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You're right, these kids ARE different than years past.  But everything is different.  No more testing in auditoriums with 600 other candidates on one specific date and time.  Much less need for people to do things that are risky, uncomfortable, or not fun, to get what they want.

Get in the game old fella.  You just might change the course of your department.  Chances are these kids are going to run the show differently than you do now and in 20 years you may see some headlines you don't like.  Better to instill some of the core values of the fire service now and prevent tragedy later.

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I don't want to read another book, take another note, or practice another problem employee scenario ever again.

After major events like probation, and promotional testing there is a brutal hangover.  Achievement hangovers are a real thing and just like any hangover, we can take some measures to decrease the destruction, or at least limit how long we're useless.

Structuring your studying, planning beyond the event, and having hangover measures in place will help us rebound faster and join our crews for the fun stuff.

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Nathan crashed his bike and tore up his wrist which ruined his plans for going to the pool later in the day.  For most of us that would have ended our week but he just grabbed some toys and kept on having fun doing something else.

We are so bogged down with things we have to do, and have a very short list of things we like to do.  But building out your list, and algorithm of happiness can be a literal life safer for firefighters and emergency workers.

Firefighters aren't good at doing "nothing" and most of the time we just want to do something that doesn't require critical thinking skills or target safety deadlines.  Purposeful nothings are a great way to give yourself a reset and having a cache of them is even better.

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James Boomhower is a 20 year paramedic with the last ten being in the critical care field.  Aside from that he is also finishing up is degree in clinical psychology and runs a mental health/ suicide awareness company named @stay_fit4Duty.

Boomer does an excellent job presenting difficult material and topics because he can speak from experience and mixes in the right amount of clinical education.

We cover topics like EMDR being the hot thing at the moment, the pendulum swing of peer support, the pitfalls that James fell into when establishing his company and peer support system, and end on a personal note regarding first responder suicide and what we can do to prevent it.

I am so proud of this episode and I really hope you find some value in it.  Thank you for listening.  Follow James at @Stay_fit4duty and reach out with any questions or comments.

Crisis lines:
ECHO FAST Peer Support Team 1-833-AIR FAST
 Frontline Help Line 1-866-676-7500
 Fire/EMS Helpline 1-888-731-3473
 Crisis Text Line (Call or Text) 988

Stay Fit 4 Duty™// James [email protected]
stayfit4duty.org
IG/Twitter/x/threads: @stay_fit4duty
Facebook.com/stayfit4duty

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No matter your rank, you will eventually asked to do more "Stuff". Whether that's run reports, EMS call review, training audits, lesson plans, or whatever other admin/clerical work needs to get done to keep the wheels moving.

That stuff is part of the job, but for many it can also be the thing that ruins the job.  Boundaries in the fire service are a weird thing and vary greatly depending on the setting and nature of the request.  Refusing to pump an additional line is easy if you don't have enough supply but telling the boss that you can't work on a spreadsheet because you don't have enough time is a different conversation.

Firefighters need to balance the street with the desk and doing that is more and more difficult.  I go over some common issues as well as some ideas for managing the situations we find ourselves in.

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Raina (@shift.work.dietician) is a licensed dietician out of Edmonton that I wanted to have a chat with because of her consistently realistic approach to nutrition for shift workers.

She is married to a first responder and when she saw the lame suggestions they were given to keep their diet and lifestyle in check, she new she could help the community.  She provides very easy to digest (pun intended) information through her social media page as well as the courses and coaching she offers.

Firefighters don't need another person telling them how wrong they are or how doomed their lifestyle is.  Raina does an excellent job of meeting people where they are and helping them achieve a higher quality of life through approachable measures.

Please visit her IG page and website, www.shiftworknutrition.com and thank you for listening.

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How strong is strong enough? But first, what about when you can't, or shouldn't keep doing the traditional movements like squat and deadlift?

Curt and I answer both of these topics with some stories from the gym and fire station and tips for making training work for you.  We also throw out what we consider acceptable numbers for movements like push ups, pull ups, and lifting from the floor.

Can you meet the standards or are you just sure that you can do it "if you really had to"?  This is still a physical occupation and our abilities need to reflect that.  Share this with a firefighter and see what they think.

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The thought of CBD brings up a lot of opinions, feelings, and criticisms.  To Jon Vought, the owner of Rescue 1 CBD they are all warranted and valid but he has information, science, and patience on his side.

Jon has been a career firefighter for the past 16 years and after a significant surgery, he had an all too common experience and relationship with opioid painkillers.   From that experience, he found CBD; the rest is history in the making.

In this episode, we hit CBD from a bunch of angles.  Fears, concerns, stigmas, dependence, complications, and drug tests.

If you have any curiosity about CBD, this episode is for you.  Share it with someone else who could use it and look up @Rescue_1_cbd on Instagram for a ton of content.

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150 years of tradition, unimpeded by progress.

Changing a lightbulb in the department can take weeks, how can we change an operational policy or start a new initiative?

Curt and I have been making small changes with big effects in our department and we're talking about how we've seen change happen and what can put a halt to it.

Firefighters hate change and hate the way things are now so you're not going to please everyone, but if your changes seek to positively impact the membership, they're worth the scrutiny.

Thanks and be excellent to each other. (Bill S Preston Esquire, Ted Theodore Logan)

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We've all heard the rule of maintaining three points of contact when working on a ladder.  Well, the same goes for your personal wellness.  Sleep, nutrition, fitness, and behavioral health are the points of contact and each one that you don't have contact with increases your chances of falling off the ladder.

In this episode I'm going outside of the box with my suggestions on each topic.  We've all heard specific sleep tips, nutrition guidelines, and how many minutes we should work out per week.

But none of that matters unless we relate it to how we live and work as firefighters and paramedics.  Todays lessons are things that you can use immediately and that actually translate to our lifestyle.

Keep three points of contact and keep moving.  

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Thank you for listening and let's all keep working to be more capable and durable both on shift and away from it.