Tricks of staying alert and awake?
- Thread starter Chall09
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Not that simple. A large part of the country works 24's.
It's been proven in several studies that working in excess of 16 consecutive work hours leads to cognitive impairment not unlike being ETOH.
It's also difficult to always be properly rested when you're working several jobs, going to school, need to spend time with the family, child care, or dealing with forced OT.
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Not Mother, Juggs, and...
How many times will an employer tolerate you placing yourself out of service citing fatigue before they get rid of you? Agencies with high call volume have no business running shifts in excess of 16 hours. There should be a law regarding a unit's ratio of active time, or time out of station running calls, relocating for coverage, etc. that force the agency to reduce the shift from 24 to a 16/8 or 12/12 split if a certain threshold is reached.
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I've found that staying busy helps tremendously. Physically and mentally busy. Caffeine helps to keep you from falling asleep, but it really doesn't do much for being tired. I've found that on those slow days where all you do is about one or two calls for the whole day, I'm actually MORE tired than if I'd run, say, 12 or 14... or more. Some of my partners didn't like that I liked being pretty busy, as they'd thought they'd had a tough day after running 8 calls on a 24... Once they got used to the tempo, they did find that staying busy helped keep them fresh. Now I'm not advocating running back-to-back calls for an entire 24 hour shift... If you're at that tempo, 12 hours should be the max...
That being said, I do nap, when I can, and I do try to sleep during the night-time, but it's always a light, barely restorative sleep. Also, sometimes it just takes time to acclimate yourself to doing 24's.
That being said, I do nap, when I can, and I do try to sleep during the night-time, but it's always a light, barely restorative sleep. Also, sometimes it just takes time to acclimate yourself to doing 24's.
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CPG
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I chew gum
As many times as we need to actually, its in our operational SOP's. Believe it or not, they are actually termed safety naps.
If you are constantly fatigued on a 24 and are running ragged into the ground, then you need to be on 12 hour shifts as many agencies are starting to do.
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As I was saying above, if your operational tempo is such that you're constantly fatigued on a 24 because you've got no time for rest, you need to be doing 12's. 24's are great, as long as you're not going all-out for the full 24. That leads to unsafe conditions for you, your partner, your patient, and everyone else around you while you're driving.As many times as we need to actually, its in our operational SOP's. Believe it or not, they are actually termed safety naps.
If you are constantly fatigued on a 24 and are running ragged into the ground, then you need to be on 12 hour shifts as many agencies are starting to do.
MSDeltaFlt
RRT/NRP
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The secret to staying awake is there's no secret. Stay awake. If you need caffeine, you've got a problem. Me? I love coffee; high octane, decaf, so long as it's coffee. I love the flavor. I'm kinda like Agent Gibbs. Just having it with me is pretty much all I need. That being said I can only come up with two reasons why you'd have a hard time staying awake. Either you're behind on your sleep, or you're bored.
If you're behind on your sleep, then get more sleep. Simple enough. It ain't rocket science.
If you're bored, then you need to un-bore yourself. Do whatever it takes to keep your mind occupied. It tends to speak volumes when you have a student in the corner doing the "noodle-neck head-bob" while they're trying to learn to do what we all love to do.
Good luck.
In busy EMS areas, the employers may have to look at doing 12 hour shifts. We no longer allow any of our doctors, including residents, to do 24s. We also now have hospitalists (house doctors) in nonteaching hospitals to cover for a private attending for most situations as there have been many issues with a phone order from a doctor who is barely awake at home and away from his notes.
Errors can be costly. There have been more EMTs killed on duty by one of them falling asleep while driving than there have been by firearms. Yet some want to rush out and buy a gun rather than addressing other safety issues. Even the wrongful death pronounciation in San Antonio had the Paramedics stating it was their 23 hour on the job. Who knows if they were searching for an excuse or stating fact that they were over tired.
Now, if you do use some type of chemical substance to stay awake such as NoDoz, it can backfire if you do have an accident as it has for many truck drivers who have been drug tested. Some of the other "PEP" pills ir even Speed can also show up as questionable substances as well as having consequences to one's health. Cocaine used to also be used especially in the 80s and that also is not advised even if you believe your agency will not drug test.
