EMS Today

Training EMS for Field Ultrasound

Training EMS for field ultrasound is discussed with guest co-host Gordon Johnson, an internal medicine physician from Portland who published an article in POCUS Journal called “Demonstration of a Longitudinal Medical Education Model (LMEM) Model to Teach Point-of-Care Ultrasound in Resource-Limited Settings.”

In this episode, Dr. Johnson leads an engaging conversation with distinguished experts from Norway. We have Dr. Nils Peter Overland, a specialist in air ambulance and anesthesia, and Victoria Vatsvåg, PhD(c), with expertise in ultrasound. Tune in as we explore the intersection of paramedic training, point-of-care ultrasound and resource-limited settings.

Elijah McClain’s Case, Legally Speaking

Chief Douglas Randell talks with EMS Attorney Douglas Wolfberg about the Elijah McClain case and what it means for medics.

A New Medical Director for JEMS

JEMS Editor-In-Chief Dr. Ted Lee speaks with Dr. Sarah Fabiano about her new role as medical director. Dr. Fabiano talks about her history in prehospital care and what she has planned for the future of JEMS.

State Supplemental Reimbursement Programs

Attorney Kevin Fairlie joins the Not A Fib Podcast to discuss state supplemental reimbursement programs and the scrutiny these programs are now receiving from the Office of the Inspector General. Additionally, we discuss the importance of compliance programs to protect agencies in the event of an OIG audit.

Neuroprotective CPR

This podcast reviews an article in JEMS by Flight Paramedic Ashley Buie about Neuroprotective CPR.

Article discussed: Buie, A. (2023, July 25). Neuroprotective CPR. Journal of Emergency Medical Services JEMS. Available at https://www.jems.com/patient-care/neuroprotective-cpr/

We Must Do Better at Being Patient Advocates

Eric Chase gets input and advice from EMS attorney Steve Wirth, Esq., EMT-P, after the guilty verdict of two Colorado paramedics that had been on trial for the homicide of Elijah McClain.

Performing Remote Medicine

This podcast reviews research in prolonged field care with Aebhric O’Kelly from the College of Remote and Offshore Medicine Foundation.

Article discussed: O'Kelly, A., & Mallinson, T. (2023). Prolonged field care (austere emergency care) principles in UK paramedic practice. Journal of Paramedic Practice, 15(9), 359-366.

The Answers Are Within You

Eric Chase has a powerful and uplifting conversation with Crystal Little.

JEMS Talk: Ethics, Education and EMS: Calibrating a Moral Compass

Hear an important JEMS Talk on ethics in emergency medical services and mobile medicine.

Items Discussed

• The belief that field clinicians can/should be trusted to make ethical and moral decisions.

• Are we educating clinicians on how to make such assessments, or are we training clinicians to paint by number/practice by rote protocol?

• Are “thinking” vs. a scientifically informed, protocolized approach mutually exclusive—or can they inform one another?

• Are we training clinicians to develop their moral compasses?

• What happens when science suggests that the moral or ethical thing to do is the suboptimal choice (and by what yardstick is that judged)?

Panelists

Christopher Colwell, MD; chief of Emergency Medicine at Zuckerberg San Francisco (CA) General Hospital and Trauma Center

Michael Dailey, MD; director of Prehospital Care Services & Education at Albany (NY) Medical Center

Abby Dotson, PHD; executive director at the National POLST Collaborative, director of the Oregon POLST Registry

Jonathon Feit, MBA; co-founder and chief executive of Beyond Lucid Technologies, Inc.

Keep the conversation going by using #JEMSTalk on social media.

Not Just a Single Squirt: Understanding Nasal Drug Delivery

Paramedics in a rural setting respond to a young man who is unresponsive, barely breathing, has pinpoint pupils and has fresh needle marks along his arm veins. Recognizing this as an opiate overdose they assist ventilations and attempt to administer IV naloxone, but have difficulty starting an IV line.

They heard about nasal naloxone, so they squirt a vial of naloxone into the patient’s nose with a syringe (1 ml of 0.4 mg). It does not have any effect but they manage to establish an IV and administer another 0.4 mg IV. The patient awakens. Based on this experience, they decide nasal naloxone does not work and resist adoption of the concept during future discussions.

Read the full article here.