Practical EMS

Jumping back into failures in emergency medicine Doug, ER physician, discusses how he missed a traumatic intraabdominal injury and an ectopic pregnancy. It’s easier in hindsight to see the things we could have done better. Admitting you screwed up can be difficult.   Leave work at work as much as possible Nate talks about a patient that was initially written off as flu like symptoms, with no initi...

January Panel Episode 1 We’ve got some awesome experience here today. Physician, Nurse, PA, paramedic and EMT! We introduce Sarah, 9 year nurse with 4 years of experience in the ER. She is inspired by the team mentality in the ED as well as the unique situations. Inspired by her grandmother who was a nurse when emergency medicine was a developing specialty. We welcome back Casey. Long time, experi...

I discuss the position of an ER PA and how it relates to the physician role. I strongly believe in practicing as a team with physicians, I see this as integral to the PA career. We talk about autonomy as a EMT/paramedic or PA. EMT’s and paramedic are a perfect career to step into the role of a PA because of their autonomy.  Teaching is a key part of medicine and especially important for physicians...

Welcome Dr. Les to the show. Finished his EM residency in 1999, 24 years spend as an attending, estimates 130K patient seen in that time. He tells us about a busy night shift in the ED where he had to take care of an easy laceration but how the busyness of the night made him overlook something simple. I follow this up with a story that makes me look like an idiot but sometimes it’s okay to laugh a...

We welcome a new panelist. Flight paramedic Ashaley. She has been in emergency medicine for 11 years. Ashaley tells us about an impactful story from a patient that told her “Make sure you take moments. Life will always get out of control but, stop and go look at the sunset because sometimes you have things you can’t get back.” Kierra talks about some stories she has from when she was newer nurse a...

Warning: This episode starts pretty heavy We talk about an absolutely horrific and tragic call that Nathan ran and how he has healed from something no one should ever have to see.  Casey tells us about how patient's can impact us even in non-emergent settings. Casey and his partner help a patient attend his son's wedding and spark the inspiration for a nationwide program to help patient&...

Real Stories in Emergency Medicine Part 1 Meeting our December panelists and diving into some real stories Nathan - EMT of 9 years Casey - Paramedic of 47 years Kierra - ER RN for 7 years Aaron (host) 15 years in EM as EMT, paramedic and ER PA Adam -  ER Physician with 21 years in EM Do you work in emergency medicine? An absolutely crazy and intense environment where you see things every day that...

Full episode finally coming next Sunday! Last teaser episode until the full episodes release starting next Sunday December 10th! I introduce one of our final topics of discussion in the December panel series.  Where is God in emergency medicine?  This has been a question I have personally wrestled with over years of witnessing tragedy, horrific accidents and even some triumphs. I think it's e...

Real Stories in Emergency Medicine Today's episode is a clip from our upcoming full episode on real stories in emergency medicine.  Kierra is an ER nurse that goes above and beyond for her patients. She helps give some perspective on what it's like to be a new ER nurse, what it's like after you have some experience and the amazing opportunities you have to save lives every day in th...

I have a simple framework I wanted to lay out for the new EMT that is struggling to run a call. When I was a new EMT, my FTO would just throw me in there without a lot of guidance on HOW exactly a call worked and what the steps were exactly. If you follow these steps you won't get lost and can move the call along without any awkward pauses and blank stares. * These steps work 95% of the time...

Feeling burned out, tired, frustrated as you work in emergency medicine?  Are you an EMT, paramedic, nurse, PA, NP or physician? This show is for you.  Today, I talk to an ER veteran. Susi has been in the ED for 26 years and still shows up with an awesome attitude and still puts patients first.  She tells an awesome story about going above and beyond for a patient. She embodies the mindset you mus...

Excited to announce a new podcast format coming soon! I've got a great group of healthcare professionals coming in to tell some awesome stories from their experiences working in emergency medicine.  Stay tuned for more updates and subscribe at PracticalEMS.com so you don't miss the release! Also subscribe to Practical EMS on your favorite podcast player so you get notified when the episo...

