90 | Doing difficult things makes you stronger | Pain of getting well is sometimes greater than the pain of staying stuck | Is emergency medicine your purpose
02/23/25 • 26 min
Whatever your beliefs regarding God or lack of a God as you work in emergency medicine, I hope this episode will uplift and encourage you
Laurie likes to reflect on the one patient she was there to help during the day. Or the one patient she was there to interact with
It is important to reflect on your highs, your lows and even things that made you laugh
Where is that line of caring for people and balancing your own family and priorities?
Jesus said the poor you will have with you always. You will never be able to fix every problem. We can’t take on a God complex. We have to check on ourselves to know when we are giving too much of ourselves
Daniel raises a point in his book, that the fruits of the Spirit are produced by you going through difficult situations with difficult people
Overcoming difficult things can make us better if we allow it to and we can be a light to those around us
Every day is not “I am blessed and highly favored”, there are some days where you feel bright and full and others where everything is difficult
Jesus knows that the pain of getting well is sometimes greater than the pain of staying stuck
Is emergency medicine your purpose?
Eric talks about the blessing it is to directly impact another person, but it is not his life’s mission. His identity is not an ER physician, it is a child of God
Laurie overall agrees but she stresses that she is called to be an ER PA. It’s the expression of the skills God has given her
I think I am somewhere in between the two of them, I definitely feel called to work in the ED but don’t want it to be my whole identity either
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.
1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition
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.
Whatever your beliefs regarding God or lack of a God as you work in emergency medicine, I hope this episode will uplift and encourage you
Laurie likes to reflect on the one patient she was there to help during the day. Or the one patient she was there to interact with
It is important to reflect on your highs, your lows and even things that made you laugh
Where is that line of caring for people and balancing your own family and priorities?
Jesus said the poor you will have with you always. You will never be able to fix every problem. We can’t take on a God complex. We have to check on ourselves to know when we are giving too much of ourselves
Daniel raises a point in his book, that the fruits of the Spirit are produced by you going through difficult situations with difficult people
Overcoming difficult things can make us better if we allow it to and we can be a light to those around us
Every day is not “I am blessed and highly favored”, there are some days where you feel bright and full and others where everything is difficult
Jesus knows that the pain of getting well is sometimes greater than the pain of staying stuck
Is emergency medicine your purpose?
Eric talks about the blessing it is to directly impact another person, but it is not his life’s mission. His identity is not an ER physician, it is a child of God
Laurie overall agrees but she stresses that she is called to be an ER PA. It’s the expression of the skills God has given her
I think I am somewhere in between the two of them, I definitely feel called to work in the ED but don’t want it to be my whole identity either
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.
1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition
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.
Previous Episode
89 | Death and dying | Pastor Daniel Grothe | Non-anxious presence | Emotional whiplash | Habits to hit the reset button
Whatever your beliefs regarding God or lack of a God as you work in emergency medicine, I hope this episode will uplift and encourage you
Daniel talks about how the most anxious person in the room gets the most attention, but we should strive to be the non-anxious presence in the room. The non-anxious presence rebukes and resets the system
Daniel talks about how the people of God should strive to be like Jesus on the boat when he slept during the storm and say “Peace, be still” to the chaos
Remember how we treat people reflects who we are
Emotional whiplash occurs as a pastor or as an emergency medical professional
Daniel has gone from dedicating a newborn baby to helping a patient pass peacefully
Habits to hit the reset button:
I like to walk to patient rooms rather than speed walking. This allows me to take a deep breath, practice mindfulness and reset myself to approach the encounter well
Slow is smooth, smooth is fast
Try to smile
Engage with the patients that fill your cup and appreciate your care, talk with that staff member that is kind and happy
Daniel talks about breath prayers: “Come Lord Jesus”, “help me Lord,” “Lord I need you here” “Come Holy Spirit”
Daniel talks about how we help with anxiety. When he sees people in his office at church or in the hospital, they are often anxious just like our patients
He says one way he combats anxiety is asking the person’s full name. What does your middle name mean? Is that a family name? He quickly digs into the details about a person’s life, and this can cause the anxiety to diminish. It shows interest in the person
The greatest sound to a person is the sound of their own name
Often the patients chief concern is not the same as their chief complaint
In order to give to others, you have to have a full cup first, then what overflows is what you have available for others
How do we unburden ourselves of the things we take on at work?
Eric can compartmentalize
Laurie talks with her spouse to digest the things that happen during the day
Personally, sometimes I want to talk about my day and other times I don’t want to talk at all about my day
Daniel talks about how to avoid “taking home the hitchhikers.” We often see sad stories in our line of work and we can’t allow this to negatively impact our close relationships
Daniel jumps on his trampoline, screams into a pillow or goes to a steam room and gives the burdens over to the Lord. He also doesn’t shield his life from his family. He shares the difficult things
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.
1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition
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.
Next Episode
91 | Old school paramedics Eddie and Casey | Is EMS just a steppingstone | For some it’s a job, for some it’s a life
Best online EKG course you can finish in less than 4 hours:
Practical EKG Interpretation - Practical EMS
4 Category 1 CME credits - Fundamentals through advanced interpretation
Welcome our new panel Eddie and Casey, two very experienced paramedics
27 and 48 years in the field
Casey talks about AI potential in the field and a study he was involved in. Will AI help us or improve patient care? Will humans be needed at all?
Can AI replicate your gestalt?
Is our gestalt worth trusting normally anyway?
Why do we see so many paramedics using the career as a steppingstone to other careers, I certainly viewed it this way when I was a paramedic
Eddie talks about starting in EMS because he knew it was the right thing to do. It feels like that is getting lost due to the softening of medicine. Becoming a paramedic was harder, the barrier to entry was harder. Have we lost our pride in this being a career rather than a job?
I remember having a lot of accountability from my peers when I was a new paramedic. I had some level of fear that I would be criticized by other crews and physicians if I didn’t perform well
Is part of the difference a lack of feedback from peers and physicians?
Has EMS gotten too soft?
Casey wonders if we are not putting enough emphasis on accountability to our peers because of fear of offending people
We talk about how much fear there used to be of the medical directors. But the environment has changed positively in a lot of ways as we learn and grow from mistakes more than getting punished for them
We talk about being a new EMT, being cocky
Where are the people that want to stay as a paramedic as a career? Not everyone is cut out to make it a long-term career
Some people get stuck in EMS, Eddie and Casey were more intentional about choosing it as their life
For some people it’s a job, for some it’s a life
How we present ourselves to the patient is important, we have limited time to make an impression and gain their trust
EMS has had periods where different services have just needed “butts in seats” and maybe this led to decreased expectations
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.
1st Phorm | The Foundation of High Performance Nutrition
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.
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