Presentation Topics

10 Common Leadership Mistakes and how to fix them

Description: What is the difference between a leader and a manager? What are some common mistakes leaders make? This session will discuss common leadership mistakes such as being too friendly, avoiding conflict, not providing feedback and many more. Through lecture, open discussion and video, let’s learn, together, how to be better leaders.

 

Slaughtering Sacred Cows: It’s time to STOP!
Description: A “sacred cow” is an idea, custom, or institution held, especially unreasonably. Let’s chat about a few big practices/beliefs we hold in EMS that need to stop. Are we willing to change, or will we
hold on to these customs despite evidence they don’t work?

 

EMS according to Seinfeld: a presentation about nothing.
Description: I went to a conference, yada, yada, yada, I learned some great stuff and had fun. Let’s use one of the best TV shows in history to delve into the EMS Bizarro world, where we discuss how things would look if we did the opposite of what we are doing now. We will then talk about trauma and fusilli Jerry. We will then do some EMS trivia where the card will say “Moops.”

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Rules, laws, and Principles for the EMS Provider
Description: An eponym is a person after whom a discovery, invention, place, or law is named. This session we will introduce and discuss various laws and principles and how they effect medicine. This unique presentation covers everything from equipment choices to leadership and a bunch of stuff in between. Join us and meet people like Murphy, Peter, Hick and Goodhart.
 

Sex Matters: Your care may endanger your female patients.
Description: Historically, in medicine, what we know, and how we practice has mostly been led by men. Due to normal human bias, this has led to a very male-centric model of medicine. Did you know most medical research does not involve female participants, particularly including new drugs? Come learn how these biases have led to missed diagnoses and inappropriate treatment and how to avoid them while treating your next female patient.

 

STEMI is OUT: OMI is where the cool kids hang!
Description: Since 1996, the term STEMI is how we guided our treatment and transport decisions. Twenty-three years is a LONG time without change! Best practice currently is to know when STEMI
criteria isn't enough. If you want to take your 12-lead game to a new level, attend this session and learn to be a 12-lead ninja.

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You take my breath away: Pediatric Respiratory Emergencies
Description: Responding to pediatric emergencies is one of the most stressful calls in EMS. Many pediatric patients succumb to respiratory issues. During this presentation we will explore some common
pediatric illnesses like RSV, Croup, epiglottis, and asthma. We will then discuss pediatric airway management. After this session, you will feel more confident and empowered to deal with your next pediatric respiratory distress call.

 

Normalization of Deviance: How shortcuts become big mistakes
Description: Have you ever skipped the truck check? How about taking shortcuts to save work? Have you noticed small deviations from policy, or best practices get ignored? Do you know what happens then? Those deviations become the norm. Let’s talk about normalization of deviance and how to stop this from happening.

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CVA: There’s an App for that!
Description: Is there anything we can do for a Stroke patient, prehospitally? Maybe. This session will be a review of CVA signs, symptoms and pathophysiology. After a quick review we will talk about what’s
new and how it changes our assessment for Stroke patients. Oh yeah, and there’s an app for that. NCCR

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Cardiac Arrest: We aren’t as good as we think!
Description: How well do you and your crew perform during a Cardiac Arrest? Really well, right? If we look at national survival numbers.... it isn’t pretty. This session will review common mistakes prior too, during and after cardiac arrest. We will learn from these mistakes and make strategies to fight them before they happen.

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Often Wrong, never in doubt: Cognitive Errors (Keynote/Break-out)
Description: Have you ever had a call go completely sideways? Ever missed an obvious diagnosis or injury? Why do these things continue to happen to us in EMS? Maybe it is our own mind causing the issues. This session will look at common errors in thinking which prevent us from providing the best care we can.

 

Oops! Pain Assessment and Treatment: How/Why we’re getting it wrong.
Description: Is the 1-10 pain scale helpful in assessing pain? What about using the patient’s vital signs to determine their pain level? During this class, we will tackle some not-so-well accepted topics such as
why paramedics do not treat pain, what hurdles permit us from treating pain, how we assess pain and why it needs to change. NCCR

 

SALT Triage: Are you prepared to triage dozens or hundreds of patients?
Description: Is your current EMS system utilizing SALT triage? Should it be? In this class we will introduce and discuss the merits of the SALT triage system and what your EMS system needs in place in order to utilize it correctly. We will even end with a triage drill!
 

