What advice would you give to a new graduate, student or fresh paramedic? How do you stay current, motivated, compassionate and healthy?

We asked that question on social media, today we discuss some of the amazing responses from our community.

We are back with clinical priorities. 

This week we discuss some tips for approaching your toxicology patient as well as a health debate on the use of adrenaline in COPD. 

Paediatrics are not easy. They can't tell you whats wrong and we don't go to them that often. 

A solid history and assessment will help us to identify the likely causes,  provide informed clinical advice and stop us from missing the subtle signs of serious disease.  

Today we look at some pearls of assessment and what you can do to improve your practice. 

Today we are back with our second clinical priorities episode. The boys pick apart and discuss how they would approach cases involving significant burns and maternal trauma. 

This episode is the sequel to Episode 14 - Traumatic arrest, A paradigm shift. Last episode we looked at shifting our mindset to a pro-resuscitation model.

Today, we look at how we go about that care. Pearls from experience, practical tips and a little bit of controversy.

Say Good Night by Joakim Karud @joakimkarud Creative Commons — Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported— CC BY-SA 3.0 creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Music promoted by Audio Library youtu.be/SZkVShypKgM

Today we sit down with Dr Stephen Rashford and talk about the Queensland Ambulance Service's clinical consultation line. 

We are independent thinkers and clinicians. But sometimes cases fall outside our previous experience and knowledge. Consultation with others leads to  enhanced decision making, a collective approach and ultimately better patient care. 

Remember, there is always time to call. 

Do we see code 1 transport to hospital as a clinical intervention?

Like any intervention, there are potential risks and benefits.

Is there a benefit in getting to hospital a few minutes faster when 19 million responses in the US have shown us that the risk is immense?

Is it worth risking our own lives and that of the patient?

Watanabe et al. Is Use of Warning Lights and Sirens Associated With Increased Risk of Ambulance Crashes? A Contemporary Analysis Using National EMS Information System (NEMSIS) Data

https://www.annemergmed.com/article/S0196-0644(18)31325-8/fulltext

 

Maguire et al. Occupational injury risk among Australian paramedics: an analysis of national data

https://www.mja.com.au/journal/2014/200/8/occupational-injury-risk-among-australian-paramedics-analysis-national-data

Last week at the Australian Tactical Medical Conference, Nick caught up with Jeremy from TacMed Australia, to talk tips and tricks surrounding external limb and junctional haemorrhage control. 

External haemorrhage is a PREVENTABLE cause of death in trauma. Simple measures can make a HUGE difference. 

Basics will save lives. 

Check out ATMA and TacMed below at

https://www.atma.net.au/

https://tacmedaustralia.com.au/

Today we challenge the idea that working traumatic arrests is futile. 

They are young, they are healthy and 5-7% will walk out of hospital neurologically intact. 

Presenting ECG rhythm is not a good determinate of outcome.

Outside of cranial destruction, hemicorporectomy and incineration, there are no good indicators of futility.

So if in doubt, resuscitate these patients.

This week Scott interviews the team on their experiences with resilience and burnout. 

Have we wanted to quit at times?

Yes, 

Have we ever been burnt out?

Yes, 

How were these experiences, how did we push on and how do we build resilience for the future.