This might be the NUMBER ONE SKILL you need to be successful in medicine, especially emergency medicine. If you are newer to emergency medicine and you haven't had a patient surprise you or had a situation that humbled you, YOU LIKELY WILL SOON. I think it's very important to adopt a humble and teachable mindset no matter where you find yourself in the world of medicine. Whether you are...

The Gap and The Gain, by Benjamin Hardy and Dan Sullivan is one of the few books I’ve read more than once. Despite its simplicity, I get something new out of it with each read and it is a great reminder of an important mindset that I always strive to achieve. The GAP is the trap you fall into when you compare your current life with that of your ideal life or the next thing you are working toward:...

 Overall, I think this change is positive and should allow better patient access to quality care while also maintaining the team mentality and collaboration that is critical to our relationship with physicians. Full document at SB23-083 Fact Sheet.pdf (coloradopas.org) Let me know what you guys think at Aaron@practicalEMS.com Support the show Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is...

Why does efficiency matter? Beds are a limited commodity and the next patient that needs one might be dying  Mindset changes Stop trying to diagnose. Try to rule out emergent diagnoses and determine if patient is safe or not safe to send home. Plan on negative work up before it comes back Sick vs Not Sick Not an innate skill. It’s learned over time and many patient contacts. Will help you determin...

Super excited to share this episode with you guys. This was one of my favorite conversations I’ve had yet. Sara Townsend of Phoenix Fitness has a great story to share and amazing advice for women in firefighting, but men would do well to listen too. Sara Townsend is an amazing wife, mother, entrepreneur, fitness coach and retired firefighter paramedic. Founder of Phoenix Fitness https://www.facebo...

I have no experience with triathlons. I would have never considered myself athletic. I've run one race longer a 5k my entire life. I decided that a half ironman would be a very ambitious race to train for and complete.  I'm a big believer in trying hard things that put you outside of your comfort zone to help improve yourself as a human. You don't even need to know everything about...

Part 2 of our discussion, this was available to premium members two weeks ago so join for FREE so you don’t have to wait! Three amazing ER RN’s give some great advice to our EMS crews as well as new APP’s. This was a really fun discussion with Meredith Thomson (ER RN, with lots of years’ experience on the ambulance as well), Amy Christopher Pryor (ER Charge RN) and Jeremy Hulsker (ER Charge RN). W...

 If you don't want to wait to see Part 2, join now as a premium member to hear the entire discussion! Three amazing ER RN's give some great advice to our EMS crews as well as new APP's. This was a really fun discussion with Meredith Thomson (ER RN, with lots of years' experience on the ambulance as well), Amy Christopher Pryor (ER Charge RN) and Jeremy Hulsker (ER Charge RN  We...

 Benn Taylor and I review the body cam footage from the unfortunate case in Illinois from last year where the EMS crew has been charged with murder and discuss lessons to be learned from this as well as professionalism in EMS in general.  How we present ourselves to the public matters. How we treat people matters.  Most of us that have been doing this for any period of time have had those partners...

 Full episode up now for Premium members at PracticalEMS.com! Benn Taylor and I review the body cam footage from the unfortunate case in Illinois from last year where the EMS crew has been charged with murder and discuss lessons to be learned from this as well as professionalism in EMS in general.  Check out the episode at the website to see the body cam footage. How we present ourselves to the pu...

2nd half of our hour long discussion. Premium members got to see this two weeks ago! Video up at PracticalEMS.com NP and PA school do not prepare you for the steep learning curve that is emergency medicine. As APP’s we often don’t do a residency program and have to jump in and learn on the job in order to succeed. The environments we practice in are as varied as the physicians we will often practi...

To access full episode, join as premium podcast subscriber.  NP and PA school do not prepare you for the steep learning curve that is emergency medicine. As APP’s we often don’t do a residency program and have to jump in and learn on the job in order to succeed. The environments we practice in are as varied as the physicians we will often practice side by side with. Dr. Adam Bariteau is an emergen...

Full interview with Dr. Adam Bariteau will be live soon at PracticalEMS.com, make sure to subscribe to be notified when it is posted.  Support the show Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to r...