Practical EMS
My mission is to use the stories we all have in emergency medicine to encourage and uplift you where you are. EMT, Paramedic, nurse, PA, NP or physician. Emergency medicine is a very difficult specialty with unique challenges, and it calls us all to be better than the average person in order to stay healthy for our patients, our families and own mental wellness. I want to connect with EMS crews, fire crews, ER RN's, ER techs and new ER advanced practice providers to better understand their current struggles. I also want to bridge the gap between prehospital medicine and the emergency department and to encourage those seeking to become an advanced practice provider. Disclaimer: All Practical EMS content is opinion only. It is unaffiliated with any company or organization and does not represent any company or organization that Aaron currently works for or has worked for in the past. No content should be taken as medical advice.
Episodes
136 episodes
131 | Women in the ER: Dr. Julie on Career Longevity and Burnout
Started out her medical career as an EKG tech and in EMS as an EMT for one of the first ambulance companies in the areaShe saw the disconnect between the provider that people wanted to become and who they became, and she didn’t want that...
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32:27
130 | Dr. Brian | Faith at Work: Healing, Dying, and Being on the Other Side of the Hospital Bed
Brian talks about his experience being on the “other side” of the bedside with his wife’s cancer treatmentHe really appreciated the extra time that the doctors spent with him and his wife to explain things – repetition is very helpful fo...
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27:53
129 | Dr. Brian | The Metric of Mercy: Seeing Jesus in Every Patient
We talk about setting the right mindset, culture and tone as a leader of the department and especially in smaller facilitiesYou don’t have to be perfect, but you can avoid the little negative comments and criticismsBeing a good ex...
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25:41
128 | Dr. Brian | When the Dopamine Fades: Staying Driven in Emergency Medicine
Has been an attending physician since 2019Brian volunteered when he was a teenager in the ER and the staff that got him involved really drew him toward emergency medicine in med schoolBrian worked in the ED as an EMT as well
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28:05
127 | ER Dr. Adam | Embrace the hard stuff | Being mentally present | Moving forward after a hard shift
Advice for the new EMT, paramedic, nurse, physician who is also a believerBuild your faith in the easier times so your faith doesn’t shake when times are hardYou have more reason than anyone on the planet who doesn’t believe to st...
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31:05
126 | ER Dr. Adam | Faith and burnout | Choosing hard things | The reward in striving
Faith and burnoutAdam talks about how he tends to spend his spare time reading the Bible, going to church, spending time in prayer and how this develops character and is better than pursuing time wasting activities or the easy dopamine d...
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29:19
125 | ER Dr. Adam | Former paramedic | Refocusing on your purpose | Faith in emergency medicine
Former paramedic and has been an ER physician for 7-8 yearsHe pursued emergency medicine after his experience as a paramedic because he feels it is more in line with his personality We talk about how emergency medicine checks...
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31:22
124 | Josh with Crisis Prevention | The situations that burn out staff and make them leave the ER | Seek to understand, not win | Avoiding cynicism
Give the escalating patients some room, you don’t have to be within arm’s reachI talk about what a bad code blue looks like and what a good code blue looks like and how this translates to running a good code greyAssign roles, we d...
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37:06
123 | Josh with Crisis Prevention | Code Grey | Safety in the ER | The unmet want or need
Josh has 20 years in Public SafetyCurrently doing crisis prevention instructionWe often don’t get any education in med school or PA school in how to communicate well with patients or how to de-escalate their behaviorCode gr...
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29:45
122 | ER Dr. Lucas | Is it still worth becoming a physician? | Honor to being there on someone’s worst day | Don’t just do something, stand there
Lucas gives his pitch for why it is still worth it to be a physician - it’s one of the best jobs in the world but you have to have the ability to adapt to change over timeBeing a physician still allows you a rewarding, stable and consist...
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27:24
121 | ER Dr. Lucas | Longevity | Advice for the new ER physician | The lone wolf dies so stop putting off focus on community
Longevity in a tough field is something you need to consider as well as the right mindsets that keep you there – be intentional about being gratefulLucas gives some advice in doing triage shifts and focusing on the good people you have t...
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23:26
120 | ER Dr. Lucas | Inevitable burnout | Gratitude | Being intentional about the positive
ER physician for 15 yearsHe talks about this path into med school and emergency medicine as his first choiceHe likes the challenge, lack of predictability and wide scope of problems we must solve. We have the honor to accept patie...
