S6 Ep3 ECMO, Expertise, and Trust

About this episode

Thomas Preston discusses the critical roles and trust required in ECMO teams during life-threatening situations.

When a patient's heart or lungs fail, ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation) technology can keep them alive—but only if the team operating it works flawlessly under pressure. In this episode, Thomas Preston draws on over 30 years of experience in cardiopulmonary care to reveal what it takes to manage these life-sustaining systems. This Teamcast episode covers the specialized roles within ECMO teams, the critical relationship between perfusionists and other medical staff, and strategies for navigating crisis moments when seconds matter. Thomas discusses how trust, constant vigilance, and ongoing training form the foundation of successful outcomes in some of medicine's most intense situations. If you value this discussion, the best way to support our work and stay up to date on future episodes is to subscribe and leave us a quick rating or review. It helps us reach more people who need to hear these conversations.

People in this episode

Guest: Thomas Preston

Topics covered

• ECMO
• cardiopulmonary care
• medical teams
• trust in medicine
• crisis management

Keywords

• ECMO
• cardiopulmonary
• medical staff
• perfusionists
• crisis moments
• trust
• training

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Mission Critical Team Institute

Products: ECMO

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