Let's play swap the location...

[HERBIE1]

I'm with Herbie - every place has it's own unique challenges. I took you into some of the areas I worked and you'd be lucky to get the people to say two words to you once you opened your mouth because they knew you weren't from there. I love rural EMS for a number of reasons and I have no desire to move out of it any time in the near future, but I did flip sides of the fence to urban for a year just for kicks and giggles to see how I'd like it and how different it was. Boy was I in for an eye opener - big difference there ! Going from 45 min to do what's needed to 5 min to the hospital is a different animal. I didn't care much for it, but I've had people from the city come ride with us and they can't stand it. it's just a different animal.

Good thing we have all different types of people because otherwise we wouldn't have all areas covered. I encourage students to ride in both rural and urban just to see what the differences are and what is a good fit for them. Makes you appreciate your own more when out of your comfort zone, but makes you grow both personally and professionally.

Even a few miles makes a difference. The kids I teach are from outlying areas, and the issues they have are much different than I face. Folks who work in well to do areas have to worry about things like taking off their fire boots when they enter a nice house for a medical call so as to not damage an expensive carpet, or a freshly waxed marble floor. " Do you know that it costs more to clean this carpet than you make in a year!!" They actually get complaints from the citizens and are reprimanded for not being more respectful of people's homes. LOL

That would NEVER fly around here.

[Dustdevil]

Along those lines there wouldn't be the same sucess in suburban or rural to urban.

And vice versa. I'd love watching you try to find, "The Hoskins place out on 51 past the creek and where the old dairy used to be".

Would a rural medic understand about a kill zone when knocking on a door of a house in a ghetto area?

I get a kick out of you city slickers who think we don't have guns outside of the city. Boy are you in for a surprise if you pull your ambulance into the wrong driveway when you can't find the above address.

[letmesleep]

And vice versa. I'd love watching you try to find, "The Hoskins place out on 51 past the creek and where the old dairy used to be".

I get a kick out of you city slickers who think we don't have guns outside of the city. Boy are you in for a surprise if you pull your ambulance into the wrong driveway when you can't find the above address.

LOL, agreed! They got those meth labs to protect don't ya know!

[Richard B the EMT]

I thought this string was about Multiple Casualty Incidents, and the Incident Command Systems currently being taught and utilized, not a Municipal/Urban "Us" versus "Them" attitude comparison.

The posit made that a trained EMT could be used in another geographic area, as I see it, is a good possibility. I have been detailed out to other areas of New York City, where I freely admit I would be geographically lost. As long as I have a partner who knows the territory, or has better map reading skills than I do, the patient is going to be treated to the best of my abilities while that partner heads us towards the nearest appropriate ER or specialty center.

It also works to the reverse. I was the one detailed to a different district, and my partner was the area local, but when we had a call needing to go to the "Replant Center" at Bellevue, and he didn't know the way, I took the wheel and drove there. He drove back, and all other calls we did that night.

Edited January 7, 2010 by Richard B the EMT

[fireflymedic]

I get a kick out of you city slickers who think we don't have guns outside of the city. Boy are you in for a surprise if you pull your ambulance into the wrong driveway when you can't find the above address.

Shhhh dust - you weren't supposed to tell about that ! Met grandpa with a shot gun when dispatch gave us wrong directions, arrived at a gate that said no tresspassing (which the house we were supposed to show up at had the exact same - a green gate with a no tresspassing sign and we were told "just open the gate and go on in"). Pulled up to the house and grandpa grabbed the shotgun next to him pointing it at the ambulance. Let's just say I saw my partner drive faster in reverse that day with comments our elderly pt should never have heard than I saw him drive going forwards. Wanna work my area?

[Kiwiology]

...Known drug houses, areas with active gang wars going on, hazards of drug houses, meth labs, drug farms...would a rural medic understand about a kill zone when knocking on a door of a house in a ghetto area?

Good thing we don't have those here eh?

[HERBIE1]

And vice versa. I'd love watching you try to find, "The Hoskins place out on 51 past the creek and where the old dairy used to be".

I get a kick out of you city slickers who think we don't have guns outside of the city. Boy are you in for a surprise if you pull your ambulance into the wrong driveway when you can't find the above address.

Dust,

I have enough friends in the sticks to understand that you are exactly right- that's why I mentioned pot farms and meth labs. I KNOW you have guns, but you also know how to use them.

The thing is, when folks in the boonies shoot, they generally hit what they are aiming at. In the city, the intended target usually gets away and innocents get hurt. I always say that the best case scenario is if for some reason I am a target, I hope a gang banger is actually aiming at me because I have a damn good chance of getting away without a scratch.

As a public service, I advocate sending gang bangers to school to learn to become better shots and how to handle their weapons. I've had more than a few idiots shoot themselves in the legs, butts, and even "privates" because they don't understand how their weapon works(ie a bullet in the chamber, safety's, etc), or are showing off.

[fireflymedic]

As a public service, I advocate sending gang bangers to school to learn to become better shots and how to handle their weapons. I've had more than a few idiots shoot themselves in the legs, butts, and even "privates" because they don't understand how their weapon works(ie a bullet in the chamber, safety's, etc), or are showing off.

There's a few that do know how to handle guns (aka public servants) that have done similar actions

[Dustdevil]

The thing is, when folks in the boonies shoot, they generally hit what they are aiming at. In the city, the intended target usually gets away and innocents get hurt. I always say that the best case scenario is if for some reason I am a target, I hope a gang banger is actually aiming at me because I have a damn good chance of getting away without a scratch.

LOL! Interesting, yet valid observation!

[Richard B the EMT]

Anecdotally, gang bangers don't shoot individuals, they spray bullets in the direction of their target, hence the collateral damages to others.