A Smarter Schedule

      If I had a dollar for every time I've been asked over the last 20 years how to become a paramedic and help others for a living, we'd surely have that place in the mountains on a lake that my wife and I can only dream about for now.

   There are a remarkable number of folks out there with the desire to help others, so it seems a bit odd to me that EMS continues to experience shortages of men and women willing to make a career of such a worthwhile, rewarding and exciting profession.

   I set out to understand why. At first I was surprised by what I discovered. But, thinking back to conversations I've had over the years with coworkers and those curious about our field, I realized there was a common theme to most. The biggest drawback to a career in EMS isn't the schooling, what we sometimes have to see, hear and do, the responsibilities we're given or even the pay. It's the lifestyle we're left with as a result of the unusual, often grueling schedules we work.

   To a considerable degree, we have continued to use the same traditional schedules utilized in EMS since its inception. In those days, most households were made up of a breadwinner and a full-time homemaker. Schedules didn't present nearly the issues they do for the typical two-breadwinner households of today. As a result, we have inadvertently developed an environment for employees that makes it difficult to accommodate the responsibilities and interests they have outside work, and to have any semblance of a normal lifestyle.

   Back then, too, only a handful of colleges and universities offered night and weekend classes. Now, in response to a changing society, just a handful don't. Year-round schools popping up across the country are another example of institutions modifying their methods of operating to meet the needs of today. Do we suppose EMS to be somehow immune from this need to adapt? If we are to thrive, we, too, need to change how we operate to better serve the needs of our workforce.

   Like many, I'd simply come to accept the schedules we work as the price we pay for being able to do what we love to do. But imagine for a moment that you're used to working 9 to 5 on weekdays, with holidays off. How would you react to a schedule that had you constantly rotating every third or fourth day, flip-flopping between days and nights every few weeks, working straight nights or working half of your waking hours each month? It's not hard to imagine that the traditional schedules we use in EMS are unappealing to others. So the question becomes, are they really necessary?

   My surprise quickly turned to excitement when I realized that by taking our lead from some of the most successful corporations in the world, we can move quickly and cost-effectively toward a solution to some of the chronic personnel shortages we face. If we provide the right environment for staff, they will come, and they will stay.

THE 51S SCHEDULE

   Companies that offer lifestyle-friendly schedules often enjoy the greatest success in attracting and retaining staff. It stands to reason, then, that an EMS system offering lifestyle-friendly schedules that meet the most commonly cited needs and preferences of their employees will realize greater success in meeting staffing and service goals. Applying this concept to the field of EMS isn't entirely new, but it has been unfortunately underutilized.

   Our current economy effectively eliminates the ability to offer higher salaries or more benefits as a way to attract and retain staff. This means there's never been a better time to begin implementing lifestyle-friendly programs that accomplish this more effectively and actually save money. Properly designed, the right schedule can even lure those from other fields to consider careers in EMS. The trick is to meet the most needs and preferences of staff, offer as many scheduling options as possible, and make it easily managed while being more efficient and effective than other schedules. The new 51s is such a schedule.