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

Practical EMS

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.

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Full show notes can be found here: Episodes - Practical EMS - Content for EMTs, PAs, Paramedics
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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.