tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post5534813077095511632..comments2023-11-15T22:51:56.140-08:00Comments on HelicopterEMS.com: To Sleep on Duty, or Not to Sleep on Duty...That is the Question...Dan Fouldshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00967225641362222953noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-61805857054427254362016-12-01T08:25:01.066-08:002016-12-01T08:25:01.066-08:00When I had night duty, I rarely slept. I was alway...When I had night duty, I rarely slept. I was always spring-loaded to the ready position. Instead of sleeping or even napping (at night) I spent my time checking the weather at and toward all possible locations I might be asked to go. This way I was ready to decline a flight quickly (or accept it) at the moment of notice. This meant that when I was off duty between shifts I actually went home and slept, well-rested on my return to duty. Another reason for not sleeping was so that I didn't have to react to a flight request out of a dead sleep. To be half asleep checking the weather and/or starting a helicopter and getting it off the ground safely is a rather monumental chore. If you continually check the weather you will notice changes or trends in the current conditions or forecast that will assist your decision to go or not go in a timely fashion, thus allowing the ground crews needing your services to go with plan B instead of plan A also in a timely fashion. This is how you put the patient first. I also used the theory that it is better that the patient go by ground than be in the air with me and my crew should we have to land out in the middle of nowhere due to a surprise in the weather. Ambulances are hard put to find you and drive to your location out in the middle of a corn pasture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-55361201241959719012016-09-02T05:37:55.476-07:002016-09-02T05:37:55.476-07:00Here is another perspective that supports the &quo...Here is another perspective that supports the "napping is good" theory...helicopters vibrate, TREMENDOUSLY! This causes stress on the body that is, more often than not, undetected by us while in flight. This vibration causes wear & tear on your body. That is why a 30 min. flight can feel like it's been hours...you're exhausted!<br />Add to that the 3-D operating environment and now your body is REALLY working OT just to figure out what the hell you're doing! 4 or 5 body systems working together with all 5 senses takes its toll after just one short flight. Getting back-to-back-to-back flight compounds this effect tremendously.<br />Soooo, do HAA personnel need naps?<br />YES, they do.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-13909329370555879512016-09-01T21:17:47.137-07:002016-09-01T21:17:47.137-07:00Unless you have worked 7 x 12 hour shifts in a row...Unless you have worked 7 x 12 hour shifts in a row at night in a helicopter people will have no idea what you are talking about... A 30 minute patient flight can take 3 or more hours to complete.. add to that to the hostile night environment of night flying under stressful pressured conditions... you need a nap..Grumpy Old Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089533783747547048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-10988868838485977992016-09-01T21:17:14.777-07:002016-09-01T21:17:14.777-07:00Unless you have worked 7 x 12 hour shifts in a row...Unless you have worked 7 x 12 hour shifts in a row at night in a helicopter people will have no idea what you are talking about... A 30 minute patient flight can take 3 or more hours to complete.. add to that to the hostile night environment of night flying under stressful pressured conditions... you need a nap..Grumpy Old Brithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10089533783747547048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-16796572228541779012014-12-24T16:27:45.459-08:002014-12-24T16:27:45.459-08:00Thanks to Josh for making this blog better.Thanks to Josh for making this blog better.Dan Fouldshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00967225641362222953noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-25932720787055412092014-12-24T12:22:11.443-08:002014-12-24T12:22:11.443-08:00"Often"
"Their" duties....
The..."Often"<br />"Their" duties....<br />The "job they volunteer....."<br />I failed at proof reading.........The Goathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03428794256260771025noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5386371994151518498.post-63349859848961435332014-12-24T12:19:22.136-08:002014-12-24T12:19:22.136-08:00Dan, i couldn't agree with this post more. I s...Dan, i couldn't agree with this post more. I say this having worked in both arenas. 7 years in a busy level I trauma center ED and in the flight arena. And i can say this, working a long 3+ hour flight at night with a sick pt. is just as tiring as a 12 ED shift. However, there are a few things to consider when comparing the two. First, i think that the "powers that be" fail to recognize what i call "insensible flight stressors." These include low humidity, low O2 environment, high stress, high noise and relatively high pt. acuity. these things combined create an increased metabolic state in the flight crew. (pilot included). Stated plainly, we chew up all our natural glucose and were damn tired with our bodies having been in overdrive to maintain homeostasis for the duration of the flight. Now, in the hospital, the effects of being tired can range from fairly simple, like walking into the wrong pt. room to moderately bad, such as a med error. In the flight arena, the consequences can be much more dire. Walking into a tail rotor, in my opinion is a FAR greater consequence. (i know we've all been habitualized to maintaining our situational awareness, but people still get punchy, or they're new, or they're just plain tired and not paying attention) The tired flight nurse/medic is also prone to making pt. care mistakes. Ofetn the pt's we fly are of the higher acuity and thus, much more medically fragile. Medical mistakes in this pt. population have far greater consequences that giving 60 Keterolac IV instead of IM in the hospital. Furthermore, when and IF a pt. goes south in the hospital, multitudes of people rush in and the medical menagerie begins. In the aircraft, its just you and you're equally tired partner. No help. No pulling over. No flying faster. Just you and your partner.<br />I guess what I'm saying is this; Nurses get tired on duty, but comparatively, flight nurses face greater fatigue factors than hospital based RN's. The consequences however are far greater for the flight team. Not only for the safety of the crew, but for the quality of care provided, the utilization of limited care providers and the reputation and quality of the flight program.<br />12 hr shift or 24 hr shift? it doesn't matter. Ive also worked both types of schedules flying, and there is little difference given the topic of fatigue. (i much prefer 24 hr shifts however.)<br />Flight crews should be required to rest while on duty. There duties, responsibilities and the sheer gravity of the job the volunteer for demands their full attention, not standardization of flight RN vs. Hospital RN rest requirements.The Goathttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03428794256260771025noreply@blogger.com