October 19, 2025

124 | Josh with Crisis Prevention | The situations that burn out staff and make them leave the ER | Seek to understand, not win | Avoiding cynicism

37 minutes

Give the escalating patients some room, you don’t have to be within arm’s reach

I 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 grey

Assign roles, we don’t have to surround every aggressive patient with a ton of people

Don’t join in the fight or flight mindset that the patient may be operating in

We talk about who should be lead in these situations and how we should be handling behavioral health emergencies when they escalate

We deal with staff and nurses leaving the field related to these negative interactions, so part of the goal needs to deal with the emotional toll it leaves on the healthcare individuals involved

Sometimes patients don’t choose the ideal plan that we may want for them, but we can’t let this burn us out and instead, focus on making a great alternate plan that will serve them

Josh shares a great personal story where he went above and beyond to help a grieving family member that still remembers him from a decade ago

Sometimes all we can do is plant a good seed and the harvest is much later

Great customer service is an important concept, respect and dignity, empathy and understanding

Fight to understand, not fight to win

We have to frequently check our bias, we can miss opportunities and even medical emergencies if we write off a patients behavior as just a behavioral issue

We cannot help others until we take care of ourselves

Hydrate, use the bathroom, eat while on shift

We are all at risk of developing cynicism from negative encounters, so we have to be intentional of seeing the good

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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions. This is not medical advice. If you have personal health concerns, please seek professional care.

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