There have been too many in EMS that have started using substances to stay awake and have ruined their health and careers.
Errors can be costly. There have been more EMTs killed on duty by one of them falling asleep while driving than there have been by firearms. Yet some want to rush out and buy a gun rather than addressing other safety issues. Even the wrongful death pronounciation in San Antonio had the Paramedics stating it was their 23 hour on the job. Who knows if they were searching for an excuse or stating fact that they were over tired.
Now, if you do use some type of chemical substance to stay awake such as NoDoz, it can backfire if you do have an accident as it has for many truck drivers who have been drug tested. Some of the other "PEP" pills ir even Speed can also show up as questionable substances as well as having consequences to one's health. Cocaine used to also be used especially in the 80s and that also is not advised even if you believe your agency will not drug test.
There have been too many in EMS that have started using substances to stay awake and have ruined their health and careers.
We have strict limits on our driving hours (part union contract and part legislative); if you are worried you can't say awake you need to talk to somebody about that.
If you are out all night partying and pissing it up then rolling up to work with a couple cups of coffee and some Lynx spray to cover up the odour of vomit and bar fights then you should also be looking at your lifestyle.
Do you eat breakfast? Like PROPER breakfast with fruit and cereal n' stuff
What is your sleep pattern like? Is it regular?
What is your diet like?
If you are out all night partying and pissing it up then rolling up to work with a couple cups of coffee and some Lynx spray to cover up the odour of vomit and bar fights then you should also be looking at your lifestyle.
Do you eat breakfast? Like PROPER breakfast with fruit and cereal n' stuff
What is your sleep pattern like? Is it regular?
What is your diet like?
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Sasha
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I don't care how many times your agency will tolerate that. If you can't show up to work well rested, then don't show up. By driving tired even with a ton of caffeine or other stimulants in your system you are putting your partner and your patients in danger as well as everyone else on the road. What job is worth that risk? If your shifts are too busy for you to handle, find another job.
I have called a supervisor and gotten my partner taken off my truck because they showed up too tired or too hung over or whatever to work. I've got no shame in it. I would hope if I ever showed up to work like that, my partners would do the same. To me, in a roundabout way that is part of scene safety.
WolfmanHarris
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Step one starts at home. I have made it very clear to my fiance that when I'm on nights, 11am to me, is like 3am to her. She wouldn't like me waking her up at 3am, even if I prefaced it with a "I'm really sorry but..." and neither do I. So she leaves me be until my alarm goes off.
Good sleep hygiene is key. Some pointers I learned in Psych:
1) Darken your sleep space.
2) Don't work, eat, watch tv, etc. in bed. Try to devote this space to sleep as much as possible. If reading helps you sleep, you may actually be better doing it in another room and then going to bed when drowsy.
3) Watch your pre-bed activities to ensure you're not overstimulated before sleep.
4) Get a GOOD bed. I dropped over a thousand on one three years back. Best purchase I've made in years.
Even when I'm working out of a quiet base where I can usually expect a full night sleep (thank-you North District), I get a minimum 4 hours before work. I'd rather be sitting up all night at the base reading or posting on these forums, then non-functional at a call.
You may have tonnes of responsibilities at home, but your first responsibility is to come home safe in the morning. Filter your choices through that first.
Good sleep hygiene is key. Some pointers I learned in Psych:
1) Darken your sleep space.
2) Don't work, eat, watch tv, etc. in bed. Try to devote this space to sleep as much as possible. If reading helps you sleep, you may actually be better doing it in another room and then going to bed when drowsy.
3) Watch your pre-bed activities to ensure you're not overstimulated before sleep.
4) Get a GOOD bed. I dropped over a thousand on one three years back. Best purchase I've made in years.
Even when I'm working out of a quiet base where I can usually expect a full night sleep (thank-you North District), I get a minimum 4 hours before work. I'd rather be sitting up all night at the base reading or posting on these forums, then non-functional at a call.
