100 | Fire vs ambulance on scenes | How can we get along | Trauma bonding | How to work in EMS long-term | PTSD in EMS | Burnout vs moral injury | Covid affects on EMS

How do we have successful, long careers in EMS?

John recommends living away from where you work, doing unrelated activities outside of work so your life doesn’t revolve around work things

Taking care of someone you know is an odd position to be in, it can mess with your ability to be objective

Jason says we need to have an awareness of how we are feeling and how those around us are feeling, therapy is always a great option, get outside

Those of us in EMS/fire do deal with a level of PTSD

Terry talks about this in his own life, when he broke down and started crying without an obvious reason

PTSD is not a lack of desire to cope nor is it a sign of weakness

Kash talks about burnout vs moral injury

Burnout tends to blame the individual vs moral injury blames the system we work in

I don’t disagree that the systems we work in are imperfect and moral injury exists, but I still like the term burnout because, no one is coming to save us, the responsibility is on the individual to overcome

Burnout can slowly occur to the degree that you don’t even realize right away what is happening

Is burnout inevitable?

Kash says that moral injury is inevitable in some form or another - the important thing is to recognize it and deciding what to do about it, take action

Acute vs chronic burnout requires different solutions as well

Kash recounts the Covid effects on EMS

Terry talks about the ability to acknowledge your struggles and continue to move on and live your life, in spite of them

I asked Jason about his decision to stay a fire paramedic instead of promoting up the chain, he didn’t want to promote just for the money, he would rather have passion for it. He is still very passionate about practicing medicine as a paramedic and enjoys his career as it is

How do we get along on scene when responding with multiple agencies, fire vs private ambulance

Jason talks about how beneficial it has been to see both sides, you can have more compassion for the other side when you see their struggles

Have the right attitude approaching a scene, work to get along with others as best you can despite the strong personalities we all tend to have

Sometimes a short conversation goes a long way. Having ambulance crews stop by the fire station for some food or short hang-out can also dramatically improve your relationship

We tend to assign ill-intent when we don’t know someone, vs good intent when we do know them

It is difficult to fully understand each other’s roles, when you aren’t doing that job on a daily basis, trauma bonding calls can be helpful when you get into th

Support the show

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.