Lone Star Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 You need a vest for the same reason you wear a seatbelt and use safety type needles for your IV sticks, it is a safety thing. I doubt there is anyone in this forum that has not found themselves in a violent situation. If you haven't you must be a rookie. Or we have good enough communication skills to be able to diffuse a potentially ugly scene. The biggest part of scene safety is paying attention to your surroundings at all times. By paying attention, you can pick up on tell-tale signs that should tip you off that things are going 'south', and you can either diffuse them, or get out. I've worked some of the roughest neighborhoods in Detroit without a vest, (not because I didn't think I needed one, but because I couldn't afford one), and I seem to have survived unscathed. I've run a fair mix between IFT and 9-1-1, although the nature of the dispatch doesn't preclude you from potentially violent patients. It's amazing how far a little bit of respect and empathy goes toward calming down your patients... Will it work in all situations? Not at all, but it DOES help in trying to diffuse the situation before it gets further out of control. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustdevil Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 Or we have good enough communication skills to be able to diffuse a potentially ugly scene. I've never been able to talk a bullet, knife, sideview mirror, cabinet edge, 02 cylinder, or any other flying object out of it's trajectory with my chest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lone Star Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 I've never been able to talk a bullet, knife, sideview mirror, cabinet edge, 02 cylinder, or any other flying object out of it's trajectory with my chest. This is probably true, but I wrote that in response to flaming talking about getting your ass kicked by violent patients, and if you haven't...you must be a rookie. When your truck is rolling along the ground, and not on it's wheels; it's a little difficult to talk an inanimate object out of following the laws of inerita and pure physics.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwiology Posted June 6, 2011 Share Posted June 6, 2011 We have a V neck jersey (the same as the cops except Ambulance is green not blue) and a vest with detatchable arms I do not see a problem with a polar-fleece type pull over Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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