EMS Today

McKee Somerville

Sponsored by: MEDLITE® First in First Response

McKee Somerville shares her story about insecurities about entering EMS later in life, balancing motherhood, going through a divorce and pausing and restarting paramedic school.

"It was really hard when the personal side would come in. I wasn't home enough... I was being judged from family and close friends," Somerville said. "Being away from the kids is the hardest thing on my mental wellness, but the one thing they understand, is that I am helping someone."

Cynthia Rickert

Sponsored by: MEDLITE® First in First Response

Newly retired San Francisco (CA) Fire Department Lt. Cynthia Ricker reflects on her 27-year career and talks about why she chose to retire. She explores how she sustained a long career with calls she still carries.

"I made a pact with myself that if I needed help, I would get it outside of the fire department,” Ricker said.

The Real and Opportunity Costs of Community Paramedicine/Mobile Integrated Health

Sponsored by: MEDLITE® First in First Response

Jonathon Feit and James McLaughlin talk about the real and opportunity costs of community paramedicine/mobile integrated health.

Accountability and Leadership Retention

Sponsored by MEDLITE® First in First Response 

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Assumptions, Gut Reactions and Common Sense

In this episode, we delve into the mistakes that can be made by making assumptions out there in the field. Everything from assuming that we received the correct information as a dispatcher or first responder from the person calling for help, to assuming we know where the road should be and that we have the correct address, to assuming the patient may have something they don’t or may have nothing wrong with them at all. In the field of EMS, we can’t assume. We need to use our common sense and play at the top of our game to make sure that all of our patients at any given scene get the care they need. There is a lot to juggle and we share some of the crazy and wacky stories where these assumptions could have made a difference and led to a loss of life, but thankfully, didn’t. Please note that we recorded this episode while wearing masks due to COVID-19 precautions amid the omicron wave and we apologize if the sound is a bit muffled. 

Real Life Rescues is hosted by EMT-P (Paramedic) Dov Maisel and EMT-B (EMT) Raphael Poch and goes behind the scenes and takes an in-depth look into the operational and personal accounts of EMS first responders from Israel’s largest fully volunteer EMS provider United Hatzalah.

Healing from Trauma

Firefighter-Paramedic Ryan Woodard-Fire Paramedic talks about traumatic events and how to heal from trauma.

The Role Pharmacists Play in Mobile Integrated Health

Victoria Reinhartz, PharmD, CPh, joins the conversation on improving patient care while expanding the role pharmacists play in mobile integrated health and EMS. She provides actionable insight for EMS systems and educators.

The Pandemic of Violence Against First Responders

Welcome to Real Life Rescues, a podcast that goes behind the scenes and takes an in-depth look into the operational and personal accounts of EMS first responders from Israel’s largest fully volunteer EMS provider United Hatzalah. The podcast is hosted by EMT-P (Paramedic) Dov Maisel and EMT-B (EMT) Raphael Poch.

In this episode, we’ll be discussing the pandemic of violence against first responders. We delve into the problem of violence, discuss cultural differences, and offer a few suggestions on how to deal with violence if it ever erupts at the scene. We provide a few tried, tested and true tips on how to de-escalate a situation, keeping one’s wits about them and being ready to pull back when necessary. 

More than anything, we wish all of our fellow responders to stay safe out there and be prepared.

Pranay Manghirmalani, Part 2

This is Part 2 of the transformation of firefighter Pranay Manghirmalani, who had the courage to attend a PTSD retreat one year ago. Listen to Part 1 here. Project Mayday supports the journey of mental wellness for our first responders to reduce the unnecessary loss of life. Thank you for sharing your story and we hope this calls out to our brothers and sisters.

Caring for Transgender Patients

EMT Taylor Sprecher shares his story. Taylor highlights the need for building trust during patient interview and assessment in order to reduce adverse effects of medical treatment, mortality and morbidity of transgender patients. Taylor also shares the transition he had to make socially, professionally and spiritually.