Show Notes
The concept of emphasizing, discussing, and training on giving prehospital death notification is, unfortunately for medics and our patient's families, a relatively new concept. Additionally, newer evidence shows that an increased frequency of fatality exposure increases EMS burnout rates. So...everyone wins by an increased focus on improving our skills and comfort with telling families that their loved ones have died. We were initially leery of doing an episode on death notification as The Medic Mindset podcast recently hit a home run on this topic recently. But, after educating over 500 EMS professionals, Dr. Dickson and I learned some valuable lessons from our crews that we felt were worth sharing. Enjoy!
REFERENCES 1. https://medicmindset.com/2023/01/09/death-notification-choreography/
2. Hobgood C, Mathew D, Woodyard DJ, et al. Death in the field: teaching paramedics to deliver effective death notifications using the educational intervention "GRIEV_ING". Prehosp Emerg Care. 2013 Oct-Dec;17(4):501-10.
3. Campos A, Ernest EV, Cash RE, et al. The Association of Death Notification and Related Training with Burnout among Emergency Medical Services Professionals. Prehosp Emerg Care. 2021 Jul-Aug;25(4):539-548.
4. Toy J. Family-Witnessed Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation during Emergency Department Cardiac Arrest Care: A Resident Perspective. Ann Emerg Med. 2023 Feb 23:S0196-0644(23)00041-0.
More from MCHD Paramedic Podcast
MCHD recently introduced ODT olanzapine to treat mild agitation in the field. Emergency pharmacist Kevin Mercer joins the podcast to discuss the medication’s pharmacologic foundations. How does it work? Who gets it and who doesn't? And why Olanzapine in the first place?
We're going to take our "Serial Killers" series and continue into the transition from the ambulance to the emergency department. What happens to the patient with shortness of breath once the ER doctor takes over? How does the workup advance? What imaging is ordered? What labs? Join us to discuss the "next 30 minutes" for the serial killer dyspneic patient.
We're going to take our "Serial Killers" series and continue into the transition from the ambulance to the emergency department. What happens to the patient with an altered patient once the ER doctor takes over? How does the workup advance? What imaging is ordered? What labs? Join us to discuss the "next 30 minutes" for the serial killer AMS patient.
We recently made some cervical spine immobilization protocol changes here at MCHD. Dr. Patrick and Dr. DePasquale discuss the history and literature that provide the foundation for rigid cervical collar use, along with the new MCHD protocol implementation. This has been a collaborative process with our local hospital partners, which has definitely involved give-and-take on both sides.
Drs. Geoff Comp and Jerry Snow join the podcast to discuss their recent paper describing their experience treating undifferentiated heatstroke in Phoenix with cold water immersion. Their protocol mirrors ours here in Montgomery County. Heatstroke is a time-sensitive emergency, and the rate of cooling directly correlates with mortality reduction. Learn how to implement CWI in your service. It's the best of all worlds: inexpensive, impactful, and applies to all EMS clinician levels.