An ambulance is NOT a bus...

[akflightmedic]

Great article from JEMS. I know we have discussed this before, however the story makes a great correlation between what we call our ride and the level of professionalism it displays to the general public.

I know medicccjh will never change as the people in his neck of the woods seem hell bent on calling the ambulance a bus, but if we can change other's habits...who knows.

http://www.jems.com/news_and_articles/colu..._Not_a_Bus.html

[spenac]

First off it's not a bus it's a taxi. Why because it is designed for most of the time having only one fare.

Alright on the serious note. I agree we need to start calling them ambulances. It is obvious the author is fire as he is fine calling them "rescue". Rescue is not an ambulance as very seldom does an ambulance crew actually rescue anyone, we leave that to the hero FF. We are not "public safety", that is the FF's job. We are and should be emergency medical professionals.

Really even ambulance is not the best term to convey what we are and do. Especially in areas that have more aggressive protocols, including the treat and release, should rename the ambulance Mobile Emergency Medical Center.

[afd1307]

Just took a CERT( Community Emergency Response Team) class for a volly department back home and they were talking about ambulances and what this CERT needs to call them. They mentioned calling them bus' as that is what the EMS professionals call them.

I balked at this and was a little astonished that they would use this. I hate it when people call it a bus. I know this is gonna make people laugh at firemonkeys, but, in wildland firefighting, if you ask for a tanker in Maine you get a truck holding about 2 to 3 thousand gallons of water, if you ask for a tanker out west, you'll get an airplane...

We need to have a specific name that we call everything to minimize any confusion. Asking for a bus on an MCI would get me a big yellow one not an ambulance.

[teammedic]

I know I'm old but when I call for assistance I say bus. I guess thats what I always called them since i became a medic. To me its second nature and in my area it pretty common.

[spenac]

I know I'm old but when I call for assistance I say bus. I guess thats what I always called them since i became a medic. To me its second nature and in my area it pretty common.

Guess you are in a great spot to begin the change to a more professional term. We look forward to hearing you have helped establish a professional medical image in your area.

[Chief1C]

as the people in his neck of the woods seem hell bent on calling the ambulance a bus

Fire chief in this area was reprimanded by the Communications Director for calling his ambulance a "gut box" on the air. Never calls it an ambulance, only says "wagon", not it's designator.

I'm up for the occasional goof off, but constant ignorance and unprofessionalism on the air makes his whole organization look bad, more so in the eyes of the providers. Even though I wouldn't doubt it if 1 in 3 members of the general public had scanners and listen to every word we say on the air. I either say Ambulance X, or just their numbers; no reason to goof around when we're out in public, on any sort of emergency or NonE mission.

I get hounded for it a lot, but I expect nothing but high standards of care and a professional attitude when on any kind of call. Fooling around by the officers, makes the team look amateur and incompetent.

[JPINFV]

It's an ambulance, not a clown car. It is not a bus, rescue, truck, or rig. It does not transport a lot of people, extricate people in 99% of the country, pull light loads, or pull big loads. I understand the use of "medic" since it's an important distinction between a paramedic unit and a lower unit. I do have a problem with MICU designation since it can mean multiple things (googling it brings about pages calling a MICU any sort of ambulance regardless of level, medic fly car unit, specialty care transports (neonate/peds), and medic units) and most people are not going to know what MICU stands for. Similarly, the "unit" designation is OK since it is a common radio identifier. I wouldn't use the term "unit" though if requesting another ambulance or talking to the public.

[EMTrocker]

Call it what it really is, a Meat Wagon. Or a glorified Herse..... :munky2:

[Chief1C]

No.. That's even more unprofessional than "Bus". [spoil:d19e410e29]Hearse.. BTW. [/spoil:d19e410e29]

Off topic..... Kind of.

A town elder related a story. In the 1930's, the funeral home in town had two Hearses; black and white.

They felt it was bad Karma to pick someone up in the black Hearse. So, they bought a second Hearse, white in color, and called it an Ambulance.

[spenac]

Well I see what is keeping EMS down more than anything has shown itself in this discussion. The it has always been this way so I will continue to do it this way attitude. It just makes me sick. Does no one want to see our job actually advance to where it is a true medical profession? Are we content with the same old crap even if it does no good for us?