In this episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly discuss EMS education with Adam Culbertson, a current educator in North Carolina. The team has the opportunity to ask Adam about EMS education and how it is changing, as well as some trends we can expect to see in the coming years. Adam explores what has worked really well in his own education, as well a with his students, and what does not seem to be benefiting them. He goes on to explain how he and his fellow educators are trying to use that knowledge and understanding to enhance curriculum and classroom settings for incoming students and providers. 

This episode highlights current struggles in EMS and how better preparation in the classroom can lead to providers who are well-equipped to be lifelong learners. Also highlighted are disparities in mental health, both in the treatment of patients, as well as in caring for ourselves and our coworkers. Overall, this episode helps sets the stage for the foundational evolution taking place in EMS. 

In this episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly are joined by Dr. Ramsey Selbak, EMTprep’s Physician Advisor. Dr. Ramsey discusses his background in emergency medicine as well as his experience and relationship with field providers. The team then delves into an age old rut into which many EMS providers fall – chasing numbers. What do we mean by this?  Trying to correct specific lab values or vitals without taking into account the entirety patient. What do they look like? Why might this vital or value be skewed? How long did it take the patient to get to where they are now? And, of course, is the patient stable as they sit? Dr. Ramsey provides a couple brief examples of times where seemingly critical patients remain stable with limited intervention in the ED, which implores the crew to discuss the role of EMS providers in the field, and re-evaluate their responsibility to “fix” or “reverse” patients with advanced disease processes.

In this episode, Steve, Dan, and Holly discuss calls that are not “black and white,” and have forced them to think outside the box. Steve provides Dan and Holly with a case he encountered and has them walk through their decision-making. He then reflects on how he and his crew responded to the scenario. Holly reviews a call she had that presented a variety of challenges and forced her to work in the “gray zone” and defend the clinical decisions she made to her agency and receiving hospital. The team closes by reviewing the importance of critical thinking and its application in the world of emergency medicine.

Steve, Dan, and Holly are back in the studio after a 6-month hiatus. The team reviews disaster medicine, how to get in the door, and what to expect on deployments. Dan Livengood is interviewed and discusses his multiple deployments that started in 2001 in El Salvador up to his most recent deployment to Ukraine.

To help Ukraine, visit:

• https://smereka.org
• https://ignisinvictus.org

Steve is back in the studio to give you a quick update on our friend and guest, Debbie Bailey. Steve gives a timeline for when the trio will be back in the studio again to record the next episodes of the show.