Walt Disney World is one of my favorite places. I was fortunate to go there several times as a kid. Most recently I went to WDW for the 2009 National Association of EMS Educators symposium and I went back in the Fall of 2010 for a week with my family. The NAEMSE symposium is returning to WDW in August 2012 and I am planning another visit with my family in January 2013 to run the Disney Half Marathon and Marathon (appropriately called the Goofy).

Since we have been recently we have had friends and family ask us for our Walt Disney World vacation tips. Below is my list of tips, but I know many of you have tips as well that I can share and even apply on my upcoming trips. Please share your tips in the comments.

1. Order Disney vacation planning DVD.
2. Plan to stay in the park at one of the Disney hotels so you can take advantage of the free airport shuttle, extended hours for park guests, and free bus transportation between the hotels and the theme parks.
3. Do the Disney meal plan. We signed up for the  one snack, one quick service meal, and one sit down meal per day and had more food than we could eat.
4. Keep an eye out for promotions that include a free or reduced cost Disney meal plan.
5. I see no need for a rental car if you are going to stay at Disney for the duration of your vacation.
6. We stay at the “moderate” hotels. If I can afford it next time I will stay at a deluxe resort on the monorail line to cut travel time to the theme parks.
7. We didn’t have a need for a park hopper pass. Our kids are young and there is plenty to do in a day at a single theme park.
8. Character meals, which can be reserved with the Disney dining plan, are a blast. Our favorites were at the Land in Epcot, the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom, and the Cinderalla buffet at the Polynesian.
9. Fly Southwest because bags fly free.
10. Bring one bag of breakfast and snack foods. Use this same bag for bringing souvenirs home.
11. Try to be up and going early enough to be at a park when it opens – the rope drop is fun.
12. Use the fast pass to maximize ride time and minimize wait time.
13. Plan your park visits based on which parks have extended hours for WDW hotel guests.
14. Just like anything in life, wear comfortable shoes.
15. Let Disney photographers take lots of photos of your family/group.
16. You can bring snacks and water bottles into the park.
17. We left the park each day to return to our hotel to nap, swim, and recharge.
18. The fire works at each theme park are well worth it. Check the schedule and stake out a good viewing spot.
19. EMS professionals that use Twitter make sure to connect with @JEFF_EMT before your visit. Jeff is an EMT for Reedy Creek Emergency Services, a fantastic host, and a huge Disney. Give him a shout out before you go.
20. Look for tips from Disney bloggers. Lots of people visit Disney way more often than I have and have more tips and vacation planning advice.

Meeting a friend at a Disney character meal

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In November I attended the American Ambulance Association (AAA) conference in Las Vegas. The conference was the first I have attended, to my knowledge, that had a conference app. Available for free download in the iTunes store and Android market the app was a guide to the conference, the sessions, and the vendors.

I suspect the app, which was an adaptation of the conference program, is a service offered to conferences. The features in the app

AAA App Home Screen

didn’t seem to reflect any specific knowledge of the conference attendees or our needs. Because of some of the errors in the app vendor listings I also wonder if the app was a proof of concept or a low cost item outsourced by the conference planners without careful inspection of the app contents.

Some of the features of the app:

• 6 primary navigation choices
• Easy to navigate between screens
• Ability to build a personal schedule during the conference
• List of vendors
• Links to the vendor websites

Features that would make this app more useful:

• Social features that would allow me to share my schedule
• Buttons to share conference session info to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+
• RSS feed for the conference hashtag
• Photo album of photos taken and tagged by conference attendees
• Social check-ins and special offers for app users
• App updates to help me plan for the 2012 conference

AAA App Nav

I like  the idea of a conference app. How do you make a conference app valuable to attendees, presenters, and vendors?

I would encourage conferences to build an app that attendees would learn about before the conference, have a reason and a chance to use before the conference, and continue to engage with attendees through the app after the conference.

Have you used a conference app? Which features were useful? 

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Challenges in 2012

As I look ahead to 2012 I see several challenges on the horizon:
1) Continuing to build on the momentum and success I have in my job at CentreLearn, as well as my passions like the EMSEduCast podcast and writing projects like this blog and my EMS1.com column.

