The EMS Educator

Recorded live from EMS World Expo 2026 in Orlando, this episode asks a simple question: where do you find joy in a job that isn’t always joyful? Rob Lawrence, Hilary Gates and Maia Dorsett sit down with Chris Kroboth of Lifeline EMS Training and Consulting. Chris is a fire captain and longtime educator who advocates leading people rather than leaning on rank. Chris argues that leadership is an ability, not a title, and shares how he builds ownership in his crews, from letting them run the assessments and debriefing as a team to a station “word of the day” and sitting down with your team to talk about life. Maia also segues into Kim Scott’s Radical Candor and its unforgettable toilet-paper-on-the-shoe example, exploring the ways to provide feedback that shows you genuinely care. Listen, then ask yourself: what brings you joy in this work?Plus, congratulations to Prodigy's own Ginger Locke, EMS Educator of the Year. Mentioned in the episode:https://www.radicalcandor.com/Ginger Locke highlights the episode's key points with her "Mindset Minute."The EMS Educator is published on the first Friday of every month! Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can listen as soon as the episode drops, and like/follow us on your favorite platform.Get your CE at www.prodigyems.comFollow @ProdigyEMS on FB, YouTube, TikTok & IG.

What if distance was always a clinical variable, right alongside heart rate and blood pressure? On this episode of The EMS Educator Podcast, host Hilary Gates and co-host Rob Lawrence sit down with two seasoned leaders in austere and frontier EMS: Tracey Loscar, deputy director of the Mat-Su Borough Department of Emergency Services in Alaska, and TJ Bishop, interim chief administrator for San Juan Island EMS in Washington State. Tracey and TJ dig into why rural systems demand a different training model, one built on closing feedback loops, teaching situational awareness and clinical gestalt, and distinguishing competency from fluency. They describe how they've redesigned field training, onboarding, and scenario-based education around each system's highest-risk, lowest-frequency calls, and why mentorship and cross-agency learning are essential for developing confident, independent-thinking clinicians in resource-limited settings.Ginger Locke highlights the episode's key points with her "Mindset Minute."Mentioned in the episode:"Same Stakes, Fewer Reps: Decision-Making in Low-Volume EMS"https://www.hmpgloballearningnetwork.com/site/emsworld/feature/same-stakes-fewer-reps-decision-making-low-volume-ems"EMS in the Ash Zone" https://www.ems1.com/disaster-management/ems-in-the-ash-zone-alaskas-mount-spurr-and-the-volcanic-challengeThe EMS Educator is published on the first Friday of every month! Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can listen as soon as the episode drops, and like/follow us on your favorite platform.Get your CE at www.prodigyems.com  Follow @ProdigyEMS on FB, YouTube, TikTok & IG.

The clinical elements of an EMS program are vast and complicated but essential.  What can a clinical coordinator do to help students succeed? Hosts Maia Dorsett and Hilary Gates sit down with Michael Miller, EdD, RN, NRP, Associate Director, Committee on Accreditation of Educational Programs for the EMS Professions (CoAEMSP) and Tim "Hutch" Hutchings, EMT-P, Clinical Coordinator, Monroe Community College Paramedic Program, to unpack the sometimes invisible role of the clinical coordinator. Mike presents the CoAEMSP accreditation standards and the four core clinical coordinator responsibilities, while Hutch shares hard-won, real-world strategies for building trust with students and preceptors alike. Together they explore what separates good clinical coordination from great, why relationships matter more than spreadsheets, common barriers faced by EMS programs, and creative solutions for ensuring quality clinical placements. A must-listen for program directors, educators, and anyone coordinating clinical experiences in EMS education.Ginger Locke highlights the episode's key points with her "Mindset Minute."Mentioned in the episode:CoAEMSP INTERPRETATIONS OF THE CAAHEP 2023 STANDARDS AND GUIDELINEShttps://coaemsp.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Interpretations-of-the-2023-CAAHEP-Standards.pdfThe EMS Educator is published on the first Friday of every month! Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can listen as soon as the episode drops, and like/follow us on your favorite platform.Check out the Prodigy EMS Bounty Program! Earn $1000 for your best talks!Get your CE at www.prodigyems.com. Follow @ProdigyEMS on FB, YouTube, TikTok & IG.

Remediation is a word that can strike fear into the hearts of learners and educators alike — but does it have to? Hear from Drs. Ryan Batenhorst and Heather Davis, two veteran EMS educators, as they unpack what remediation really means and how programs can approach it with more compassion and less stigma. Hosts Hilary Gates and Ginger Locke dive into Ryan's research on paramedic students' post-traumatic stress symptoms and how it reshaped his understanding of clinical rotation stress. Heather asks us to consider the striking etymology of the word "remediation," reframing the concept as taking appropriate measure rather than assigning blame. Together they explore how to tell the difference between a learner issue, a preceptor issue, and an environmental issue — and why proactive, preventative support leads to better outcomes. A must-listen for anyone who wants their program's rigor to build learners up, not tear them down.Rob Lawrence provides the "Rob Recap."Mentioned in the episode:"What Happened to You?" https://bookshop.org/p/books/what-happened-to-you-conversations-on-trauma-resilience-and-healing-bruce-d-perry/13381a9ac2577776?ean=9781250223180&source=aw&sv1=affiliate&sv_campaign_id=1264447&utm_source=awin&utm_medium=Affiliate&utm_campaign=1264447&utm_term=0&sscid=92005_1783098987_ddf9c57510e5df2ddb9fa6a17f833906&awc=92005_1783098987_ddf9c57510e5df2ddb9fa6a17f833906Ryan Batenhorst Publications: https://www.creighton.edu/campus-directory/ryan-batenhorstThe EMS Educator is published on the first Friday of every month! Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can listen as soon as the episode drops, and like/follow us on your favorite platform.Check out the Prodigy EMS Bounty Program! Earn $1000 for your best talks!  https://www.prodigyems.com/bounty-programGet your CE at www.prodigyems.com. Follow @ProdigyEMS on FB, YouTube, TikTok & IG.

What is required from both instructors and students to teach and learn clinical judgment? Our EMS profession is a place where right answers are not always cut and dry and grace might be the most important skill in the room.  In this episode, guest Jeff Anderson, Paramedic Program Director at Bossier Parish Community College joins hosts Maia Dorsett, Hilary Gates and Ginger Locke for an honest, humbling conversation about what it really takes to teach clinical judgment. They dig into the gap between what students hear in the classroom and what they absorb in the field, why preceptors and educators can be in tension and how educators can struggle with ego and reactivity. They share real stories from their programs, talk through how they handle their own emotional reactions, and offer practical advice for educators trying to make peace with a profession that doesn't fit neatly into a protocol.  Whether you're a program director, a preceptor, or someone still figuring out how to teach the grey, this one's for you.Rob Lawrence provides the "Rob Recap."Mentioned in the episode:Daniel Kahneman, "Thinking Fast and Slow": https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp/0374533555Pat Croskerry, Clinical Decision Making: https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1303712The EMS Educator is published on the first Friday of every month! Be sure to turn on your notifications so you can listen as soon as the episode drops, and like/follow us on your favorite platform.Check out the Prodigy EMS Bounty Program! Earn $1000 for your best talks!  https://www.prodigyems.com/bounty-programGet your CE at www.prodigyems.com. Follow @ProdigyEMS on FB, YouTube, TikTok & IG.