This is a first in a series of episodes about the cognitive process of differential diagnosis. It’s called “The Thinking Series.” Extensive show notes for everything discussed at medicmindset.com Ginger Locke talks to the brightest clinicians in emergency medicine about how they think. They approach the concept one chief complaint at a time and dive into the complexities of clinical reasoning. Dr. Brandon Bleess is a physician who is board certified in both Emergency Medicine and EMS. He’s the medical director for an aeromedical service in Illinois. He’s on the faculty at the University of Illinois’ College of Medicine and has been active in the prehospital setting since becoming an EMT in 2003. Connect with him on twitter : @bbbleess Meet Dr. Bleess….

Thinking: Chest Pain

Ginger Locke is a paramedic and professor of EMS students in the US. She has long been fascinated with the inner-workings of medics' minds. In this podcast, she interviews medics face-to-face, in long, intimate format. She thoughtfully asks her guests to open up about their mindset, routines, mistakes, thought-processes, and lessons hard-learned. 

She is on twitter @gingerlockeatx and show notes from each episode can be found at medicmindset.com.

Medicine

Science & Medicine

Science

Health & Fitness

He's the White Tiger. Dr. J.R. Pickett. Or simply J.R. His teams follow him and in this episode he gives away some of the secrets of his leadership philosophies: How he gets buy-in from his team. What he understands about millenials. How he balances decisiveness with tactical patience. Why conflict is essential for successful teams. What he learned during COVID.  Instagram Twitter Facebook

Following J.R.

Paramedic, Taylor Kellogg (@kello011 on Twitter) joins us. This episode is a chance to take a break from clinical learning and listen to the story of a medic who has a passion for meteorology. Wildland fires in Southern California, a thunderstorm on a goat ranch, tornadoes while on shift, flooding that brought him eye-to-eye with a snake knocking on the station door & winter storms in Central Texas. He marvels at the good & the ugly that natural disasters provoke in humanity and how extreme weather makes us vulnerable in a way that connects us.  Show notes at medicmindset.com Follow Medic Mindset on: Twitter & Instagram

The Weatherman

Dr. Maia Dorsett joins us again! You may remember her from the Thinking: Lift Assist episode. This time she shares what she knows about the process of death notification. It's a passion-topic for her because she knows how important these conversations are for the loved ones of patients who have died... and for us. She frames a death notification as a procedure that can be taught, learned and practiced.  NAEMSP Article Bite #33: Is Death Notification Training associated with decreased burnout among EMS professionals This YouTube video was made by the Monroe-Livingston EMS Region at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in anticipation of the rise of out-of-hospital death. Paper outlining The GRIEV_ING algorithm in the Prehospital Emergency Care journal.

Death Notification Choreography

Kevin Hazzard reads 2 chapters from his latest book, American Sirens: The Incredible Story of the Black Men Who Became American’s First Paramedics. Freedom House EMS is EMS’ origin story. It was almost erased until Kevin Hazzard meticulously researched the story so it can sit in the forefront of our our collective consciousness. His first book, 1000 Naked Strangers, was recommended by Nyssa Hattaway in this Medic Mindset episode as the one book she’d give to a new paramedic.  

Sirens In His Voice

Kevin Hazzard reflects on a TV show based on a book called "5 Days at Memorial" by Sheri Fink. In this story, the characters are faced with impossible challenges inside a hospital in the days after Hurricane Katrina. There are so many parallels between what they experienced and what out of hospital paramedics are presented every day. The first time I heard Kevin's voice was in 2016 when he was a guest on NPR's Fresh Air with Terry Gross. They were discussing his book "1000 Naked Strangers" where he recounts memories from working for Grady EMS in Atlanta for over a decade. I was struck by this quote during that interview: "There are a lot of situations where it's just not practical to wait for it to be completely safe and you gotta just try to weigh the odds." With that quote, I knew he'd be a guest well-matched for Medic Mindset where we understand the grey in which decisions are made in EMS everyday. Shownotes at medicmindset.com

Thinking: Chest Pain

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