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30:14
119 | Emergency Standards | Leave work at work | Take care of yourself before you take care of others
Leave work on time•David’s story: a skilled, compassionate paramedic who deeply connected with patients, especially during psychiatric crises.oStruggled to separate work from life.oRelied on alcohol as a coping mechanism, which ulti...
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28:47
118 | Emergency Standards | Introduction | Do not seek to diagnosis
IntroductionMy first experience with a cardiac arrest as a new EMT → exhilarating, confirmed calling to emergency medicine.Early struggles: dropped out of college, lacked discipline, but EMT training provided a direc...
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44:37
117 | Unique ER roles | Advice for newbies | Ways to get introduced to the world of medicine
Advice for new EKG techs:Trust your knowledge and build your confidence over time, stay calm and take deep breaths when you start to get busyStay humble, ask for helpNo one comes out of school knowing everything, you need t...
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31:19
116 | Unique roles in the ER | EKG tech and scribe | How to avoid burnout
We talk about stat vs routine EKG orders as well as metrics that they are always working to hit on timeWhen EKG’s are not done on time the source of the problem needs to be found, sometimes it is the providers’ fault for not realizing th...
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30:48
115 | EKG tech and scribe role in the ED | Communication and teamwork
Welcome to the show Sean and Cheyenne, EKG tech experience and scribe experienceSean talks about certifications and expectations that go beyond merely obtaining an EKG as well as the stress testing roleCheyenne talks about the rol...
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32:53
114 | Dr. David Berry | From homeless and addicted to chief of staff | Brain nerve connection and addiction | How to rewire the brain | Addiction stigma | Meth abuse
I’d like to welcome to the show Dr. David M. Berry, MD, he is a growing voice in the recovery and addiction space, an area that we deal with a ton across EMS and the emergency departments...
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31:08
113 | Dr. David Berry | The ER doctor who overcame opiate addiction | How to care for the addicted and psychiatric patient with empathy
I’d like to welcome to the show Dr. David M. Berry, MD, he is a growing voice in the recovery and addiction space, an area that we deal with a ton across EMS and the emergency departments...
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31:58
112 | Dr. David Berry | The ER doctor who lost everything | Overcoming alcohol and opiate addiction | Helping our patients recover
I’d like to welcome to the show Dr. David M. Berry, MD, he is a growing voice in the recovery and addiction space, an area that we deal with a ton across EMS and the emergency departments...
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33:59
111 | Michelle Niemeyer | Moving away from practicing law | Work life balance is bulls**t | Building community | Avoiding burnout | Getting clarity
Creator of the philosophy The Art of Bending TimeYou can find her work at Michelleniemeyer.com, LinkedIn and can text CLARITY to 33777 to get supportMichelle talks about what moved her away from law to helping others impr...
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34:47
110 | Michelle Niemeyer | The art of bending time | Learning to be in the moment | Burnout | What is keeping you from being fulfilled?
Creator of the philosophy The Art of Bending TimeYou can find her work at Michelleniemeyer.com, LinkedIn and can text CLARITY to 33777 to get supportMichelle talks about a turning point in her life where she ended up in t...
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34:34
109 | Dr. Emma Jones | The Phoenix Blueprint and burnout | Emotional boundaries with patients | Quickly developing rapport | Unconditional positive regard | When you should be advocating for change
Dr. Emma Jones is a hospice and palliative care physician, also worked as a pediatric oncologist and pediatrician. She’s been in the field for over 10 years and is active in helping healthcare professionals with burnout in the modern medical sy...
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35:54
108 | Dr. Emma Jones | The Phoenix Blueprint and burnout | Emerging Stronger from the Blaze of Healthcare | Core values | Questioning your thoughts | Circle of control vs circle of concern
Dr. Emma Jones is a hospice and palliative care physician, also worked as a pediatric oncologist and pediatrician. She’s been in the field for over 10 years and is active in helping healthcare professionals with burnout in the modern medical sy...
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44:40
107 | Bryan Jepson MD, CFP | Good debt and bad debt | Debt pay down methods | The 4% rule | Is whole life insurance a good idea?
Bryan Jepson MD and CFP, author of The Physician's Path to True Wealth: 12 steps to gaining control over your money and your time – you can find it on Amazon and at this website for free Br...
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44:13
