Stupid, Stupid Concerns - Working EMS

[Hastings]

This is such a stupid thread, and I know it, so please try to forgive me.

I'm a great medic. What I am not great at is directions.

My biggest fear about jumping into an EMS job is not in treating patients or anything of the sort. It's being able to get where I need to be.

So.

How big of a deal is not being familiar with an area, is it something that you just get with experience, and what is the best way to manage geographical ignorance while learning?

 

[seanm028]

I had the same concern. Fortunately my partners are usually pretty familiar with the area. Even if they aren't familiar, we have a GPS mapping system on our computers that is usually pretty accurate.

 

[Hastings]

I had the same concern. Fortunately my partners are usually pretty familiar with the area. Even if they aren't familiar, we have a GPS mapping system on our computers that is usually pretty accurate.

Whew, that's exactly what I wanted to hear.

Sadly however...

I had the idea during class that I'd have an EMT-B partner that I could force to drive everywhere. And then I got out, and got the offer to do Echo. And as dumb as it is, it's a real concern for me. This isn't the job where you can really afford to get lost.

 

[JPINFV]

Thomas Guides and time are probably the best solution.

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

Apologies for sounding rude, because I probably didn't read your post correctly, but do you know how to read a map? I don't understand.

 

[Hastings]

Apologies for sounding rude, because I probably didn't read your post correctly, but do you know how to read a map? I don't understand.

No need to apologize. It's a good question.

Yes, I do know how to read maps and take directions. It's just a confidence issue about being alone, having no experience, and having a very short time period to get there.

 

[rescuepoppy]

This is such a stupid thread, and I know it, so please try to forgive me.

I'm a great medic. What I am not great at is directions.

My biggest fear about jumping into an EMS job is not in treating patients or anything of the sort. It's being able to get where I need to be.

So.

How big of a deal is not being familiar with an area, is it something that you just get with experience, and what is the best way to manage geographical ignorance while learning?

The best advice I can give is to get a good map of the area and study it and on days off get out and drive around noting street signs and land marks. Hope this helps

 

[Ridryder911]

On your day off, take a drive. Learn the major roads and their hundred blocks. When you locating on the map, you can find the major cross streets and go from there.

As others stated, knowing how to read the map and locating the area is the key.

R/r 911

 

[MSDeltaFlt]

Also, cities tend to follow a pattern when naming streets and with block numbers. For instance, "streets" may go North/South and "avenues" may go East/West or some variance like that. Not to mention that certain streets in a city will separate North from South, and East from West.

County roads, however, good luck.

 

[firecoins]

I use my personal GPS. Works great for for interfacility transports and does okay for 911 jobs. Some residential streets are not known by the GPS which forces me to use the maps. I can read maps pretty well but takes longer of course. Anyway dispatch can give a good set of directions.

 

[firetender]

Grew up on the East coast. EMT NY, Paramedic, FL. Was pretty aware of my position in relation to the ocean so always knew need to go North, smell the ocean in front of you, hang a left, that sort of thing. Then, I moved to California!

Swear to the Great Houdini, for a good year I was upside down when it came to getting there and back!

 

[Jon]

With my new job, I've been learning the roads as we go. I first had to use the GPS for EVERY run.. now I'm not using it as much going to the scene, and I almost never need help getting to the hospital.

I've spent time both on and off duty driving around the territory.

Jon

 

[Tincanfireman]

We've got developers putting up subdivisions like new grass in the spring. The county can't begin to keep up with them, and even GPS's give you the dreaded big green sea of nothingness out in the rural areas.

 

[BossyCow]

If your area uses a 911 numbering system, there is a rhyme and reason to the numbers... odd numbers are to the north side of the street and even to the south for example. Even to the east, odd to the west. On a major highway, the milepost number is the first set of digits to a street address with the rest of it being odd or even based on which side of the highway its on. In our rural area, the last digit of the address is based on the length of the driveway. Mine is an 8 because I'm on the east side of the road and have a driveway about 1/10 of a mile long.

Its my understanding that many areas are going to these types of systems. Once you know what the system used in your response area is, you can think your way through to figure out where it is... 719 Main street is going to be between 7th and main on the North side of the street for example.

Then there are those areas where the streets are Mountain View Court Avenue NSE and there's also an Mtn View Ct., Mtn View Street, Mtn View Rd for those, may God have mercy on your soul!

 

[Outbac1]

A lot of good sugestions here. There is probably someone at the other end of the radio who can help out too, if you have a basic idea of which way to go.

 

[EMTBandit]

I have the exact same problem. My biggest fear going through EMT School and a bit still now is negotiating my way to and from a call. Maybe what you should look into is do what my squad did. For your city/town make a directions sheet with all of the streets in your area and how to get there from your Headquarters. And for the surrounding towns you do Mutual Aid for. For example like on ours. Turn (R) onto Main, 2nd Light turn (L) onto Homer, 3rd Light turn (L) onto Vicky Ave. Something to that effect. I am pretty familiar with our town now, but for Mutual Aid I tend to use my GPS or directions from dispatch.

 

[Onceamedic]

Anyway dispatch can give a good set of directions.

You're kidding me right?

 

[MedicPrincess]

Hastings....First... I am from Eaton Rapids! I used to live behing Meijers on Saginaw in Lansing before I got smart, dumped all that crazy coldness and now the only "white stuff" I tromp through to a patient is warm, gets every *@$% in your truck sand! I am still dumping it out of my monitor from a code on the beach not to long ago....

So anyway....these guys have really great suggestions. Take that drive. Get to know the major cross streets (Saginaw, M99, ect) and how to get there from anywhere.

Then, if your not busy and you hear a unit get a call....get out your map book and find it....then plan how YOU would get there from where YOU are.

And, now take this from the Medic that had her EMT turn around 4 times on the way to a call not to long ago...... Invest in a good GPS.....BRIND IT TO WORK.....AND MAKE SURE TO UPDATE THE DARN THING!!!!!! (got the GPS....hadn't updated in over a year....and well, I forgot it that day!)

 

[emtwacker710]

3 things...first drive around your area..a lot..thats one of the ways I got used to my area, second, study maps of the area, and third, I know some people are against them but GPS units are very helpful in finding addresses, we just got one in each of our 2 rigs and one in our fly car at the beginning of this year and our response times have actually decreased.

 

[Firesurfer75]

On your day off, take a drive. Learn the major roads and their hundred blocks. When you locating on the map, you can find the major cross streets and go from there.

As others stated, knowing how to read the map and locating the area is the key.

R/r 911

I couldn't agree more! This is an excellent way to learn your area. Try new "shortcuts" when you go to the grocery store or out to dinner etc... always be vigilant at learning your area, utilize every opportunity during your time off in your personal vehicle. Major roads are primary, then learn some cut through roads, then when the call comes in and you glance at a map you can identify the incident street with one of the cut through streets. My partner is a talker and is always leaving me hanging in the truck while talking to people, during this time I'm usually glancing over protocols or a mapbook ...ok, sometimes I am guilty of talking on my cell..