72 | Nate’s off-duty call | That human connection | Moral injury vs burnout | Newbie advice

10/20/24 • 32 min

Nate talks about a motorcycle crash he stopped at on his way home and how he was critical in saving an injured patient and how he became close with the family who still talk to him today. Even though the patient ultimately died, the impact he made on that family was immense.

Patients remember us

We need to remember we treat a person not a complaint or a room number

The balance is finding the human connection while not over-empathizing and taking on burdens that are not yours to bare

We talk about moral injury vs burnout – I do agree that we do not need to blame the individual for their burnout. It is certainly caused from many factors outside of their control factor BUT I like to place the responsibility for overcoming burnout on the individual because no one is coming to save us. Looking to blame external factors doesn’t help us in the long run

Mental health struggles are not always obvious to us in people we spend time with

Casey talks about how the cooperate leaders are actually trying to do the right thing for the front-line workers in spite of what we might think about them

What advice for yourself 5-10 years ago?

Nate: Slow down. Listen to those with experience. Bring your love of the job to someone else, especially new people.

Kash: Remember that you don’t have to do everything on your own. EM is a team sport.

Aaron: Enjoy teaching the newbies. You can make or break their experience based on your affect.

Casey: Journal your days in EMS. The babies you deliver. The skills you perform. Something to look back on can be very valuable.

We mean a lot to new people and students so remember the influence you have on people

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Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics
Most efficient online EKG course here: Practical EKG Interpretation - Practical EMS earn 4 CME and learn the fundamentals through advanced EKG interpretation in under 4 hours.

If you want to work on your nutrition, increase your energy, improve your physical and mental health, I highly recommend 1st Phorm. Check them out here so they know I sent you.

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Everything you hear today from myself and my guests is opinion only and doesn’t represent any organizations or companies that any of us are affiliated with. The stories you hear have been modified to protect patient privacy and any resemblance to real individuals is coincidental. This is for educational and entertainment purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice nor used to diagnose any medical or healthcare conditions.

Patients remember us

We need to remember we treat a person not a complaint or a room number

The balance is finding the human connection while not over-empathizing and taking on burdens that are not yours to bare

Mental health struggles are not always obvious to us in people we spend time with

Casey talks about how the cooperate leaders are actually trying to do the right thing for the front-line workers in spite of what we might think about them

What advice for yourself 5-10 years ago?

Nate: Slow down. Listen to those with experience. Bring your love of the job to someone else, especially new people.

Kash: Remember that you don’t have to do everything on your own. EM is a team sport.

Aaron: Enjoy teaching the newbies. You can make or break their experience based on your affect.

Casey: Journal your days in EMS. The babies you deliver. The skills you perform. Something to look back on can be very valuable.

We mean a lot to new people and students so remember the influence you have on people

Support the show

If you want to work on your nutrition, increase your energy, improve your physical and mental health, I highly recommend 1st Phorm. Check them out here so they know I sent you.

1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition

Previous Episode

undefined - 71 | Rapid sequence intubation changes | How crews can make or break an EMT student’s experience | How those hard calls affect us | Casey talks about the impression he made on a family

71 | Rapid sequence intubation changes | How crews can make or break an EMT student’s experience | How those hard calls affect us | Casey talks about the impression he made on a family

The paradigm around rapid sequence intubation is evolving and becoming much safer with more education and procedures.

Sometimes in emergency medicine slow is better. We need to stay mindful and calm in chaos and this requires us to detach and be above the fray and walk slowly instead of run. This will actually increase effectiveness and efficiency.

Nate recounts his EMT rides with myself and a great paramedic partner I had named Justin

Nate actually paid in EMT school to do more third rides so he could learn from the crews that were good at teaching

Crews can make or break an EMT students experience

Nate talks about how you really have to love EMS. The things we see are difficult, the shifts are long, the pay is not great. Something has to get you through

What affects one person may not affect another.

Casey talks about how it can be tough when things don’t affect you at all. That can be a form of struggle as well.

We talk about some of the hardest things to see in EMS, the cries of a mother or father at the loss of a child.

I talk about, how as an ER PA, I am a little more insulated from the death and the conversations with family than I was as a paramedic.

Nate talks about looking for the good differences you make with people. His job is not to save a life but to prolong lives.

Be intentional about marking those good moments

Casey talks about how a patients family remembered him long after a call

Support the show

If you want to work on your nutrition, increase your energy, improve your physical and mental health, I highly recommend 1st Phorm. Check them out here so they know I sent you.

1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition

Next Episode

73 | New panel! | EMS to law enforcement | The lesson from the spine board

Mark (paramedic) | Brent (fire officer and EMT) | Nick (former paramedic and current police officer)

Mark has worked in urban and very rural 911 ambulances and does part time EMT education now
Community paramedicine is an emerging field and can vary a lot from region to region. Paramedics are flexible providers, so the potential is huge

Brent has stuck with firefighting from his early days as a recruit all the way to becoming a fire officer

Nick has transitioned from EMS to law enforcement in the last several years

The history of the spine board is a good lesson for new people: The way we practice medicine is a constantly moving target. Best practice is not always based on good data. We used to put EVERYONE on a spine board, but this has turned out to likely be doing more harm than good

Even though logically something might make sense, it doesn’t mean it always does in reality. Backboards and epi are big examples of this

Mark talks about the history of backboards and how this practice came to be

An important point to remember in emergency medicine: If you have nothing really wrong with you, we are more likely to harm you than help you with treatment. This is because nothing comes without risk and if there is truly nothing to treat, the scale weighs entirely to the risk side.

Support the show

If you want to work on your nutrition, increase your energy, improve your physical and mental health, I highly recommend 1st Phorm. Check them out here so they know I sent you.

1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition