Medical Author Chat

A new episode finally dropped on the Medical Author Chat. I talked to Clif Castelman about his book, the Comprehensive Guide to Wilderness First Aid.

Early in the month I also issued a 12 n’ 12 Reading Challenge. Can you read 12 books, one per month, in 2012?

Western Pennsylvania Hospital News

The Western PA Hospital News is a newspaper. As in an actually printed on paper reading device. In Issue No. 11 I contributed an article titled “Using Social Media as a Recruiting and Listening Tool.” The article can also be found online at wphospitalnews.com, page 28.

CentreLearn Blog

I am looking forward to presenting two sessions at EMS Today on Thursday, March 1. Find out more about the sessions and my EMS Today plans.

We also announced a new course on Understanding Excited Delirium in January.

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Paramedics and educators Buck Feris and Steve Cole contributed an excellent article about hyperglycemia in acutely ill patients to the CentreLearn blog. Check it out.

The complexity of the question that led to this article gave me hope that there are paramedics that desire more knowledge, rather than paramedics that decline new knowledge.

Read related posts and tips:

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Take the Seizure Smart Quiz during National Epilepsy Awareness Month

Test your seizure and epilepsy knowledge with the seizure smart quiz.

You can also take a free online training seizure awareness training program from the Epilepsy Foundation.

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EMS1.com

Does Pranking Belong in EMS? I am not sure it belongs anywhere. How do you feel about pranking?

EMT Class is Like a Marathon. Marathon running can be a metaphor for just about anything.

Blog.CentreLearn.com

Guest Post Welcome – guidelines and instructions

New Portfolio: Emergency Management Institute Professional Development Series. We also have a portfolio for the NIMS/ICS courses

Medical Author Chat

Do you know of any books about EMS in Latin or South America? A reader is looking for title suggestions.

Short review of Seth Godin’s book We are All Weird.

Paramedic, speaker, humorist, and cartoonist Steve Berry has a new book, the Lighter Side of EMS.

Closing Photo

My Kindle Fire arrived just before the Thanksgiving Holiday. I love it!

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Blog.CentreLearn.com – My day job is being the Director of Education for CentreLearn Solutions. I add about two posts a week to the CentreLearn blog and manage our social media accounts.

Top Questions about CL Courses for Firefighters, Paramedics, and EMTs

Build your own Online Training Content

FDA Drug Safety Communication on Zofran – this article was contributed by paramedic Steve Cole. It is packed with information.

Medical Author Chat – on the EMSBlogs.com network I host the Medical Author Chat podcasts. Episodes are infrequent. When I can I also add posts related to my enjoyment of reading and writing.

Interview with Dr. Benjamin Luft about We’re Not Leaving about the initial and long-term response at the World Trade Center on 9/11.

My review of We’re Not Leaving.

Recent reads and news will bring you up to speed on my late summer and early fall reading list. I also announce taking the tablet plunge and pre-ordering an Amazon Kindle Fire.

EMS1.com

How are you doing in EMT Class? Use the ideas in this article to assess your progress. Self Assessment: Tracking Your Progress in EMT Class.

A new Everyday EMS Tip at EMS1.com on using Slideshare for EMS.

EMSEduCast

Rob Theriault and I helped Bill Toon by presenting at workshop for Kansas EMS educators. The workshop was repeated on three consecutive days. Rob recorded our 3rd session which was about teaching EMS and technology. You can view our recorded presentation.

PIOSocialMediaTraining.com

Some ideas on how a public safety agency can use an auto responder email campaign.

Loving the Run Blog

I shared my tips for running while on business or leisure travel at the Loving the Run Blog.

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While working on a CE lesson about seizures I was struck by the reality that EMS professionals very rarely see the patient seizing. We usually arrive when the patient is post-ictal. I have seen very few seizures in progress and most of the seizures I have seen were tonic-clonic and not absence seizures.

I visited YouTube, the number two internet search engine, and searched for absence seizures and found this video of a 5 year old. At the request of the video creator I am not able to embed the video so go to YouTube-Absence Seizure now and come right back.

Subtle Signs

If it weren’t for the annotations added to the video I am not sure I would have recognized the seizure signs. The signs are very subtle – swallowing, hair tugging, stopping purposeful activity, and not responding to the adult. Then the seizure ends and the child quickly resumes her previous activities.

Concerned Mom

Can you hear the concern in mom’s voice? I sure can. It made me think of all the times I have been called to assess a “sick” child and found a child that was anything but sick. On so many of those occasions mom apologizes or you can still hear the fear and worry in her voice, but there is nothing there to support the concern. This video is a good reminder that mom usually worries for a reason – something bad happened that was abnormal.

Could be a Lot Worse

A lot of what if’s arrive from this video … what if the child had been under water when she had the seizure or walking across the street or riding her bike or climbing the stairs. An absence seizure could potentially precipitate a traumatic injury.

Learn More

This video also reminds me of how complex seizures are and relative to that complexity I really now. The Epilepsy Foundation has been distributing a free continuing education lesson on EMS Response to Patients with Seizures that has been getting a great response from EMS.

