Do you need GPS for a 911 job?
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rmabrey
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I have my own. However it is merely a guide. I use the coordinate system our city is set up with.
DesertMedic66
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We have a GPS that is incorporated into our software. No it does not have to be used. Some employees will bring there own. Our response area is too big to memorize.
Amberlamps916
Droog
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The Thomas Guide is your friend, it has never let me down.
MedicBender
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I find I learn the city a lot better when using a map book. It's also easier to find detours quickly and identify potential trouble zones like schools. After a few shifts of using the book, it was almost quicker to map it out in the book then fumble with the GPS.
Learn to use a map book and always have one on hand. Technology is great, however it can fail. When that happens, it's nice to know you can count on the map book.
Learn to use a map book and always have one on hand. Technology is great, however it can fail. When that happens, it's nice to know you can count on the map book.
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Every unit has a GPS. They're simple little Garmins. They work well provided you are smarter than the GPS. You can't follow it turn for turn most of the time because it uses main roads, doesn't route around accidents, construction, school zones or other things of that nature.
Every unit also has a Thomas Guide and new employees are required to map using only the map book during FTO time to show they're proficient. Every dispatch via radio and every page we get comes with a map page and coordinates, ie "map page 276 coordinates 7
bravo" as a reference for the grid location of the street on that particular page of the book.
Patzy, you've posted a lot of questions lately and it's awesome that you're excited. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you're in training, considering it or just out of it. You need to understand that no matter what people tell you or what the book said, seconds DO NOT matter in 99.99% of the things we see. Even in time critical situations, except for a select few like a complete airway obstruction, the extra 30 seconds it takes to map using a map book will not make an ounce of difference in the patient's outcome.
It's extremely rare to see a true life threatening, time sensitive patient. My first partner after I cleared my EMT training time told me something that stuck with me and really is true: "This job is 99% bull:censored::censored::censored::censored: and 1% oh :censored::censored::censored::censored:."
Every unit also has a Thomas Guide and new employees are required to map using only the map book during FTO time to show they're proficient. Every dispatch via radio and every page we get comes with a map page and coordinates, ie "map page 276 coordinates 7
bravo" as a reference for the grid location of the street on that particular page of the book.
Patzy, you've posted a lot of questions lately and it's awesome that you're excited. I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you're in training, considering it or just out of it. You need to understand that no matter what people tell you or what the book said, seconds DO NOT matter in 99.99% of the things we see. Even in time critical situations, except for a select few like a complete airway obstruction, the extra 30 seconds it takes to map using a map book will not make an ounce of difference in the patient's outcome.
It's extremely rare to see a true life threatening, time sensitive patient. My first partner after I cleared my EMT training time told me something that stuck with me and really is true: "This job is 99% bull:censored::censored::censored::censored: and 1% oh :censored::censored::censored::censored:."
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Amberlamps916
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Our dispatch gives us the page number of the call in the mapbook. There is enough time, EMS has been around for a while, way before GPS.
MedicBender
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I have plenty of time if its either 911 or IFT.
If the patient dies in the 5 seconds it took me to map it out, there probably wasn't a lot I was going to be able to do anyway.
Robb summed it up well.
Everything seems super urgent when you start as an EMT. Just take a breath and don't stress on taking an extra 30 seconds to know where you're going. It'll take even more time when the address is wrong and you have to reroute.
If the patient dies in the 5 seconds it took me to map it out, there probably wasn't a lot I was going to be able to do anyway.
Robb summed it up well.
Everything seems super urgent when you start as an EMT. Just take a breath and don't stress on taking an extra 30 seconds to know where you're going. It'll take even more time when the address is wrong and you have to reroute.
Some IFT companies in your area (San Francisco Bay Area) have GPS (eg ProTransport-1 has TomTom). County Ambulance (operated by Rural/Metro) and Paramedics Plus have mobile date console/terminal (MDC/MDT), which will route you to your calls, post, and hospitals. It'll also provide information about the call (address, comments by the dispatcher, whether it's CODE 2 or 3, etc). You can communicate to the dispatcher that way (just press a button) instead of radio updating whether you are responding, on scene, transporting, clear/available, en route to post, and arrived at post, but they also do want you to say it over the radio anyhow.
^That's what the ones in County Ambulance (operated by Rural/Metro) looks like. Panasonic Toughbooks with Windows 7 on it. Obviously this is not a picture of County Ambulance.^
^That's what the ones in Paramedics Plus looks like. This is not a picture of inside Paramedics Plus rig.^
In Santa Clara County, they are gonna require all ambulances to have ePCRs so I expect will eventually all have some sort mdc/mdt within the next year or two anyhow. I believe most companies are looking at iPads though, which I'm a little disappointed in. Imagine getting a signature from patient using an iPad. Kinda phony, but I guess the patient won't know the difference anyhow. :[
A lot of counties require at minimum a Thomas Guide Map Book.