2) Learning new skills and ideas. I don’t want to stagnate. I want to keep learning and growing as an educator, spouse and father, and community member. I do a lot of reading, but it is fairly haphazard. I would like to pick some topics to dig deeply into.

3) Pushing through to meet my health and fitness goals. Long time readers know that running, biking, and overall wellness are very important to me. I am looking into hiring a coach to see if coaching and guidance can help me reach the next level of speed and endurance.

Connection Points

I welcome your connections and learning what your challenges are for 2012. Perhaps I have something to offer to help you meet your goals. Two great ways to connect are the comments for any everydayemstips.com blog post or emailing me at greg dot friese at everydayemstips dot com

I also welcome your connections at:
Facebook.com/gfriese
LinkedIn.com
Google+
Twitter.com/gfriese

When you make a friend request let me know how we are connected. It is also helpful to know if you are seeking anything specific from our connection.

Near the half way point of the 2011 New York City Marathon

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News video of paramedics in Texas that responded to a school shooting.

A few thoughts:

1. After a high profile incident does your service issue a statement to local media about the EMS response?

2. Do you contact local media and invite them to interview responders?

3. Use social media tools like Facebook and Twitter to engage with local media.

4. Train with local law enforcement and school officials on shootings at schools.

5. Pre-plan a television interview location, props, and staff attire. I like the set-up in the video. High visibility of the service with a clean ambulance and well dressed and sharp looking paramedics.

6. Make sure to link to videos from your department Facebook page and embed in the agency blog.

Anything else come to mind for you after watching?

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I have been reading some great content about social media and emergency responder organizations.

Social Media Discipline During Firefighter Injury or Line of Duty Death
Many of us share the highs and lows of life through Facebook. Last week after making phone calls and private emails to my closest friends and family I shared on Facebook the passing of my beloved yellow lab. It seemed natural for me to share this down moment with the broader community that knew me and also knew that being a dog owner is a part of my self-identity.

Because Facebook has become so ingrained in our daily lives it is a natural place for us to share tragedy, ask for prayers, and solicit for additional information. The Fire Critic has written an excellent post about Social Media Discipline. Ask your crews or companies to read this post and then discuss how you will honor one another and the chain of command by using social media discipline should a colleague become seriously injured or killed in the line of duty.

Also every organization should have a LODD standard operating guidelines, policy or checklist. And just like any other significant incident that might befall your organization practice the LODD SOG. In the tabletop exercise make sure to include:

• Use of checklists
• Notification of next of kin
• Notification of on-duty crews
• Moving up resources
• Preparation of a statement for the local media
• Implementation of any occupational health procedures like drug testing
• Activation of counseling services
• Posting updates to the organization blog and Facebook page
• Directions to all staff on social network sharing

This is just a partial list for the first few hours. What else would you add to a line of duty death tabletop exercise?

Also check out this interview with Tonya Silloway about the LODD Handbook for EMS on the Medical Author Chat podcast.

2012 Social Media Predictions for Emergency Responder Agencies

Dave Konig, co-founder of PIOSocialMediaTraining.com, looks into his crystal ball and makes some very astute predictions for Social Media for Emergency Responder Agencies in 2012. If your agency is still on the fence about social media I agree with Dave that it is not a passing fad that you will be able to simply wait out. It is hear to stay.

I have noticed the changing tone within EMS about social media based on the speaking requests I am getting for 2012. In the past requests were typically “how can our agency stop social media usage?” or “how do I control the message?” Now conference organizers are telling me, our constituents have to get involved in social media. They ask, “How can they do it effectively and communicate value to their community.”

Is your agency changing its tone about social media usage? 

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Is your mom, spouse, or significant other still asking you for Christmas gift ideas?

Send them to my December EMS1.com column, 2011 Gift Guide for EMTs and Paramedics

You might want to bookmark the page because this could be a useful birthday or graduation gift guide as well.

What did I miss?

