Saving Lives

You might wonder what a SWAT vehicle would have to do with saving lives.  Or what an E.D. doc would have to do with a SWAT vehicle.  That's what I'm learning about here in Florida this week.  That plus a lot of other information during the weeklong National Association of Emergency Medical Services Physicians Conference.

Many of you know I am interested in EMS (Emergency Medical Services) which, most of the time, has to do with ambulances, firetrucks, helicopters, etc. and the prehospital care of patients.  Well, there's a branch of EMS known as Tactical EMS that has to do with the care and support of police officers, SWAT team members, federal agents, etc.  I am here at this conference primarily to attend a Medical Director's course for this group.

Now, I don't plan to be running into buildings like a medic, grabbing people and then jumping on helicopters flying them out of dangerous situations, but a part of our training today did discuss those kinds of situations.  For the most part, it's taking care of the people who perform these dangerous duties and helping them stay fit and active so that they can do their jobs.

And, of course, sometimes, we do get involved in the actual "live" part of the job.... but, that's training for a another day... for now, I'll content myself with knowing the basics.  Crawl, walk, run....