We talk about the immense responsibility and stress of being a paramedic and the stress difference I’ve noticed moving to ER PA

Casey talks about RSI and how it still causes his palms to sweat

We should have a healthy respect for high level skills

As paramedics we can tend to focus too much on a complicated task and neglect the overall picture of what is happening with the patient, a good partner can really help avoid this

It can be really challenging with a partner that is not watching your back adequately and needs to be micromanaged 

A good EMT anticipates the paramedics’ needs

Good BLS will lead to good ALS care

You have to trust yourself as a paramedic before you can trust your partner

The further you progress in medicine; you tend to stop advertising that you are in medicine

Sometimes the mistakes or the hard calls are easier to recall than the good calls or the victories

Casey talks about a rough pediatric call when he was a new paramedic

Fortunately, the really hard calls are few and far between

Eddie feels like the bad calls are how EMS has damaged him. He struggles to remember the good calls, or the calls where he felt like he did a perfect job

He lives with regret where he feels like he could have done better as well as the tragic calls and feels like this gets worse with time

Sometimes ignoring the trauma for years on end really ends up affecting you when you are older

The jokes can be a cover for how you really feel

But as a paramedic you have to detach and be above the fray, getting stuck in the same emotions as everyone else will not allow you to effectively do your job

Eddie talks about an incredibly tragic case he ran that always haunts him

Once you start getting into the mentality of BSI scene safe, you tend to start practicing that in all areas of life. You get used to always making sure you are safe

We talk about private ambulance and the difference between retirement and disability benefits from fire service 

It’s really hard to switch from being a paramedic to another career after a certain period of time

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Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics

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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.