I have met a lot of people over the last four years.  Few have had a bigger impact on my life than Natalie Quebodeaux Cavander.  She has been one of my closest friends since I started writing and podcasting, and has been incredibly supportive every step of the way.  Life’s changes take us all in different directions, which is exactly what it did for Natalie.  This week, Natalie and I talk about the twists and turns that her life has taken over the last couple of years, and discuss a few new angles she is taking a look at EMS from. To read some of Natalie’s posts check out her old blog, MsParamedic.com.  Even though she does not write there anymore her posts are still incredibly relevant. It goes without saying that Natalie was also an excellent podcaster.  Check out the podcast she used to be part of known as The Gen Med Show. Also, I feel it bears mentioning that the picture below is from Las Vegas in 2011.  Don’t worry though, we found out after this picture was taken that Jeff Sorenson better known as @Chicagomedic who is standing between us, was not an ordained minister, so like many Vegas weddings this one was over before it started! To download the podcast, click this link!  Otherwise listen on the player below....

On the heels of Wednesday’s podcast I wanted to share some more thoughts on Sirens and try to explain why I think this show is as great as I do.  It is a comedy.  No doubt.  Its crude at times, but I like that, I am a fan of that kind of humor.  The beauty of Sirens though, is it is not a comedy about working on an ambulance.  Instead, it is a comedy that takes place on an ambulance.  The real beauty of Sirens is in the characters. Take look around you.  Look at the people you work with, and the people that you know who work int he industry.  Each of us knows that person who is better at managing their work life than their personal life, whose partner seems to know their life better than they do, or someone who is obsessed with gore.  Each service has that sage-like older EMT, and someone who seems to have far more knowledge in their heads than the average EMT.  And final, we all know that far too eager rookie who has no idea what they are getting into. Each of those characters is represented in Sirens.  They’re all there.  Johnny, Hank, VooDoo, Stats, Cash, and Brian.  Each of them seems to represent a certain personality that we all encounter far too often, and they each do it well. Now, although I am a big fan of the character work on this show, the EMS, while not completely accurate treatment wise, is topically accurate.  They deal with those weird calls that we run into, and the MCI’s and frequent fliers.  They also dive just below the surface of how we as an industry deal with those types of calls.  If you want proof of that look no further than the 9th episode of the first season called There’s No I in Ice Cream.  It is probably the most serious of the episodes in the first season, and because of that, it is by far my favorite. The biggest thing that I took from my time talking to Kevin Bigley and Kevin Daniels was the amount of respect both men have for our profession.  This...

May 7, 2014

While the initial plan was to post my podcasts on Mondays, this one was too good to pass up on posting a little early.  In this episode, I talk with Kevin Bigley and Kevin Daniels who play Brian and Hank respectively on USA’s new comedy series Sirens.  I have been a supporter of this project from the start.  Personally, I think it is hilarious.  If you have not watched it yet, you really need to. I had a great time talking to both Kevin Bigley and Kevin Daniels.  Hopefully you enjoy listening to the podcast as much as I enjoyed recording it! To download the podcast, click this link!  Otherwise, use the player...

In the first episode of my new podcast, EMS in the New Decade, we talk about the direction the show is set to take, and learn a bit more about who I am, and where I got my start. To download the podcast, click this link!  Otherwise, use the player...

The news story that hit the internet last week about the woman who was “pronounced” by the paramedic who was later discovered to be alive is nothing new.  We have seen this type of thing before.  Chances are, if you ask me, probably just about every case of this has hit the media at some level.  If you ask me though this is not an EMS problem.  This is a personal problem driven by the laziness of a provider. In fact, one article mentions that this exact same medic had an issue a little over a year ago when he flew two patients that probably did not need to be flown, and should not have been flown.  I vaguely remember that story. The problem with this entire situation though is that what will most likely come out of it will be some policy change either at the state level or medical director level, and some fear within the system that “this might be missed again.”  This is not a systemic issue.  It’s not a state issue.  Its a provider issue.  And more importantly, it is one that should never happen.  The only thing that will prevent instances like this is a thorough assessment by a trained medical professional. Every field pronouncement protocol should contain a few core components.  For example, obvious signs of death.  Lividity, rigor mortis, and body temperature.  Or some injury that is incompatible with life; a decapitation, or massive evisceration, cranial evacuation.  These are the things that should be obvious to us when we assess a patient, and we do need to assess these patients.  We need to touch them, and inspect them, and make sure that we are making the right call, even if we are on a crime scene.  These things must be done. The other component that should be part of every field pronouncement protocol is the acquisition of an ECG that shows three leads of asystole for a predetermined amount of time.  The best way for any paramedic to check this is not to get a “quick strip” but instead to do something like a “10-20-30” evaluation of the patient’s ECG. What I mean by a 10-20-30...