Resuscitation Thunderdome: Two men enter, one-man leaves (co-presenter Kelly Grayson)
Description: In this session, Kelly and I will “discuss”, maybe argue, or even fight, about various controversies in current cardiac arrest care including intubation vs extra-glottic devices, epinephrine vs no epinephrine and manual vs mechanical CPR. NCCR
 

NOT your normal MCI: Active Threats and EMS in the Warm Zone (90-120 minutes)
Description: Active/Mass shooting events are, unfortunately, too common. First Responders must know what to expect when responding to these events and how to ensure you stop the dying. Taking the concepts taught in a DHS and FEMA approved course called Active Threat Integrated Response Course, we will review how to operate in a Warm Zone and how we can’t treat these events like any other MCI.
 

Sorry Hippocrates, our bad!
Description: We all know the golden rule of medicine: DO NO HARM. But do we all know; we are ignoring that rule each and every day? This session will discuss common mistakes and complacencies we do on every call and how those may cause harm. These mistakes include seat belt usage, cleanliness of the ambulance and lights and sirens. This class can count toward NCCR hours such as EMS Provider Hygiene, Safety and Vaccinations and Ambulance Safety
 

Save the Trauma for your Mama
Description: Let’s talk trauma, shall we? We will start by discussing the physiology of trauma. Then we will break things down into blunt and penetrating mechanisms. We will chat about mechanism, kinetics,
injury patterns and management. And, of course, we will have pictures, pictures, pictures. NCCP

 

From EMTs to Medics, let’s get comfortable with Capnography
Description: Do you have capnography in your practice? If not, it may be coming soon. If so, everyone needs a review. This class will use EMS cases to review the uses, strengths and common pitfalls with Capnography. Remember: It's about perfusion as much as respirations. NCCR

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Crush Injury: What’s all the fuss about?
Description: Crush injury, why do I need to know that? It only happens after earthquakes right? We just get them to the ambulance and go right? During this presentation we will define crush injury and discuss the pathophysiology of crush injury. We will then discuss best-practice treatment including ECG changes, fluids and meds.
 

All I need to know about EMS, I learned from my Dogs (Keynote or general session)
Description: This class is for the dogs. During this session, we will use lecture and discussion to dissect complacency in EMS that may have grave results. Let’s use the lives of Chaca, Arlo, Louis, Maeve and Seamus to cover important EMS topics such as fatigue mitigation, seatbelt usage, interpersonal relations and training.
 

“We’re gonna go with the Leaches” (Keynote or break-out)
Description: How good are you at CPR? BVM ventilation? This class will take a tough look at our current EMS practice, how we measure our performance and how we can improve our skills and provide better
care for our patients.
 

Slippery When Wet: Caring for a Newly born
Description: Are you ready to deliver a baby? Most of us can handle birth, but what about dealing with a newborn until we get to the hospital? What is the newborn isn't doing well. This session will cover basic and advanced care for the treatment of a newly-born child. We will discuss assessment and management of healthy and sick children immediately after birth. NCCR

 

Good enough, isn’t! (Keynote or break-out session)
Description: Do you want to be “good enough”, or do you want to be the example everyone follows? This session will tackle some issues we don’t like to discuss in EMS: Mistakes, training discipline, pride
and peer-pressure.

 

Too Hot to Handle: Stress Reaction & Reduction During Emergencies
Description: This is not a course about PTSD. This Course will discuss common physical and psychological reactions to stressful incidents. We will then discuss tried and true common strategies used by police, military and NASA personnel to reduce stress and perform optimally. Lastly, we will
discuss how to train properly to prepare ourselves to deal with performing under stress.

 

“Basic” 12 Lead ECG Interpretation
Description: Ever want to know how to “Read that 12 Lead”? This course will discuss basic12 Lead ECG interpretation. This course is ideal for EMTs and AEMTs that want to learn how to interpret a STEMI on a 12 Lead ECG and for paramedics who want a quick brush-up review of basic 12 Lead ECG interpretation. NCCR

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“Advanced” 12 Lead ECG
Description: How are your 12 Lead Interpretation skills? This class will discuss and clarify common myths such as right-sided MI vs inferior MI. We will also discuss posterior wall MI, Left Coronary Dominance, Wellen’s syndrome and others. NCCR

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Research & staying current: It’s not as boring as you think
Description: In this session, will discuss EMS research and its importance in advancing our profession. We will then discuss various methods of finding medical education and research and their advantages and disadvantages, including: Podcasts, websites, conferences, journals and text books. This will count toward the mandatory Role of Research training for the NCCR.

