Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast

Welcome to AMPED: The Air Methods Prehospital Education Podcast. Real cases told by the flight clinicians who lived them—not the textbook version. The version where the plan falls apart and you have to decide anyways. Join Dr. Phil Moy, Dr. John Wilmas, and Flight Nurse Nyssa Hathaway every month as they sit down with air medical crews to deconstruct critical calls, examine tough decisions, and ask the question that actually matters: What would you have done? Plus, earn continuing education (CE) credit just for listening. Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and fly safe!

An unstable patient suffering from an aggressive tumor infiltration has failed every single invasive attempt to open her airway, including nasal intubation, oral intubation, and a surgical airway. In short, her airway was described as "hard as tree bark" and she was barely clinging to life thanks to BiPAP. Our crew was prepared to fight for every single breath for the patient, but due to an FAA pilot duty timeout, our crew was left bedside for an hour with our patient's family while waiting for a new pilot. Listen in as our crew establishes trust with the patient's family, discovers the patient's explicit wishes, and proceeds accordingly. Tune in to hear a harrowing tale and deeply human insights from this month's case.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Elianor Harper, MSN, APRN, ACNPC-AG     Cory Finley BS-HCM, FP-C   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

When a patient experiences profound cardiogenic shock, a patient might receive an intra-aortic balloon pump, a device that is timed directly to the cardiac cycle that inflates and deflates to augment coronary profusion. Or they might receive an impella, an axial flow archimedes screw that continuously pulls blood forward through the aortic valve. Both devices share the same ultimate objective: Keeping a failing heart alive. But they do this in fundamentally distinct ways. So what happens when a patient is a true clinical unicorn a deeply unstable cardiac patient that has both devices running simultaneously? This episode of the AMPED podcast answers this very question, so listen in as our team discusses their analytical process and how they navigated this unusual situation.   Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Madison O'Connor BSN, RN, CFRN     Marcie Day, RN, BSN, CCRN, CFRN, CES-A   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

One of the most basic skills an Air Methods team member should have is knowing how to intubate properly. Understanding how to do that properly is a prerequisite for the job. But knowing when to intubate, and in the particular case of this month's patient, knowing when NOT to intubate is most crucial. Our team is tasked with transferring our patient Myles who was experiencing acute respiratory distress, but in their assessment determined that despite his severe symptoms, intubating and paralyzing him could likely lead to even worse outcomes. Listen in as we hear from not only our team, but our patient, as they describe the unusual and voluminous symptoms, which are unusual for a 33 year-old. How did they make their determinations? What does Myles remember? And what has the road to recovery been like for Myles? You're not going to believe everything he's been through.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Chase Boyd NREMT-P Flight Paramedic   Matthew George RN Flight Nurse   Myles Dobson Patient    All seen here together with Myles's family: Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

A young man in his 20s experiences a head-on collision with a tree that leaves him in profound shock, and not exhibiting the symptoms that would seem to match his vital signs. Our team recognizes the mismatch and works quickly to get him to the hospital. Upon arriving at the hospital, the team does what our host refers to as "the ultimate hospital intervention" and performs an open resuscitative thoracotomy. After multiple surgeries and three days, the patient ultimately does not survive. But after the staggering volume of blood products and interventions performed, they wonder if he's still eligible for organ and tissue donation. In the last part of this episode, we answer that question with  an expert on the issue. The insights are fascinating.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Lindsey Speir, MHA, BSN, RN, CPTCExecutive Vice President     Kelsey Nicks BSN, RN, CFRN Flight Nurse      Harold Englert EMT-P, FP-C     Jason Elliott RN, NRP, FP-C   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

Transporting a newborn in distress already involves extreme logistical complexity, as you'll hear in this month's episode where our team is tasked with taking a newborn experiencing acute shortness of breath. But what happens when the mother starts to decompensate right alongside her baby? Now our team is tasked with caring for two patients, and how they tackle that complexity is the focus of this episode. How many people does our team have to talk to? How long does that process take? Tune in and hear about the thoughtful and thorough process of ensuring everyone's safety provided by Air Methods' procedures.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Mark Fowler NRP, FP-C   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

At a motorcycle track, a middle-aged man suffers a massive crash off a jump. Byt the time our team arrives on scene, the man is inflating like a balloon suffering from massive structural-distorting subcutaneous emphysema. The massive air pockets completely obliterated his normal anatomy, leaving them to guess: Do we blindly plunge decompressing needles into his chest where the landmarks have completely vanished or do we prioritize and secure the airway using advanced focused techniques? Listen in as our team learns in real time that ego has no place beside the patient. How does this case turn out? Listen in!   Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Clint Pusey, BSN, RN, CFRN     William W. Wright, FP-C   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

A man in a high speed, rollover motor vehicle crash experiences a multitude of symptoms including hemorrhagic shock and profound respiratory distress. As our team assesses him, they attempt multiple needle decompressions to relieve pressure and improve breathing. None are successful. Having recently received training and approval to do a finger thoracostomy, they talk with their lead clinician and decide that is the best course of action. Listen in as we hear from the team on the ground, experience their decisionmaking, and find out what happens.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Matthew Corban NRP, FPC Air Methods Float Paramedic      Jacqlyn Murray - Flight Paramedic / RN, FP-C , CFRN   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

On this episode of AMPED, when our team arrives on scene for a pediatric head trauma case in a 10-month old, everything at first seems normal and under control. But in that calm, something feels off to one of our clinicians and he believes our patient faces imminent peril. Does he defer to the doctor on scene who has given assurances that everything is fine, or does he listen to his intuition and communicate his concerns to his partner in order to take action? Listen in and find out how this case unfolds, and hear how this particular case affected our clinicians greatly after the fact.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Holly Prather, RN, CEN, CFRN, CTRN     JM Walker, EMT-P   Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN

When our crew is dispatched to an extremely rural location, they find our patient has fallen off an a-frame ladder and been impaled in the chest by a large piece of rebar on the ground. We know that in dealing with impalements, removal or jostling of the object can cause a host of problems for the patient, so the team must take great care in transporting him to a location where removal and treatment can occur in a safe and controlled environment. Listen in as our team coordinates with other first responders, readies their equipment mise en place, and communicates to ensure the best outcome for our patient. You'll find he is simultaneously very unlucky, and extraordinarily lucky in his unusual case.    Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit OnlineAscend.com to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual episode credits or subscribe to the Critical Care Review Bundle and gain access to all episode CE Credits.    We are joined by:   Jennifer A. Beckett NREMT-P AAS      Cole Diercks BSN, RN, CFRN     Steven Johnson NREMT-P    Click here to download this episode today! As always thanks for listening and fly safe! Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN