Practical EMS Practical EMS

Our new panelists:Lucas- ER Physician, Micaela- Paramedic, Alex- Paramedic, Rebecca- ER RN, Casey- ParamedicWe discuss struggles with caring for patients that have perpetrated violent crimes.Recognize your own bias and your personal history that may affect patient care. It’s important to have a good self-care plan because you can’t pour from an empty cup.Pediatric calls will stick with you. They require intentionality to overcome.We all carry scars with us.Understand that we are human, a...

Struggles in emergency medicineCasey struggles with keeping up with the changes, especially the technological changes. If you worry about keeping up, put yourself in a position to teach the new people. They will force you to learn as well.Micaela talks about her personal struggle with burnout and the significantly high acuity calls she has runShe ran a ton of high acuity in a short amount of time. She had difficult partners and students. She was a critical part of a shooting that made na...

We welcome our new panelists. Micaela (paramedic)Simone (former ER RN and now ER NP)Paramedic’s Alex and Casey returning. Simone gives us a glimpse into the tough transition from ER RN to ER NP. You need to love the medicine. Having to know so much of so many things was one of the toughest parts. You must be second best at every specialty. Alex talks about the transition from EMT to paramedic. Being in a system that creates strong EMT’s makes...

Emergent StandardsI address a comment about how we mentally handle the patients we care for that have committed violent crimes. We still care for them to the best of our ability; in fact we often learn the whole story after we have finished caring for them. We don’t judge because that is not our role. We find ways to move on from the horrible situation.Emergency standard:Take care of yourself before you take care of patients. 75 Hard has completely changed my mindset. I actually stick co...

Confidence in EMS:Nate talks about how he was reaffirmed when learning ALS meds and a physician agreed with his treatment plan. School does not make you confident.As a provider, give the crews feedback because it helps them grow and confirm their plans and treatments were accurate. Don’t just give negative feedback.Some students do need an extra push to make them uncomfortable enough to progress or realize how far they still must go. They need to develop critical thinking for when they h...

Random stories episode!We often don’t want to talk about the “craziest” call we’ve ever seen.I tell a story about a fireplace fueled by batteries and no real medical reason for the call. We talk about things that surprised you about emergency medicineDealing with drunk people is a challenge.Other great random stories:Thoric dissection’s, triple A’s, rhythm changes, driving lights and sirens, hitting deer, getting into accidents.If you want to work on your nutrition, increase your energy,...