44. The Beirut Explosion and Mass Casualty | A First Hand Account

The August 4, 2020 explosion in Beirut, Lebanon is thought to be one of the most powerful artificial, non-nuclear explosions ever, causing over 200 deaths and 7500 injuries. In today’s episode, we walk through a firsthand account of what happened during this mass casualty event from the lens of an emergency physician who was there. Guest Bio: Sarah Abdul-Nabi, MD is an emergency medicine resident at the American University of Beirut Medical Center.  She is the author of Airway Breathing Circulation: An Emergency Medicine Resident's Experience of the Beirut Explosion. Awake and Aware | Our 2024 Live Event Join us at Awake and Aware 2024, a transformative 3-day workshop from May 1st to 3rd in Bend, Oregon. Mitigate stress and stay cool under pressure. Create the mindset you want and lock it in. Limited slots. Website: Awakeandawarebend.com 16.25 Hours Category 1 AMA CME The Flameproof CourseThe hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website We discuss:The moment of the Beirut explosion, when the ceiling started to fall in, the room started to shake, and then everything went dark [04:40];Sarah’s first patient, and then the deluge that arrived within 2 minutes [07:10];The initial chaos of managing a mass casualty with minimal light, no electricity, and a damaged ED [11:10];Being unable to stop chest compressions on a young woman with a brain hemorrhage, even after your attending tells you it’s futile [16:15];What it was like to go back to work 2 days later and why Sarah needed to take a couple weeks off to recover emotionally [21:10];The catharsis of debriefing, staring at nature, and journaling [23:30];The unbearable fear and self-doubt that were part of her recovery [29:00];Reflective solitude vs. isolation [31:30];And more.