Using a map book..

I personally choose manual readings for an entirely different purpose. I like to touch my patients. I like to build rapport and I want them to trust me. Sure, throwing on the NiBP gets exactly what I need and "frees" me to do other things, but for myself I accomplish a lot during that brief moment of manual BP.

A lot of patients calm themselves when you are trying to listen intently to fix them. I am able to watch them adjust their body language, their breathing, and note if any of that is consistent or inconsistent with why I am there. I am able to be very close to them in silence. A manual BP can buy you time if you just need a moment to slow the racing thoughts and decide what direction to go in next. And like I said at the beginning, it just builds rapport. This is what the majority of them expect as they have seen it on TV for decades, so it is what I give them.

So far in my 2+ decades of dinosaurology, the technique has not failed me. Some things just need to remain "old school" and the reasoning is not always the most obvious.
 
^Love this reasoning. I try to accomplish the same thing by shaking the patient's hand and then getting a manual heart rate and pulse characteristics at the radial artery.
 
And as for the main topic... :)

Map reading should be an essential skill regardless of whatever new technology comes along. Use it in conjunction with current tools, if you have the luxury of time, use it entirely just to maintain the skill.

How else do you plan to get around after the zombies come? We all have a "Rick Grimes" in our circle I guess, but it sure would be nice to make yourself RG so that you are assured protection and get first dibs on the good food!
 
There is a topic here, let's talk about it.

As for mapbooks, you must use them during field training and then after that it's whatever you'd like provided you aren't creating issues.

No matter what you use though, you need to get a sense of the area you cover. No matter how good your partner is at mapping or punching buttons on the GPS is, being able to have general idea of where you are going is the most important part of learning geography. You don't need to know every street, but having an idea of what is to the north, east, south, and west of you and is what will get you there easily and keep you from getting lost.
 
We have maps, not map books, but maps: biggest in the truck is about 4' X 5'. Of course our primary coverage area is bigger than Rhode Island, and secondary coverage area is about the size of Connecticut. only 2 housing areas are about 300 houses in one with less than 500 people on 20 streets; 2nd is about 5 streets, with less than 100 people.
Good weekends we may have a few thousand people recreating
.
 
Our county actually produced custom map books that are very detailed and honestly contain more information than what you'd ever need for 2 reasons.
1. GPS files for the county have been rarely updated and are very spotty in some areas.
2.We have also learned that many road names are not in the GPS and even ADC map books, as lots of roads change names every 3-4 miles.

So a map book is essential, and being able to read one is critical to our field units. They have GPS, ADC, and the county map book in their rigs. There's very little excuse to get lost or have no idea where you're going.
 
COmedic17 said:
I have seen several posts about people being concerned over navigation/driving.

Do they teach people how to use map books anymore? I feel like being able to use a map book is of extreme importance in this job......

Yes GPS are nice, but they are not fail proof.
Click to expand...

I dont trust GPS at all. Bad experience that almost buried my truck in mud after flooding.
 
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