Host: Andy Bell
Guest: Matt Pepper

About this episode:
Working effectively in high threat, high acuity, time critical environments requires quality decision making and stress management.  Recent developments in this area have seen a shift in research focus from traditional military occupations to the broader field of high acuity operators in the public sphere.  This is a rapidly evolving area of research and Andy and Matt discuss it all! They also touch on triage and how the old paradigm is being challenged, and whether it should be deconstructed and reinvented, as well as how training can be used to overcome stress response. Throughout, Andy and Matt introduce the theory of Occupational Cognitive Readiness (OCR) and how it could be related to paramedicine.

This chat that could have gone on for a lot longer so we have lined up a follow on episode where Andy and Matt will be joined all the way from the UK by OCR researcher Oliver Hamlet, whose work is briefly touched on in this episode. If you have any questions for Andy, Matt and Oliver for the next episode around OCR please send them through to [email protected] or through our social channels Instagram: acparamedicine Facebook: Australasian College of Paramedicine. This episode will be recorded on June 30.

 About Andy:
He is currently a lecturer in Paramedicine at the University of Southern Queensland where he has been for the past three years. 
Prior to USQ he was lecturing at ACU (Brisbane) for four years. 
He has 14 years’ experience with QAS. 
Prior to QAS he taught search and rescue in New Zealand  
He is a confirmed PhD Candidate with a particular interest in the evolution of the professional paramedic education paradigm and improving performance of operators in high threat environments. 

 About Matt:
Matt is an ICP and tactical medical specialist with NSWA.  He is the chairperson of the Australian Tactical Medical Association and the training development manager for TacMed Australia.  He has a wealth of information on tactical medicine and improving triage in high threat environments.  He is currently working with a group of researchers looking at a concept called operational cognitive readiness (OCR), which aims to improve quality of decision making and stress inoculation of operators in high stress environments such as paramedicine.  I believe Matt will make an excellent addition to the podcast library and the topics being considered include:  

- Stress response to high acuity environments

- Stress and its impact on decision making and skill application

- Triage (challenging the old paradigm)

- Training to overcome stress responses

- Operational Cognitive Readiness as a concept and how it relates to paramedicine