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Post-Resuscitation Care: Changing the Paradigm
Description: “What do you do when you get pulses back on your cardiac arrest patient?” “Why is it we get the patient “back” but they still die?” “Once we get the patient back, our job is done.” Have you heard these comments and questions often? This presentation will discuss EMS’ role in post resuscitation care and how, what we do after we get ROSC, can play a direct role in patient outcome.
NCCR

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Ventilation 101: Better patient care for all providers
Description: How good are your BVM skills? Maybe, not as good as you think. This class will discuss the assessment and management of the airway. We will cover common pitfalls in airway management and various methods and devices used to better control the patient’s airway and ventilation. NCCR
 

Fluid Resuscitation: Stop the Madness!
Description: The truth is out there, and the truth is, we are HURTING people. Especially trauma patients. This Class will discuss the deadly triad in trauma care and common pitfalls with prehospital fluids. We will then discuss better methods we can use to improve outcomes. NCCR

 

One Pill, One Kill: Deadly Pediatric Poisonings
Description: “But, she only got into 1-2 pills. Is that bad?” This Course will discuss common household products and prescription drugs that can be fatal to a small child even with a single dose. We will also discuss pediatric physiology and what makes them more susceptible to poisoning. NCCR

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There Will be Blood
Description: This course counts toward the national hours requirement for Hemorrhage control. We will
review hemorrhage, shock and the assessment and management of a patient bleeding. We will then
review current and future trends available for hemorrhage control.

 

Toxicology Terrors: WINNING at treating Tox patients
Description: This course will discuss ways to identify poisonings and overdoses. Using particular signs and symptoms, the student will learn how to diagnose and treat common and uncommon toxicology emergencies such as Sympathomimetics, Choinergics, Anticholinergics and more. NCCR

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Monday Morning Quarterback: Call Documentation/Review
Description: How is your documentation? Would it stand up to an expert medical witness? Does it make sense when someone else reads it? Does it pass the litmus test? This session will use actual EMS run reports to discuss common mistakes in EMS documentation. We will also discuss some pitfalls in use of electronically importing vital signs.

 

The Old and the Beautiful: Geriatrics 102
Description: Patients older than 65 make up the majority of EMS calls. How good are you at treating your geriatric patient? This session will discuss common geriatric issues seen by EMS providers and the myths and misconceptions surrounding the care of a geriatric patient. NCCR

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Agitated & Combative Patients
Description: This class will discuss the pathophysiology of Excited Delirium Syndrome. We will also discuss restraint methods in dealing with the ExDS patient and how-to best document the use of restraints for a combative patient. NCCR

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Blood Sugar Problems: Ain’t Nobody Got Time for That!
Description: This course will review the causes of Diabetes, DKA and HHS and will review the assessment, management and latest treatment modalities regarding Hypo and Hyperglycemia. NCCR

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What if We’re Wrong: EMS Trends, Fads & Dogma (Keynote or general session)
Descriptions: “Why do things have to change?” This course will discuss various old, present and new/future EMS practices. We will then discuss how research can help us determine which practices to stick with, abandon and why change is a good thing. NCCR

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Seizures 101: What’s New?
Descriptions: Do you know what kind of seizure your patient is having? How do you describe it to the ER staff? This class will discuss new changes to seizure terminology. We will use videos and discussion to clarify types of seizures and at-home treatments EMS providers may see. NCCR

 

Thinking Outside the box: Obstetrics
Description: Obstetrical Emergencies are rarely seen by EMS providers, which means it is imperative that we review and understand these cases. This class will review OB emergencies such as placenta previa, abruption and accreta, to name a few. NCCR

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Half-baked: Burn Injury Review
Description: How comfortable are you treating patients with a burn injury? This class will review and discuss current assessment, management and treatment of thermal, electrical and chemical burns.

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The 90’s called: They want their intubation back!
Description: In this course we will discuss recent updates in advanced airway management including preparation, positioning, and better intubation technique. We will also discuss the differences in using
direct laryngoscopy vs video laryngoscopy. NCCR

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Anaphylaxis Update: What’s changed?
Description: This class will review the pathophysiology of allergic reactions and anaphylaxis. We will then describe best-practice guidelines on the assessment and management of patients with anaphylaxis.
NCCR

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Turn up the Heat: Cold-Weather Emergencies
Description: Warm-climate, or cold, any of us could suddenly have a patient with a cold-related emergency. This class will discuss the physiology of heat loss and gain and the pathophysiology of cold-related emergencies such as hypothermia, frost bite and trenchfoot.

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Airway/Ventilation Practice
Description: This precon will review and correct common pitfalls when managing a patient's airway. We will discuss, then practice various airway skills such as better BMV techniques, proper patient positioning. We will then cover an introduction to Extra glottic devices.

15-20 Minute (.25 Hour Classes)
-Improve your ventilation technique
-Tourniquet Pearls
-GCS Review
-CHART Documentation Method
-SALT Triage method overview
-Valsalva Maneuvers
-Intro to Podcasts: How to find the app and use it
-Better Chest Decompression Needles

-Push-dose epi