Inside EMS

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news and events, including violence against EMS providers and the case of a Texas ambulance crew wrecking when the driver fell asleep at the wheel. We’d like to hear your opinion: Is it time to end 48-hour shifts? If you work them and like ...

On this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news and events, including the case of the Aurora FD EMT who was referred to as “the department bicycle” by a Lieutenant on an open mike. On our Guest Table segment, we have Nancy Magee, who counters some of the conventional wisdom about volunteer ...

In this week’s episode, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news and events, and welcome the kickoff of EMS Week 2015. Give us a listen, and be sure to rate us on iTunes.

In this week’s edition of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I welcome Nick Nudell, project manager for the EMS Compass Initiative, which aims to measure meaningful EMS outcomes and performance benchmarks with the aim of establishing industry best practices and standards. Chris and I have discussed the dire need for realistic performance benchmarks in EMS for some time now, ...

There’s a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast. Co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss Texas HB 2020 and SB 1899, two bills that would expand the scope of paramedics to allow them to practice their profession in Texas hospitals, Emergency Departments, and free-standing clinics. Give us a listen and hear more about the bills, and the EMS grassroots advocacy ...

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss reports that Uber drivers have better response times than ambulances in New York and London, and EMS1 Editor Chief Greg Friese’s column, Seven Community Health Services Uber Drivers Could Deliver. We hope Greg’s column was tongue-in-cheek, but it does illustrate he potential for crowd sourced community health ...

… there’s a new episode of the Inside EMS podcast where co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news, and address a listener’s question on whether a separate certification standard should be developed for volunteer EMS. TL;DR version: Not just no, but hell no. On the other hand, much of my opinion on volunteer EMS has changed over ...

On this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I comment on the latest EMS news and events, and discuss the importance of the FTO being a teacher, mentor, and steward of the profession. Bottom line: if your agency’s FTO’s are chosen based upon seniority and protocol compliance instead of teaching ability and attitude, you’re doing it wrong. ...

On this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss Next Generation 911 and the potential for 911 PSAPs (Public Safety Answering Points) to send and receive data such as texts, video and photos. This is something that could really revolutionize EMS and public safety communication. In the news, we discuss the latest in the rash of ...

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news, and take on the myths, urban legends, zebra events and bullshit that become dogma in EMS. Give us a listen, and chime in with your EMS urban legends!

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and myself welcome defensive tactics expert Kip Teitsort to the Guest table, to discuss the recent suspension of two Glendale, AZ firefighters for striking a patient, and how departments can avoid such happenings in the future. Along the way, I piss off a whole bunch of people with my comments ...

Paramedic Greg Turner of Edmonton took his life on-duty on January 26. Last weekend, paramedic Debbie Crawford of Denver Health Paramedics took her life as well, mere hours after working a fatal train vs pedestrian accident. Debbie co-founded and chaired a committee aimed at helping paramedics deal with PTSD and depression, yet for her, even those resources were not enough. ...

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss his five-year plan to implement a mostly BLS system at his agency. While there is no “one size, fits all” solution to EMS system design and optimal staffing configurations, my opinion is that we do not have an EMS shortage in this country. We have too much. ...

In last week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the EMS news, and welcome fitness expert Bryan Fass to the show, where he provides some healthy eating tips aimed at EMS providers. If you’re like me, and struggle (fail, in my case) to maintain a healthy lifestyle while working on an ambulance, these are tips you ...

In this week’s episode of Inside EMS, co-host Chris Cebollero and I discuss the latest EMS news, including the impending strike of Southwest EMS, a Rural Metro subsidiary in Tucson, and an EMS system in Selma Township, MI that is shutting down. In the Clinical Issue, we discuss the value of thorough documentation. Not only do a great many EMS ...