During his first visit to the United States, Polish doctor Premyseaw Paciorek got a closer look at the American medical system than he bargained for when he was involved in a serious car accident in New Jersey.

Several years later, Paciorek found himself back in the United States to observe the work of people in the profession he credits for saving his life.

Paciorek arrived in Reno last week, along with a fellow doctor and three paramedics from the Polish city of Inowroclaw, to observe how the area’s emergency medical services operated. The visit was arranged by the Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise, which has a sister club in Paciorek’s city.

After initially familiarizing themselves with the local time, not to mention some American barbecue and California wines, the group kicked off their observation with a visit to Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority, where they spent the bulk of their first week.

“The biggest benefit for them is to get out there and do ride-alongs … with the paramedics and nurses to see how things work, rather than being told about it,” said Mitch Nowicki, REMSA business development coordinator. “They can observe what we do that’s similar to their system and also see what’s different … so they can take that knowledge back to their area.”

Even on their first day of observation, which was spent mostly inside the REMSA office, the group had already noticed some key differences, particularly with equipment.

“We were impressed with the dispatch center, which was fully computerized,” said Dr. Aleksander Zaleski, a physician currently studying emergency medicine. “They also have some really sophisticated equipment here that we have yet to implement back in Poland.”

In addition to REMSA, the group will also be visiting several other facilities, including Washoe Medical Center and the Lovelock Volunteer Fire Department. Ride-alongs are also planned with the Nevada Highway Patrol.

Based on what they’ve seen so far, both Paciorek and Zaleski hope to not just be able to implement many of the systems they’ve seen here back home, but to also mirror the training and attitudes that they say emergency people in the United States have toward their job.

“It is my impression that people here are more well-trained and treat their task more seriously,” said Zaleski, who was also translating some of Paciorek’s opinions. “We would really like to see this same level of training and professional attitude in our profession.”

Then again, visiting different countries isn’t just about work. Even as overcast skies darkened the streets outside, several of the visitors’ faces lit up when the subject of food arose. Paramedic Aleksandra Zelazna was especially looking forward to helping herself to some a good old American hamburger.

“She wants to go to McDonald’s,” said Rotary Club of Reno Sunrise vice-president Martha Greene.

“Oh no, no, no,” countered club president Jon Greene. “You want a hamburger? We’ll have to take them out for an ‘Awful Awful.’”