Using a Fishbowl and Goldfish to Learn How to Drive an Ambulance... Cost Effective Training!

  One part of emergency vehicle training for Ambulances that is NEVER addressed is how to drive an ambulance, once you have a patient on board. All the emergency training for driving focuses on driving Code 3 and the hazards associated with not following all the rules of the road.


Assuming that you are driving with someone that has significant C-Spine issues, the type of driving requires a slow, methodic, no bumps and more importantly focusing on how you come to a stop.

You can tell someone to not just hit the brakes, but instead, just before coming to a stop, slowly release the brakes and then gently re-apply pressure to take the inertia out of the vehicle and preventing the violent forward/backward motion commonly felt when coming to a stop in a vehicle.

This is how I trained several individuals on how to safely come to a stop while driving an ambulance... by simply placing the goldfish in the bowl on top of the ambulance gurney.

 Step 1: Obtain a goldfish and glass fishbowl.


Step 2: Place the goldfish and bowl on top of the gurney.


Step 3: Establish a driving course with one goal... Don't cause the fishbowl to overturn because if you do, you kill the fish. 


Step 4: Don't kill the fish, practicing on how to come to a gentle stop in you own vehicle or any vehicle for that matter.


Associated Expenses:


Goldfish     = Less than $1.00 each.

Glass Bowl = Less than $4.00 each.


Total cost for training props is less than $5.00.


Train as if your life depends on it, or in this case the fishes life... 



Safety helmets are optional for the fish...


 Preventing C-Spine Injuries is a happy thing!


If you are going to make a mistake, such as hitting a bump that jars the ambulance or swerve at something that causes a lateral shift, you must always consider that your actions behind the wheel can have a lifetime affect on the patients outcome. My recommendation here is to kill some fish instead of harming a patient. 



Consider trying my unconventional approach to reminding folks to slow down and pay attention to any road hazards. Even if you don't have a fish in the back on the gurney, you can always remind your driver to save the fish! Drive defensively and do your best to not kill the fish...


And for those concerned about the fishes rights...



Note: Not wanting to get involved in the potential political undertones of this post... I too agree that people are more important than fish. If we must sacrifice fish to learn how to drive an ambulance, then so be it!


CBz

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Why not just put a training (shocking) dog collar on the driver, strap down a medic in back with the remote. Ride gets a bit bumpy and the driver gets a shock. Hells if a lab pup can learn from it, a medic should be able to.
So... am I detecting an attitude here Jack? I find this shocking! And more importantly, what I find very surprising was you not taking sides with the fish. I thought for sure you would have taken this road...
Mike,

That was my first EVOC course the instructor put a hot coffee on the dash and explained that spilling it would be an automatic failure (not to mention a minor burn). Kinda the same idea without having to worry about PETA...

By the way Jack's idea does have a lot of merit
Worrying about PETA? Fish are more important than people! Whoops, there's my dyslexia again... People are more important than fish! and maybe, just maybe, Jack's suggestion could proves useful... somewhere...


I remeber when we were going to try putting the patient in feet first to prevent the motion of the body from not moving upward toward the head.
Now we have to package the patient so good that nothing moves on the patient.
I remember a Japanese anime which may have been the inspiration of Fast and the Furious.
The series is Initial D. In the series the man of a tofu shop trains his son to drive fast to deliver tofu a a resort on a mountain road. He puts a cup of water in the car so that the son learned to drive fast and steady without spilling the water.
Well you have the local kids with the fast cars racing each other on the mountain road and they get passed by this kid driving a older car and beating them all to the top or the bottom and all he was doing was delivering tofu.
Well they come after him to race against them and all others who want to prove themselves. By the end of the series the son becomes a professional racing driver.
Hey Capt!!! What is that about teenage daughters?!?!
I think it helps on extending the life of your brakes, especially when you are dealing with teenage daughters... No one likes to be jarred when they come to a stop, regardless of whether they are in an ambulance, engine or personal vehicle.


I might give this a try...I do seem to have trouble with the brakes...

TCSS,

Rachel
Rachel, not wanting to generalize about daughters, but last minute braking is the norm sometimes, right along with driving too slow in the fast lane and tailgating.

I've noticed that the driving behavior and attitude fluctuates with at least one "period" during a certain "time of the month" for my girls and other women.

I tend to stay low key and find myself continuing to repeat over and over that I have no opinion during these times and will obviously not bring up brake "pad" wear and tear... I'm a survivor...

CBz
Nuttier discussions if pertinent and job related typically garner folks attention which as an instructor is kind of what you want to do. It all blends into capturing both the attention and imagination of the firefighter student. It also follows along with the beginning of the four step process for teaching adult learners; motivate, prepare, apply and evaluate. Of course it's a gamble sometimes, not knowing if something I post will be perceived as wrong in so many ways and on so many levels... Ok... So maybe that's another goal and objective sometimes... :D
OMG OMG OMG
I am not sure what you have been smoking.. but I want some...
Why not go all out and use tarpon or swordfish and a larger fishbowl?
Mike,
I'm a huge fan of equality, so giving any woman a pass for bad/rage/angry driving simply because of their period is showing favoritism and is unacceptable.

If the women in your life are so 'affected' then I strongly suggest my earlier suggestion, but a shock collar on them.

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