The Shift Extension Paramedic Podcast

Today we sit down with Matt, a paramedic, phd candidate and lead author of "The Clinical Guidelines Manifesto". The CGM is the most up to date comparison of ambulance service CPG's across Australia and New Zealand.  We dive into the manifesto, how ambulance services create their own guidelines, and how we can improve the process of determining best practice.   The manifesto was published in The Sh...

Today we sit down with New Zealand Extended Care Paramedic and Nurse Shell Piercy. Shell has had a diverse career working in military, ambulance, mining and wilderness settings. We talk about her experiences, finding your purpose and how to make the most of your career in paramedicine. 

Dr Sandy Macquarrie is an accomplished paramedic, academic and researcher. After decades of ambulance and fire service in Canada, he migrated to Australia to teach. He completed a PhD in paramedic wellness and continues his work at Griffith University on the Gold Coast. Last year, Sandy suffered 4 cardiac arrests.  We sat down with Sandy to talk about how paramedics deal with death and dying. How...

Today we are joined by Dustin Osbourne, a police officer from Queensland, Australia. Dustin was instrumental in the creation and delivery of the police tactical first aid program. We talk about his experiences providing medical care in the community and the role police can play.  

Today we are joined by Mark Ward, an experienced remote area paramedic from QLD. We sat down to discuss how paramedics can adapt to their ever-changing clinical practice. We look at why things change slowly, why change is important and why vinegar and box jellyfish are not your friends. 

Today Nick and Sunny talk about cardiac arrest. How do we become better at managing these in our environment and care for others when the outcome is poor. 

Today Sunny and Nick discuss the case of a 70-year-old with syncope in the presence of an ongoing infection. We talk about assessment, red flags, patient needs, and recommendation of care. 

Today we welcome Clinical Nurse Kate Carmody to the show. Kate is an experienced nurse, with military, civilian and out of hospital experience. Today we talk about the taskforce she led during the recent NSW flood disaster, providing vital medical care to isolated and vulnerable communities. 

The poem "I'm a paramedic, but no one taught me how" by  Julia Cornah teaches us that our studies can't prepare us for everything that we will encounter. That sometimes we have to be creative and think outside the box. Today Sunny and Nick reflect on some of the stranger jobs, the ones you can't learn to deal with from a textbook. 

We were fortunate to sit down with Dr Andrew Tagg, an paediatric emergency specialist from Australia. Andy is also the co-founder of the education platform, "Don't Forget the Bubbles". We had an amazing chat about how to a better clinician and how to look after yourself in the process. 

Today we sit down with Mr Darren Hodge. Darren is a MICA Flight Paramedic from Melbourne, Australia. Today he shares a case from his book "A Life on the Line". Not only did the case push Darren to his limits, but so did the aftermath. 

Today we are joined by Ekaterina (Kat) Puzanova, the author of the article "Underestimated and Underutilised - The private paramedic sector".  We explore this emerging sector, challenge some misconceptions, and discuss how private paramedics can serve our profession. 

Today we sit down with Alex Mair, to talk about her highly successful podcast. The Student Paramedic Podcast has been providing fantastic insights, learnings and ideas  for students and paramedics alike. Alex tells us about where it all began, the lessons she learnt along the way, and how it helped her become a life long learner. 

We spend a lot of time developing our technical skills. But have we lost sight of the importance of the so called "soft skills"? Today we sit down with Andy Bell to discuss these skills and why they are essential to our practice.  "A patient won't remember what you said, or what you did, they will remember how you made them feel"

We recently sat down with Mitchell Trethowan, to have a chat about his recent publication "Good Grief, Bad Grief - Should family be present during cardiopulmonary resuscitation". Can being present benefit the family, or can it hinder clinical interventions? Does being present allow the family to be involved in decision making, or does it hinder communication within the team? Tune in to hear our th...

On today's episode, Sunny and Nick explore a case of atypical anaphylaxis. 

Welcome to the first episode of The Shift Extension Paramedic Podcast. Today Sunny and Nick dive into our first case study. We have all been to the intoxicated patient who we believe is "just drunk" and thus absolutely fine. But what if there was something else contributing to their presentation, something that was subtle but dangerous.  Today we talk about serotonin syndrome.  These patients are...