Medic Mindset

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.  

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

Natalie is a paramedic and friend. We recorded this while she was working for Grady EMS and trying to get into medical school in 2019. Check out this pre-pandemic time capsule episode and find out where she is now.  Follow Natalie on Twitter.  Show notes. 

Critical care and flight medic, Jace Mullen and Ginger discuss all things medical and rock climbing. Topics include: The Principle of Charity in arguments, why code-switching is an essential skill of paramedics, how to be a good re-tweeter, what still scares him, how he decided to transition out of urban 911 to critical care/flight medicine and what it was like to get COVID during the first months of the pandemic. Shownotes at medicmindset.com

Shownotes at https://medicmindset.com/2021/09/11/thinking-pediatric-respiratory/ After seeing Dr. Joelle Donofrio-Odmann's talk in Prodigy EMS' free Refresh 2021, I knew Medic Mindset listeners needed to hear from her. She is an Associate Professor of Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine and an EMS Associate Medical Director in San Diego, CA. In this episode of The Thinking Series, she shares her passion and expertise on the topic of Pediatric Respiratory Distress. She covers how she uses the pediatric assessment triangle to stratify patients and how she thinks about the diseases of the upper and lower airways (and the ones that don't fit neatly in either). Other topics include epinephrine in anaphylaxis, ketamine in asthma, and bulb syringes for clearing secretions causes airway obstructions. Listeners also get to hear a cameo visit from Dr. Peter Antevy from the "In the Zone. The Antevy Zone" episode.

What do the greats of EMS read? EM Physician and EMS educator, Dr. Maia Dorsett shares what, when and how she reads.

What do the greats of EMS read? Paramedic Michael Herbert shares what, when and how he reads.

What do the greats of EMS read? Flight Nurse Nyssa Hattaway shares what, when and how she reads.

What's the one book you'd recommend to a brand new paramedic? 3 guests answer this one question. The guests are: Flight Nurse, Nyssa Hattaway. Paramedic, Michael Herbert. EM Physician, Dr. Maia Dorsett.

Dr. Maia Dorsett @maiadorsett discusses how she thinks about the Lift Assist patient. Show notes  Get FREE CE for listening to the episode and taking a short quiz at prodigyems.com

How do we let each other know that a fellow medic has died? The guest in this episode, Christa Stedman, is a Public Information Officer (PIO) for Austin-Travis County EMS. Together, we sort through her thought-process about delivering tragic news. Shownotes at Medic Mindset

So thrilled to have Dr. Heidi Abraham as a guest in The Thinking Series. She discusses causes of bradycardia and the mindset needed to approach patients who are bradycardic.

Dr. Jason Pickett from the Austin-Travis County Office of the Medical Director podcast takes over Medic Mindset. He discusses fear and leadership in the context of COVID-19. Follow Medic Mindset on: twitter, facebook, instagram.

Shownotes at medicmindset.com In reference to how he collaborates with 911-callers to put order to chaos: "It's like trying to jump on a moving train. You're not trying to stop the train or divert it, because the train has gotta go where the train's gotta go. You are just trying to get on it. And if you can get on the train... If you can get in... If you can insert yourself with them... then you can start exercising your influence on the controls."

Ginger had the honor of sitting down with one of the EMS greats, Mike Taigman. He was in Austin for ESO's Wave 2020 conference. ESO was generous enough to allow Medic Mindset the opportunity to record Mike's session called, "Managing Stress Like A Boss" and gave them a space during a very busy conference to record an interview.

The Mixtape Series features 3 anonymous paramedics who answer the same question. In this episode, Ginger asks, "What do you remember about your first ridealong?" Take a listen to their responses and see how some themes repeat. medicmindset.com for show notes @gingerlockeatx and @medicmindset on twitter

Dr. Jason Pickett and Ginger discuss the topic of Shortness of Breath. They discuss the assessment, differential diagnosis and therapeutic interventions related to the chief complaint. They work their way down the respiratory tree, thinking aloud as they go. Throw in a couple of case studies and you've got some delicious brain-nuggets for paramedic students everywhere. Full show notes at medicmindset.com Follow Medic Mindset on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. 

In this microsode, listeners hear one of the questions Ginger Locke asked of a panel of 4 Texas EMS Medical Directors at the Texas EMS Conference. Panelists included: Drs. Heidi Abraham, Jeff Jarvis, Taylor Ratcliff, and Jason Pickett. If you’d like to hear the full panel discussion, you can find that at EMS Lighthouse Project Podcast. Shownotes 

This episode felt like some of the first episodes of Medic Mindset. I had a few things on my mind that I wanted to ask him but we also just let the conversation ebb and flow wherever it pleased for an hour. The purpose in sitting down together was to discuss his performance in the EMS World clinical challenge but we ended up talking about all kinds of things like career longevity and advice he would give new medics. His name is Andrew Azelton and he has been in EMS for 18 years and you will hopefully hear what I heard in his voice. He was engaged and happy to talk shop and he seemed just generally peaceful and happy in his work and life. I left the conversation with more energy than when we started and I hope he will have that effect on you as well.  Shownotes at medicmindset.com Follow Medic Mindset on Twitter Facebook Instagram

Ginger talks to Dr. Ben Abo. He is a paramedic and EMS physician. He’s been on the Ted stage. He’s the medical director for Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s Venom response teams. He’s a fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. He’s saved a stranger who collapsed on train tracks. He’s an international man of mystery and in this episode, we will talk about none of that. Instead, Ginger reached out to him because she wanted to make an episode about the use of humor in emergency medicine. Ever since the first day she saw a picture of him in scrubs in the ER talking on a banana phone, she knew he would be the one to teach us what I need to know about when, where and how to use humor in medicine.