RideAlong: EMT School

What happens when a paramedic decides there's still more to learn—and takes the leap into medical school? This week on the RideAlong: EMT School Podcast, Mike, Max, and Jonathan sit down with Dr. Scott Ringle, an emergency medicine resident, paramedic, and Pennsylvania prehospital EMS physician whose career has taken him from the rural Mountain West to the emergency department. Scott's journey is...

Trauma is one of those areas of EMS where the basics can make all the difference. But once you're out of EMT school and actually running calls, how does your understanding of trauma care change? This week, Mike, Max, and Jonathon check in on what they've learned, what they're still working on, and how their perspectives have evolved with experience. We revisit the fundamentals of trauma assessment...

What exactly does an EMS medical director do—and what happens when the person filling that role started his career on the ambulance? This week, Mike sits down at Indianapolis EMS headquarters with Dr. Mark Laio, Medical Director for Indianapolis EMS. Dr. Laio's path through emergency medicine started as an EMT before taking him to paramedic school, medical school, emergency medicine, military serv...

When an ambulance leaves the scene, who decides where the patient goes? Is the closest hospital always the right choice? And what happens when a patient's preferred destination isn't the most appropriate facility for their condition? This week on the RideAlong: EMT School Podcast, Mike and Jonathan tackle hospital selection and patient routing. From trauma centers and stroke centers to cardiac, pe...

What happens when you discover EMS later in life—and realize it might be the career you were looking for all along? Almost exactly one year after first hearing his name in EMT class, Mike and Jonathan sit down with Kevin Grange, award-winning author of Lights and Sirens: The Education of a Paramedic and Wild Rescues. Kevin's journey into EMS began in his mid-30s, eventually taking him through one...

EMS World Expo 2026 – Indy Crew Hangout What happens when you put a bunch of EMS providers together in Orlando for a week of education, new technology, networking, and just a little bit of chaos? Fresh off EMS World Expo 2026, Mike gets together with some of the Indianapolis EMS crew who adopted him for the week: Steve, Jamie, Bree, and Matt. They compare their experiences at the conference from t...

EMS asks us to take care of people on some of the worst days of their lives—but how well are we taking care of ourselves and each other? This week, Mike, Max, and Jonathan have an important conversation about provider mental health and the cumulative impact of working in EMS. We talk about how calls affect everyone differently, why it isn't always the gruesome or dramatic calls that stick with us,...

What does it take to provide EMS coverage for everything from an NBA game to the Indiana State Fair—and what happens when a planned special event suddenly becomes an unplanned one? This week, Mike sits down at Indianapolis EMS headquarters with Laura Herring, Special Events Lieutenant and a 19-year veteran of EMS. Laura shares her path from originally pursuing nursing to falling in love with EMS,...

This week, Jonathan is out working, leaving Mike and Max unsupervised as they catch up on a busy week in EMS. Max shares a memorable psych call, Mike officially starts Anatomy & Physiology, and after more than a year of going through EMT school and starting their EMS careers together, Mike and Max finally get the chance to work their first shift as partners. For Tools of the Trade, we look at...

Season 2 is officially underway! Now that EMT school is behind us, there’s another challenge waiting: actually finding a job. This week, Mike, Max, and Jonathan talk about the job search and interview process in EMS, including where to find opportunities, networking, volunteering, building a reputation, preparing for interviews, and figuring out whether an agency is actually the right fit for you....

Re-Education Through Labor (What's Next?) It’s the end of Season 1! After 53 episodes of following Mike and Max through EMT school, certification, volunteering, and eventually getting hired in EMS, the crew takes a look back at just how much has changed since the journey began — and how much there still is left to learn. Mike, Max, and Jonathan revisit some of the biggest skills and lessons from E...

The final countdown is here. With the EMT curriculum behind them, Mike and Max revisit one of the final—and most intimidating—steps in the certification process: the psychomotor exam. The crew explains what psychomotor testing evaluates, how practical exams differ between programs and states, and why verbalizing every assessment, decision, and intervention is essential. They break the patient asse...

This week on RideAlong: EMT School, Mike and Jonathan are joined by longtime EMT, EMS educator, hockey goalie, and lifelong friend Brian Santora for a conversation about mentorship, EMS education, and preparing for the NREMT exam. Brian shares how a desire to work in the air-conditioned health lodge at a remote Scout camp unexpectedly launched his EMS career, why teaching and mentoring new provide...