At the very back of the book, it'll have a list of common things people look up eg Hospitals with a list of all the hospitals name on it, their address, the page it's on, and the grid it's in. It'll also have a list of all the street names, their page, and the grid it's on. As a newbie, it seems kinda hard, but it's actually not that hard. Sometimes I beat the GPS when trying to find something, or come up with a simpler way. Personally, I like to use the GPS to give an ETA, I'll use it as a backup plan to what I come up with, and/or to get me started/get out of tough places (I find San Francisco very difficult to navigate even with a map book because of a lot of "do not turn left" signs, one way streets, constant construction in random places, etc. The GPS won't detect construction, it'll automatically reroute regardless of what turns I make. I like to use both the GPS and map. I do believe it helps you figure out the roads better, you can kinda tell if you are gonna go through a difficult way eg curvy, go out into the boonies, go through a residential area, etc. I use both. Like if you mess up on mapping, or you come with a longer way, you/your partner makes a wrong turn, I find it very convenient for the GPS to reroute versus having to figure out what you just did and reroute using the map book.
^That's what the ones in County Ambulance (operated by Rural/Metro) looks like. Panasonic Toughbooks with Windows 7 on it. Obviously this is not a picture of County Ambulance.^
^That's what the ones in Paramedics Plus looks like. This is not a picture of inside Paramedics Plus rig.^
In Santa Clara County, they are gonna require all ambulances to have ePCRs so I expect will eventually all have some sort mdc/mdt within the next year or two anyhow. I believe most companies are looking at iPads though, which I'm a little disappointed in. Imagine getting a signature from patient using an iPad. Kinda phony, but I guess the patient won't know the difference anyhow. :[
A lot of counties require at minimum a Thomas Guide Map Book.
At the very back of the book, it'll have a list of common things people look up eg Hospitals with a list of all the hospitals name on it, their address, the page it's on, and the grid it's in. It'll also have a list of all the street names, their page, and the grid it's on. As a newbie, it seems kinda hard, but it's actually not that hard. Sometimes I beat the GPS when trying to find something, or come up with a simpler way. Personally, I like to use the GPS to give an ETA, I'll use it as a backup plan to what I come up with, and/or to get me started/get out of tough places (I find San Francisco very difficult to navigate even with a map book because of a lot of "do not turn left" signs, one way streets, constant construction in random places, etc. The GPS won't detect construction, it'll automatically reroute regardless of what turns I make. I like to use both the GPS and map. I do believe it helps you figure out the roads better, you can kinda tell if you are gonna go through a difficult way eg curvy, go out into the boonies, go through a residential area, etc. I use both. Like if you mess up on mapping, or you come with a longer way, you/your partner makes a wrong turn, I find it very convenient for the GPS to reroute versus having to figure out what you just did and reroute using the map book.
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Some IFT companies in your area (San Francisco Bay Area) have GPS (eg ProTransport-1 has TomTom). County Ambulance (operated by Rural/Metro) and Paramedics Plus have mobile date console/terminal (MDC/MDT), which will route you to your calls, post, and hospitals. It'll also provide information about the call (address, comments by the dispatcher, whether it's CODE 2 or 3, etc). You can communicate to the dispatcher that way instead of radio updating whether you are responding, on scene, transporting, clear/available, en route to post, and arrived at post, but they also do want you to say it over the radio anyhow.
^That's what the ones in County Ambulance (operated by Rural/Metro) looks like. Panasonic Toughbooks with Windows 7 on it.^
^That's what the ones in Paramedics Plus looks like.^
In Santa Clara County, they are gonna require all ambulances to have ePCRs so I expect will eventually all have some sort mdc/mdt within the next year or two anyhow. I believe most companies are looking at iPads though, which I'm a little disappointed in.
I wish we had MDTs. All radio and pagers here.
I'm disappointed the private IFT ambulances are probably gonna get iPads. Somebody posted about Active911 before I heard about Santa Clara County doing that though so maybe the iPads will work like the Panasonics and other MDTs do? That would nice.
Obviously I am being a big baby. A private IFT ambulance getting any sort of ePCR and MDT is still really cool regardless of being an iPad or not. Some private ambulances (eg AMR in Sonoma for sure, probably San Francisco and San Mateo too, but I haven't gotten to look inside of their ambulance before so I can't say for sure, and California Ambulance in Martinez) have the good stuff already!
Obviously I am being a big baby. A private IFT ambulance getting any sort of ePCR and MDT is still really cool regardless of being an iPad or not. Some private ambulances (eg AMR in Sonoma for sure, probably San Francisco and San Mateo too, but I haven't gotten to look inside of their ambulance before so I can't say for sure, and California Ambulance in Martinez) have the good stuff already!
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DesertMedic66
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We have radios, pagers, and an MDT. We also have a separate toughbook from the MDT just for ePCRs. It's a pain.
Life must be hard. Sad face. :[
DesertMedic66
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Bullets
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We have a few things, including a GPS
A regular Hagstrom map book
A binder with each police zone seperated as a map
a turn by turn direction book from our building to every street in town
A regular Hagstrom map book
A binder with each police zone seperated as a map
a turn by turn direction book from our building to every street in town
RustyShackleford
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We have mdts that sync to our epcr tough books. The maps/gps being on the mdts our system sounds exactly like deserts.
we now have GPS in all of the trucks. But during FTO you have to use a map book w. no GPS. Then once you clear FTO you can use what ever you want to look up calls, most use a map book or smart phone. I keep my own GPS up on the dash but that is merely for reference and so i can see street names prior to me getting to the street especially when the street signs are missing or not well lit. Our MDTs have the map on it too but it does not automatically put the route in so its no different than a map book.
we are given an address and cross streets over the radio as well as the PD district.
we are given an address and cross streets over the radio as well as the PD district.
Easternemt
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Lol I like that Robb.