You may have tonnes of responsibilities at home, but your first responsibility is to come home safe in the morning. Filter your choices through that first.
EMS49393
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There is an agency, that shall remain nameless in the southern part of the country that has employees working anywhere from 12 to 72 hours at a time without a break. My first year with them, I had to work all the holidays. It was already hard enough on me at 30 years old to stay awake for 24 hours at a time however with the holiday schedule, I was given a 48 hour shift Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Thanks to my husband for help, and a kidney stone, I never actually worked a full 48 any of the time. I went PRN with them shortly after and went to work in a hospital.
My point is, that there are agencies that could care less how tired you are. If you want a job, you better work, stay awake, and shut up. They want bodies, not safety.
I fear driving when I'm tired, but I really fear killing a patient because I'm too tired to treat them appropriately. I can't focus on an assessment, and formulate a treatment modality when I'm dead on my feet. It's not fair to my patient, and it's not fair to myself.
So my tips are sleep, work no more than 16 hours and preferably no more than 12 hour shifts, eat well, drink water, stay away from stimulants, and take care of yourself because you're irreplaceable.
My point is, that there are agencies that could care less how tired you are. If you want a job, you better work, stay awake, and shut up. They want bodies, not safety.
I fear driving when I'm tired, but I really fear killing a patient because I'm too tired to treat them appropriately. I can't focus on an assessment, and formulate a treatment modality when I'm dead on my feet. It's not fair to my patient, and it's not fair to myself.
So my tips are sleep, work no more than 16 hours and preferably no more than 12 hour shifts, eat well, drink water, stay away from stimulants, and take care of yourself because you're irreplaceable.
As many times as we need to actually, its in our operational SOP's. Believe it or not, they are actually termed safety naps.
If you are constantly fatigued on a 24 and are running ragged into the ground, then you need to be on 12 hour shifts as many agencies are starting to do.
It must be a flight thing (not bashing it, that's a great provision). Most agencies have no such provisions, and have plenty of warm bodies with a pulse and a patch ready to step in when someone gives resistance.
Charleston County EMS runs a few busy 24 hour rigs, and regularly screws their crew chiefs with an extra 12-24 hours added on. Those working on 12 hour rigs (their busiest) are subject to being mandated to work up to 36 consecutive hours. that place is a ticking time bomb, IMO.
I'd love to blow the whistle on that place if I could, but the "lifers" there are real suck up backstabbing company people. Let things stay the way they are, and let them be miserable.
Most places won't take too kindly to you taking yourself out of service for fatigue, they will brand you a problem child and will look to start a paper trail to facilitate your resignation/dismissal. They can also cite you for "refusing a call". Your strategy for getting your partner off of the rig who isn't fit for duty is commendable.
At our station naps are encouraged provided all of our chores and drills are completed. One night our Tower driver was crispy and said that he was too tired to drive, we put him in the bucket, and the Lt drove the call. No big deal. We're good like that. We can always go home "sick", and no one will argue with it. We jokingly call it soft leave.
My station is great for sleep. They frown on 24's because they're worried about patient care errors. So most of us are on 12's. However, certain employees are allowed 24's because they commute from pretty far away. It means that our crew roster can get a bit confusing, but it seems to work well enough. Meanwhile, we usually establish who's up to doing what kind of work at the beginning of the shift. It's also OK to occasionally trade shifts at short notice if you're tired and can find someone to cover. Sleeping between calls is encouraged, and there's always coffee and leftovers around.
I also chew gum and keep candy in a pocket. I don't do well on caffeine, so no coffee for me. Powernaps and physical exercise are also helpful.
I also chew gum and keep candy in a pocket. I don't do well on caffeine, so no coffee for me. Powernaps and physical exercise are also helpful.
medicstudent101
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Win.
samiam
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Give yourself an Fast1 sternal IO and toss in a little epi for good measure 
h34r:
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EMSDude54343
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i try to walk around for at least 5-10 min at a time, seems to help some. try to find something you like to do that takes time and concentration, like reading, or if you have computer access, surfing forums like this