In this special interview episode, Mike and Max sit down with one of the most influential people in their EMS journey: Carter Rowe, EMT, firefighter, EMS lieutenant, and leader of the volunteer program at Chalfont Regional EMS. Carter shares how he entered EMS as a teenager, progressed from interfacility transport and critical care work into busy 911 systems, and eventually found himself leading a...

This week on RideAlong: EMT School, we’re talking terrorism, active threats, and what EMTs need to understand when an emergency scene may still be dangerous. Mike, Max, and Jonathan walk through domestic and international terrorism, CBRNE incidents, warning signs, responder safety, secondary devices, mass-casualty considerations, decontamination, and the EMT’s role during some of the most complex...

This week on Ride Along: EMT School, we’re talking highway operations, vehicle extrication, and what EMTs need to understand when patient care moves into the wreckage. Mike, Max, and Jonathan walk through disentanglement, scene safety, highway blocking, vehicle hazards, patient access, PPE, electrical dangers, vehicle stabilization, and the EMT’s role while rescue crews work to free a trapped pati...

You're a Catastrophe Part 2 (MCI & ICS) In this episode of RideAlong: EMT School, we continue our discussion on mass casualty incidents and the Incident Command System. After covering primary triage in Part 1, we dig into what defines an MCI, how disaster plans are built, and why ICS exists to bring order to chaotic scenes. We break down single versus unified command, the role of the incident...

In this episode, Mike, Max, and Jonathan kick off the first half of their MCI and ICS discussion, focusing on primary triage. After a brief note about technical difficulties that cut the episode short, the crew explores what makes a mass-casualty incident so overwhelming, how incident command helps organize chaos, and why triage is one of the most important skills EMS providers need when resources...

This week on RideAlong: EMT School, Mike, Max, and Jonathan dive into HazMat — hazardous materials, scene safety, and why the best first move is often staying far away from whatever is leaking, burning, spilling, or glowing. The Medical Term of the Week is zones, covering the hot zone, warm zone, and cold zone, and how those operational areas help protect responders, patients, and everyone else on...

Close The Doors and I am Gone (EMS Operations - Patient Transport) In this episode, we close the doors and hit the road for the final part of our EMS Operations series: patient transport. Mike, Max, and Jonathan break down what happens after the patient is loaded into the ambulance, including packaging, stretcher safety, provider safety in the patient compartment, reassessment, hospital notificati...

This week on RideAlong: EMT School, we’re back in EMS Operations and moving from “getting ready” to actually getting out the door. In “No Stop Signs, Speed Limits,” Mike, Max, and Jonathan talk through the response phase of EMS calls: dispatch information, Code 3 responses, lights and sirens, ambulance operations, safe driving, navigation, highway scenes, and what it really means to respond quickl...

EMS doesn’t start when the tones drop — it starts before the call ever comes in. In this episode, we begin our EMS operations block by breaking down what it means to be ready: checking the ambulance, knowing your equipment, understanding the minimum equipment list, and making sure the truck is truly prepared for the next patient. Mike and Jonathon walk through ambulance types, BLS versus ALS equip...

Some patients require EMTs to slow down, adapt, and think beyond the standard call. In this episode, we break down special patient populations, including patients with developmental disabilities, cognitive differences, hearing or vision impairment, chronic illness, mobility challenges, and technology-dependent medical needs. Mike, Max, and Jonathon discuss how EMTs can approach these calls with em...

Episode 40 is here, and we’re going full term. In this episode, Mike, Max, and Jonathon tackle one of the most intimidating low-frequency, high-acuity topics in EMT school: OB/GYN emergencies. From childbirth and labor complications to gynecological emergencies and the realities of caring for two patients at once, the crew breaks down the concepts EMT students need to understand before the call co...

Environmental emergencies don’t stop at heat and cold — sometimes the real danger comes from water, altitude, and the creatures around us. In this episode, we dive into drowning, diving injuries, high-altitude illness, and bites and stings. We break down what’s actually happening in the body, what EMTs should be looking for, and how to manage these situations in the field — all while sharing real-...