Shifting the focus on provider safety
Recent news headlines suggest that vehicular safety poses the greatest risk to the lives of EMS providers. While that may be true if the focus is solely on line-of-duty deaths, the majority of EMS deaths occur because of skewed priorities that are too rigorously focused on a single issue. As with any other improvement effort, there is no silver bullet to preventing the death or … Continue reading Shifting the focus on provider safety
EMS Protocols
Kelly Grayson of Ambulance Driver Files recently penned an article on EMS1 regarding the “protocol paradox” which he defines as: “The more restrictive your agency’s protocols are, the more likely it is necessary to deviate from them, and the more likely that agency is to punish harshly for such deviations.” Mr. Grayson makes some extremely valid points about the utility of protocols within EMS. While he supports the use … Continue reading EMS Protocols
ALS vs. BLS Research
Dr. Sanghavi has managed to, yet again, create quite a storm within EMS circles. For those of you that don’t recognize her name, she is the same researcher that brought us last November’s much criticized “Outcomes After Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest Treated by Basic vs Advanced Life Support”within JAMA Internal Medicine. This time, she has published “Outcomes of Basic Versus Advanced Life Support for Out-of-Hospital Medical Emergencies” within the … Continue reading ALS vs. BLS Research
Dear New Orleans Letter
Dear New Orleans, This is going to seem strange, but today I am grateful for the hurricanes that taught me what recovery means, what rebirth can create, and what resilience truly embodies. No city has overcome the obstacles that you have conquered, and none can say that they have more grit or determination than those that call you home. You became my home in a … Continue reading Dear New Orleans Letter
EMS Pay Debate
A recent debate on EMS pay has erupted after Mr. Sean Eddy of Medic Madness wrote “5 Reasons Why EMS Doesn’t Deserve Higher Pay” on Uniform Stories. To say the EMS industry has reacted as he expected would be par for the course. First, I agree with most of his five points, however I fundamentally disagree with his method of dispersing said opinions and the slants with which … Continue reading EMS Pay Debate
Sources of Information
I firmly believe that EMS must reach beyond our own boundaries when securing information regrading healthcare and its changing landscape. These are some of my sources. Other Blogs: The Incidental Economist Skeptical Scalpel Journals: Prehospital Emergency Care BMJ Emergency Medicine Journal – some open access Health Affairs – open access Health Services Research Journal Milbank Quarterly JAMA NEJM – some open access BMJ Quality & Safety – some open … Continue reading Sources of Information
Recommended Reading
I read a lot. Here are some articles and books that I would recommend. Don Berwick Escape Fire Paper Escape Fire Speech My Right Knee Charles Bosk Forgive and Remember Avedis Donabedian Evaluating the Quality of Medical Care The Quality of Care Anne Fadiman The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down Sheri Fink Five Days at Memorial Atul Gawande Being Mortal Better Checklist Manifesto … Continue reading Recommended Reading
Flirting with Adrenaline 