Streets & Geography

[LucidResq]

What does your agency require, if anything, that new EMTs/medics learn as far as the streets and geography of their service area? Are they tested?

Does anyone have any tips as far as memorizing street rotations, hundred blocks and such?

My new dispatch job expects and tests to a pretty high standard for this stuff... and with about 150 sq. miles and nearly 2,000 people per square mile... there are a lot of streets to learn. I know it could be harder but still.

I've been making flashcards with street names, pictures that I've associated to the street name (like a pickle for Picadilly) and the hundred block on the back. Also planning on doing some driving around.

 

[Chimpie]

Yeah, you just have to drive around and start memorizing the block numbers. Create points of reference.

Like the Mc'Donalds on First Ave is the 800 block.

 

[JPINFV]

We were expected to be able to use a street guide style map (Thomas Guide) at my first job by the time we finished field training. When you start looking at several hundred square miles of continuous suburban development, it starts becoming unreasonable to expect anyone to memorize much of anything preemployment.

 

[Sassafras]

I have to know how to use the Garmin. I call her Gina Pauline Smith. She's British. And tells me where to go.

 

[LucidResq]

We were expected to be able to use a street guide style map (Thomas Guide) at my first job by the time we finished field training. When you start looking at several hundred square miles of continuous suburban development, it starts becoming unreasonable to expect anyone to memorize much of anything preemployment.

I know... it's funny... especially considering in dispatch we have very advanced mapping on the computers... and piles and piles of paper maps.

Of course I think it's important to have pretty in-depth knowledge of the geography of your service area, but I think it's stuff best learned on the job while you're using it in a practical manner rather than being handed a list of names and numbers to cram in to your head before the test... very little of that information will be retained anyways.

 

[Sassafras]

I don't understand why it would be required though with the GPS technology. All our ambulances (even in the volley station I'm with) have a GPS. Can I see the benefit of familiarity? Yes. Especially when Gina took me down a road that was closed, but again, it probably would have re routed anyway even if I didn't know where I was going.

 

[LucidResq]

I have to know how to use the Garmin. I call her Gina Pauline Smith. She's British. And tells me where to go.

Really? That's interesting. I've seen agencies use pretty neat mapping programs on their MDTs... definitely not straight up Garmin though.

 

[Sassafras]

I can assure it's a straight up garmin...let me see if I can find the model number. It sits on the dash board. Even if it didn't my phone has a gps anyway and I could use it in a pinch.

This one looks like ours... http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/5695/garmin-nuvi-260.html

 

[LucidResq]

I don't understand why it would be required though with the GPS technology. All our ambulances (even in the volley station I'm with) have a GPS. Can I see the benefit of familiarity? Yes. Especially when Gina took me down a road that was closed, but again, it probably would have re routed anyway even if I didn't know where I was going.

From my point of view in dispatch, I'd like to be able to visualize where I'm sending people so I can anticipate any hazards/obstacles/etc they might run in to. Then there's other stuff like being able to quickly recognize an address as out of jurisdiction, verifying it and transferring the caller to the appropriate agency.

An obvious point is that GPS is not fool-proof. Neither are people of course, but it's always good to have multiple ways of figuring out where you're going rather than just one.

The general public also thinks people in uniform know the entire city like the back of their hand, therefore like to ask them for directions. Obviously this isn't a big deal but it's always nice to be able to give them. I've had people get pissed at me for not knowing how to tell them how to get to the nearest McDonald's.

 

[LucidResq]

I can assure it's a straight up garmin...let me see if I can find the model number.

Don't worry I believe you, it's just something I haven't seen before.

 

[Sassafras]

Don't worry I believe you, it's just something I haven't seen before.

LOL that did seem a little defensive didn't it? Sorry about that! I can see how that would benefit dispatch though. Shoot I need directions to get to the hospitals still so I definitely use the Garmins. I actually got lost on the medschool campus yesterday so I'm glad I had it. Patient was a little irritated LOL.

 

[MDA]

Get a map book for the area, find the cities zero marks and just study it.
It just takes time if you're new to the area.

 

[lightsandsirens5]

What does your agency require, if anything, that new EMTs/medics learn as far as the streets and geography of their service area? Are they tested?

Does anyone have any tips as far as memorizing street rotations, hundred blocks and such?

My new dispatch job expects and tests to a pretty high standard for this stuff... and with about 150 sq. miles and nearly 2,000 people per square mile... there are a lot of streets to learn. I know it could be harder but still.

I've been making flashcards with street names, pictures that I've associated to the street name (like a pickle for Picadilly) and the hundred block on the back. Also planning on doing some driving around.

Ha! I'm looking forward to being hired at dispatch and covering about 2,900 square miles with 50,000 people. Much less dense, but much more area.

As for my ambulance service, you have to be able to find a bunch of random addresses in the mapbook, then spell out your route to the evaluator. We do carry GPS, but there are so many un-supported roads out here, that once you are off the main county roads, the GPS can be worthless. The biggest thing I use it for is getting coordinates for the bird. Besides, the map will always work. It's not like someone can go and crack the screen, or break the little charger pins off inside the unit so it won't plug in any more and dies on you halfway there.

 

[MrBrown]

We are given a map book and asked to find a route to three or four places its really very basic

 

[lightsandsirens5]

I can assure it's a straight up garmin...let me see if I can find the model number. It sits on the dash board. Even if it didn't my phone has a gps anyway and I could use it in a pinch.

This one looks like ours... http://g.factoryoutletstore.com/details/5695/garmin-nuvi-260.html

Pretty much exactly what we have.