Suggestions from the Twitterverse

While writing I asked my Twitter pals for their suggestions and this is what I received:

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I had some downtime at Newark Airport a few weeks ago. And by downtime I mean 5 hours camped out on a chair near the terminal B baggage claim. I splurged on the Boingo wireless and used the time to make some site changes. A few of those changes:

1. Social share buttons moved to side bar. +1, Twitter, and Facebook like have been moved from the top of the post to the left side of the post. Your shares of Everyday EMS Tips posts are a leading source of site traffic. I really appreciate every share. Thanks.

Click on the social share buttons to Retweet, +1, of Like

2. Training Tab on Nav Bar. I added a three drop downs to the Training tab on the nav bar. These are resource pages. So far I have created resource pages which link to other posts for:
a. Hot Topics – 12 Lead ECG, Capnography, MCI and Bath Salts
b. Patient Assessment – patient assessment and vital sign measurement related posts
c. Race Reports – recaps of races I have run in 2011.

Do you have other suggestions for improvements to Everyday EMS Tips? Many of the changes I have made have come through user comments.

Thanks for your ongoing support. Your occasional clicks on ads and purchases through affiliate links help me cover the costs of hosting and sending the weekly email newsletter. Thanks!

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Each month I try to collect/curate articles of interest to me that you might find interesting as well. Enjoy reading. I am outside playing in a leaf pile.

Early in the month, fresh off an outstanding EMS World Expo, Dave Konig shared the Ultimate Social Media Protocol by riffing off the ultimate EMS protocol written by Steve Whitehead. Speaking of social media I was also reminded that the advice I wrote in this September 2009 EMSWorld.com article, Social Media in EMS, is still timely and relevant.

DC EMS was on Twitter, off Twitter, and back on Twitter this month. Another article from Dave Konig about @DCFIREEMS.

The first edition of the new online magazine, Interventions, was published this month. The team at the First Responders Network has put together an excellent package of interesting and relevant content to EMS professionals. Tip of the hat!

Too Old to Work, Too Young to Retire lets the twenty somethings know where he stands. If he is talking about you it is time to shape up and start earning the respect of your elders.

Did you catch this FDA Med Watch bulletin about Zofran? Do you think it will impact Zofran usage in EMS for patients with nausea and vomiting?

I get so tired of making decisions that I have a dream of a restaurant where I walk through the door and they say, “Please be seated. We will bring you good food that you will like eating.” Decision making fatigue is a very real thing that leads to errors in healthcare. Brandon Otto has written a nice introduction, Decision Fatigue and Good Habits.

I have been using and loving Dropbox ever since Chris Cannon explained how he fell in love with the cloud. UnwiredMedic, Chris Matthews, introduces us to a new file sharing service called Minus.

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Today I depart for Reno, Nevada for the 2011 National Association of EMS Educators Symposium. The annual event brings together paramedic and EMT educators from around the world for training, product evaluation, and networking. At NAEMSE I am looking forward to:

1. Co-Presenting Effective Visual Presentations with Kyle David Bates. We have previously presented this workshop at NAEMSE and other EMS educator conferences in Florida, Illinois, New York, and Alaska. Learn more.

2. Talking about online education with other EMS educators that are using web-based tools for initial and refresher training.

3. Exploring Reno by foot. I have a 20 mile training run planned for Saturday morning. @UnwiredMedic is helping me plan a scenic, challenging, and safe running route. Care to join me for all or a portion of the run?

4. Seeing presentations from the best of the best in EMS education.

5. Re-uniting with EMS education colleagues. Some I just saw two weeks at EMS World Expo. Some I have not seen since EMS World Expo 2011.

6. Gathering topic and guest ideas for future episodes of the EMSEduCast – the podcast by and for EMS educators.

7. Sharing lots of EMS education success stories and resources on Twitter using the hashtag #NAEMSE.

Are you attending NAEMSE? What are you looking forward to?

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Slides from my 2011 EMS World Expo presentation, Using Social Media to Market Your EMS Agency.

If you are interested in having me present this or other topics at your conference please contact me.

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