EMS Avenger Podcast

New Orleans EMS has been making headlines. But not for the reasons they SHOULD be making headlines. Bill Salmeron, the chief and director for New Orleans EMS joins me to tell me what New Orleans EMS is doing RIGHT, and acknowledging that whatever struggles New Orleans EMS has isn't a unique or localized problem. EMS is struggling. Not meeting response times is indicative of how outdated using response times as a benchmark of performance is to begin with. Recruitment and retention is a nationwide problem. Compensation is a nationwide problem. The social safety net that EMS becomes is not specific to New Orleans. But what IS specific to New Orleans is their early adoption of a blood/component program. They published the receipts and demonstrated how an EMS services rises above whatever challenges it faces and does right for the community it serves. Bill was also able to confirm that on the very day we recorded he secured increased compensation for his people!

You sent"One does not simply have a 3 minute conversation with Jeff Jarvis on airway management." This was supposed to be a reel. But, like Dr. Jarvis, I can talk about this stuff all day. So 20 minutes later it became a podcast on airway management in cardiac arrest. I try to hit all of the beats I can when it comes to being practical and pragmatic with our approach, and I don't avoid putting our training paradigm under the microscope. Dr. Jarvis is an airway guru and die-hard intubation enthusiast, so his admission to what our challenges are, and what our practice should probably be is sobering.

What do a bunch of nerdy EMS podcasters at an EMS conference do once the day of lecturing is over? Relax in a hot tub? Watch The West Wing reruns on Netflix? Go out to dinner? Take naps? NOPE! We re-convene and nerd out for one big crossover episode. And we nerd out on...AIRWAY! Because Jeff Jarvis. This crossover episode was a blast to record!

Elizabeth has it all! A great career! Influence in that career. She's a wife and mother. She has a home. She has recognition and brought the house down at EMS World. But at one point in her life she lost it all. Liz suffered from opioid use disorder, and her story from addiction to freedom is an inspiring account of how being offered kindness and compassion at your lowest point can be a seed that's planted that eventually sprouts and fuels recovery!Link to Liz's Paramedic Scholarship Organization: https://www.paramedicpathways.org/

In the second episode of season 2, I discuss the successes, failures, lessons, and challenges of being an educator on social media with the always amazing Nurse Gwenny. We talk about the rewards of the job, navigating community engagement, disparities in the way men and women are treated in the creator space, what to do when you get it wrong, and what it feels like to get it right.

In this episode, I talk with Dr. Ben Abo, a well known physician and researcher (Who maintains his Paramedic license) about a recent paper that he co-authored that found absolutely no evidence to support the practice of spinal immobilization, including the use of rigid cervical collars. This paper was a comprehensive review and meta-analysis, which is the highest form of evidence on the hierarchy of evidence. We dive into the data, the dogma, and how patients' quality of life and well-being are being ritually sacrificed to the use of these devices.

In this episode I speak to Dr. Peter Antevy about Palm Beach County Fire and Rescue's (PBCFR) Cardiac Arrest Practices, and how he sets them up for success as their medical director. We cover what they're measuring, what they're performing, and most importantly, how many lives they are saving!

In this episode I talk to FlightBridgeEd's Eric Bauer about what happens after we intubate a patient. Eric, with the help of Dr. Michael Lauria, has been developing a way to organize post-intubation management with the PHACTORS mnemonic. We go through these factors one letter at a time and break down managing that patient once they've been intubated. That patient that you've intubated? They are now more dependent on your management than they were before, so it's vital that you be constantly thinking about that ongoing management.

In Episode 2, I wanted Maya to take us out with a story from the Grodeyo Rodeo. But I am dedicated to keeping my Episodes at a 20 minute length. So here is a bonus Episode with Maya with an awesome story. I also spoke with Maya briefly about the fact that her stories are an example of how we can take this trauma that we are exposed to on a daily basis, and find cathartic ways to deal with it that aren't toxic and that don't reflect poorly on us as providers.

In the debut Episode of EMS Avenger: 20 Minutes to Save the World, Jimmy speaks with Nick Nudell about the concept of re-titling all EMS personnel to various levels of Paramedic, establishing and enforcing standards within the industry, and bring EMS into the 21st century by following models established in Canada, the UK, and Australia. Nick Nudell is the president of the American Paramedic Association and is one of the people behind the recent launch of the American College of Paramedics.EMSAvenger.comhttps://americanparamedics.org/