol

 

[Amelia]

Okiemedic- that sounds... awesome.

 

[gotbeerz001]

Night crews tend to be a bit more laid back; less concerned with whether you have a company-approved beanie etc...

 

[Angel]

Laid back, slower, we do the majority of our transfers at night which can make things hard on the field crews since we also have fewer ambulances on, but some of my best calls have happened at night so it really just depends.
I think day shift would be better, it'll give you a better representation of what being in the field is like. Most hypoglycemic pts are found in the morning, same for cardiac arrest, once nursing check on/wake up patients they are more likely to find one ot breathing, more car accident from people going to work or school and so on and so forth. There's just a higher odds of seeing multiple different things.

Not sure how your program works, but typically students who want to stay over a little longer are invited to do so if they are well behaved and reespectful.

 

[Amelia]

See- the unfortunate part is that we live in what a lot of people would call a smaller community (though I think its big). There aren't enough ambulance runs during the day/night to complete all of the credentials for the class- so they're having us do the clinicals in the ED. If we want to, we can schedule an ambulance ride along as well, but I was told by the instructors that we would probably have only a few calls.

 

[Amelia]

Totally realized I forgot that pertinent piece of information. *duh* Sorry guys.