Using Videos for Simulation Education

At the NAEMSE Symposium educator Twink Dalton shared a great tip. She posts pictures on the screen above the high fidelity patient simulator to help put the EMS professionals into the environment, understand the mechanism, or see things on the patient’s skin that can’t be simulated. Use a video like this to have a class discussion about absence seizures, assessing a pediatric patient, or preface a pediatric patient simulation.

Another Absence Seizure Video

Also from YouTube. It is not normal for a toddler to lay still when a camera is in her face. As you watch this video look for subtle signs and then try to pinpoint the moment when the seizure breaks. I think it happens a few moments before the adult starts talking. What do you think?

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I also write posts frequently at Blog.CentreLearn.com, the blog of CentreLearn Solutions, LLC where I am the director of education. A few of my favorites from September on the CentreLearn blog:

New online training courses for EMTs, Paramedics, and Firefighters

Kinds words from the Epilepsy Foundation

CentreLearn Morning Mug and PowerPoint Design Tips

Test Security Features in the CentreLearn learning management system

The EMSEduCast – the podcast by and for EMS educators – posted several new episodes in September including two episodes recorded at EMS World Expo. On the EMSEduCast I am joined by co-hosts Rob Theriault and Bill Toon. Check out these recent episodes:

Understanding the Power of Words when setting expectations and achieving goals

Updating education programs and test items to the AHA 2010 ECC guidelines and the new EMS Scope of Practice model

Episode 113 and Episode 114 from EMS World Expo 2011

It has been a quiet couple of months at the Medical Author Chat podcast. I haven’t done a new episode since July. Time to round up some authors and record some new episodes.

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Last week is still a blur to me. I arrived Monday night and left Friday afternoon and felt rushed for time from the moment I arrived until the moment I left. My schedule was packed with meetings, social events, and presentations. The one thing I didn’t schedule and now regret not scheduling was time to tour the exhibit hall. Although I wore a path from the front door to the CentreLearn booth and the ProMed Network Podcasting Studio I only managed to see about 50% of the exhibit hall. On my quick lap through a portion of the hall I was able to make several important face to face connections including, Alexis at Magnum Boots USA and Ruth from Rip Shears.

I also was grateful to receive product samples from:

• Klenz – makers of the XXL Shower in a Towel (Read a review by the Social Medic
• Glucobrands – grip, rip, and sip Gluco Gel in a conveinent rip to open pouch
• EKG Concepts – now distributing two new education tools the R-CAT-12 for STEMI and R-CAT for Arrhythmias

The acquisition I was most proud to receive was this CREW t-shirt from the First Responders Network.

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July has been a hot one for me. First a week of blazing heat and humidity in Central Wisconsin and then a week of constant heat and humidity in Miami. Here are some of my favorite posts from outside the service area:

This MSNBC.com article about a PICU nurse that committed suicide a few months after she made and reported a medication dosage error continues to haunt me. Any of us could make a mistake that could have significant consequences. Fortunately our culture is evolving to encourage reporting of and learning from near misses and to support healthcare providers that make and report significant mistakes. I am sure there is more to this story than what is written in the article, but the impact on the patient, the nurse, and their friends and families is dramatic and ongoing.

The Droid Medic shared 5 Must Have Mobile Resources for EMS professionals. He includes the mobile sites for some of the most popular EMS websites like JEMS and EMS1.com.

The Droid Medic also has a nice post about managing multiple social media accounts using 3rd party apps like HootSuite – also one of my favorites.

At the start of July (really the end of June) the Happy Medic wrote an excellent review of the Rip Shears, a product we have featured here as well. I keep getting solid reports about Rip Shears from EMS professionals that use them.

Dr. V. at 33 Charts wrote a nice piece about purple hair. As you read his post replace “doctor” with “paramedic.”

Congratulations to Mary Catlin Kelly, winner of the EMS Newbie contest. She won an all-expenses paid trip to EMS World Expo. I was honored to be a first round judge for the contest and was very impressed with the essays I scored.

I had a chance to catch up my magazine pile when I had a Monday with no power from 0800 to 1700. I know it sounds like a dream come true except the house was heating up rapidly and I was fretting about my icebox. All was well once the power was restored.

Finally, you can live a day with Dave, the Social Medic, as he takes you on his Tour De Breuvage. I got a sugar and caffeine buzz just from reading his post.

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A reader asked, “I would like to know more about capnography.”

1)      Capnography for paramedics blog,

2)     Capnography, King of the ABCs: A Systematic Approach for Paramedics’ by Troy Valente

3)      Capnography Made Easy training course from Physio-control University. Physio-control university also has free industry education events. Several are related to capnography.

4)      Introduction to Capnography continuing education lesson on RapidCE.com

5)      EMS1.com article about Capnography

6)      EMS World article about capnography

7)      10 things every paramedic should know about capnography on the MedicScribe blog

8)      The Power of Capnography to Guide Respiratory Care from EMSWorld.com

9)      Capnography as a Clinical Tool from EMS World.com

10)   Remember Two Things: Invasive Capnography video on EMS1.com from paramedic educator Steve Whitehead

11)   Innovations in Patient Care podcast Part 1 and Part 2 featuring Peter Canning and Tom Bouthillet

12) What is capnography video on EMS1.com featuring Bob Page

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