Categories
Operations

Why I drive slow on snow and ice covered, slippery roads

I don’t mind letting other cars zip by me on the interstate when the roads are snow-covered, icy, slick and slippery. Here are the reasons I drive slow: My car, a 2005 Toyota Sienna Minivan, is fully paid for and has been for at least a decade. Life without a car payment is always better […]

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EMS Tips

EMS Tips – Active Shooter NFPA Standard – Retirement Age – Failure to Yield

1. Active Shooter NFPA Standard 3000 NFPA 3000, Standard for Preparedness and Response to Active Shooter and/or Hostile Events, gives guidance on active shooter or active threat preparedness and response (EMS1.com). “Hostile events are happening with greater frequency and ferocity today. It’s critical that we take steps to protect people from this increasing threat,” NFPA president […]

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Social Media Tips

Everyone is an Expert

I have long kept a list of areas where nearly everyone believes they are an expert despite extensive evidence to the contrary. My list …. Driving Dog training Other areas under consideration for addition to the list … Investing News reporting Youth sports instruction What else should I be considering?

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EMS Tips

Ambulance Siren Doesn’t Help Patients

Turn off the lights. Turn off the sirens. Get to the patient safely and alive. The evidence for ambulance siren and red light use was the subject of a NHTSA Office of EMS Focus webinar. The most interesting (and new to me) discussion point is that ambulance siren and red light use may discourage some […]

Categories
News and Events

Punish the Driver or Change the Culture

Last week EMS1 reported news of an ambulance being driven at 17 miles per hour above the speed limit. The borderline ridiculous incident had all the makings of a ‘gotcha’ story by the local television station. Leading me to ponder about the driver: Good person, bad day, bad behavior? Bad person, bad behavior? Good person, bad culture, […]

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EMS Tips

How catastrophic is an ambulance crash?

A Reddit/EMS thread asked, How catastrophic is an ambulance crash? Like many things…it depends. This was the answer I posted (with a few edits made for this post): A few of my thoughts…from reading lots of news accounts about ambulance crashes  and knowing several ambulance crash survivors. 1. Ambulance crashes happen with distressing frequency. Crashes happen […]

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Operations

Spring Winter Storm: Anticipated Operational Problems and Complaints

When the world around you looks like this at the start of your shift, what operation problems and patient complaints do you anticipate? Wet, heavy snow and high winds.

Categories
EMS Education Tips

Announcement: Co-Presenting at Minnesota EMS Educators Conference

In late April I will be co-presenting “Distraction is Deadly: driving, patient care, and education” At the 3rd Annual Minnesota Ambulance Association Teaching and Learning Conference. As you can see from this session announcement I will be realizing a career long dream of co-presenting with a gray squirrel. This squirrel, one of many that lurks […]

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EMS Education Tips Uncategorized

EMS World Expo 2013: PPT Slides and Handout

Distraction is Deadly: Understanding and Mitigating its Impact Distraction is Deadly: EMS World Expo 2013 Slides by Greg Friese from Greg Friese PDF of handout VFIS Infographic Get the infographic embed code

Categories
Operations

Reply to: This Isn’t Going to Work

On Tuesday I wrote 3 Things About Distracted Driving. I included the From One Second to Next documentary video about the destruction of texting while driving on several families. Today Seth Godin wrote This Isn’t Going to Work. His insights about the impossibility of changing driver behavior are spot on and sanguine. Go read his […]