Ep. 51 Empathy Fatigue With Dr. Ethan Kunstadt

Over the course of the last few years, National and Regional Parks have been flooded with new visitors who may not be accustomed to or trained in wilderness survival. As more and more people head into the backcountry, more and more people get into trouble in the backcountry. This episode features Jeff Burke, Dr. AJ Wheeler, and Dr. Will Smith, who discuss their work in backcountry medical rescues. They join host Alaina Rajagopal to talk about what goes into a medical rescue, the different types of medical rescue, scene safety, and more. Listen until the end to learn how you can stay safe in your outdoor adventures and what to do if you come across a medical emergency in the wilderness.

While Hollywood often sensationalizes human trafficking with kidnapping and car chases, human trafficking victims can be all around us. They might be a lady at the nail salon, a kid at school, or a woman who shows up to the emergency department with a urinary tract infection one too many times. More than ever, we need to start having the right conversations around it! As part of the Social Emergency Medicine Series, Alaina Rajagopal and Victor Cisneros drill down into human trafficking with guests, Dr. Ronnie Rivera and Lisa Murdock. Together, they talk about what human trafficking is, what you should look for to identify victims of human trafficking, and what to do if you ever encounter a victim of human trafficking. This conversation may be sensitive for some listeners, and listener discretion is advised. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

Prioritize your health because you can’t function well and fulfill your roles if it is deteriorating. This episode features Dr. MeiLan Han, a pulmonary and critical care specialist, and the author of Breathing Lessons: A Doctor's Guide to Lung Health. Dr. Han will talk about why the lungs are so neglected and how we can all work on improving our own lung health. She will talk about COVID-19, the science behind masks, and exactly what a ventilator does. She also discusses what we can all do to be better lung health advocates for ourselves and our communities. You will definitely be able to breathe easier after this episode! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

Government agencies generally did large-scale disaster responses, but Team Rubicon has grown, becoming verified by the World Health Organization as a regency medical team that can be deployed to sudden-onset disasters globally. In this episode, Dr. David Callaway discusses veteran-led disaster response and humanitarian organizations currently working in Ukraine. Dr. Callaway is a US Navy Veteran and Professor of Emergency Medicine at Carolinas Medical Center. He serves as the Chief of Crisis Operations and Sustainability, the Director of the Division of Operational and Disaster Medicine, and the Medical Director of Carolinas MED-1. He shares how a disaster response team works, the types of medical work that can be done in areas of conflict, and how you can help. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

Thinking about traveling again soon? Then buckle up as we share great travel protips! We'll talk about the considerations you should undertake before you go on your trip. Dr. Alaina Rajagopal and Dr. Justin Yanuck start with basic things you should do before any trip. They also discuss special considerations for travel in the era of COVID. Packed full of information, this episode is a must-listen. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

This episode focuses on career opportunities for people who want to concentrate on the business aspects of medicine. Dr. Lindsey Spiegelman is an Emergency Medicine Physician and Clinical Faculty at the University of California Irvine Medical Center. She double majored in neuroscience and psychology at the University of Southern California and then went to medical school at UC Irvine. She completed a clinical informatics fellowship and MBA at UC Irvine as well. She is the lead medical informaticist for the UCI Emergency Department and a member of the ED Clinical Operations team. She is particularly interested in projects related to ED throughput, hospital efficiency, and leveraging technology for effective patient care. Today, join Alaina Rajagopal as she talks to Dr. Lindsey Spiegelman about her experiences and how physicians can work to improve efficiency in their systems. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

You can't just remove trauma; it takes time to heal. In this episode, we sit down with two incredible guests and discuss strategies for controlling symptoms related to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), anxiety, and depression. Peggy Hays returns to discuss some of her traumatic experiences as a wife of a cardiac arrest survivor and as a nurse anesthetist, as well as her journey toward recovery. Kelly Larson is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Director of Pacific Counseling and Trauma Center, and Brainspotting Trainer. Kelly talks to us about the effects of trauma and the various methods that can help with depression, anxiety, and PTSD recovery. If you, or someone you know, has ever experienced any form of depression, anxiety, or PTSD, this is an episode with content you won't want to miss! Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

Safety belts are a very important yet often overlooked part of car safety etiquette. Today, we discuss how to properly set up your car safety seats and belts up to standard with Stephanie Tombrello, the Executive Director at SafetyBeltSafe U.S.A from 1982 to 2021. In this episode, she discusses two of the most misunderstood or neglected aspects of child passenger safety: the five-step test and why children need booster seats and; the dangers of riding with an impaired driver. Stephanie also goes into detail on the proper use of child safety seats and seat belts. Join her chat with Dr. Victor Cisneros and Dr. Alaina Rajagopal as she explains child passenger safety tips and best practices that will help reduce and mitigate injury during collisions. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

People across the country, and across the world suffer from food insecurity. What can we do to help bridge the gap and ensure we all have access to nutritious food? Dr. Victor Cisneros and Dr. Alaina Rajagopal discuss food insecurity with Mike Learakos, a food professional and restaurant owner who noticed the TONS of food waste he encountered in the restaurant industry and decided to do something about it. Listen in to hear more about what food insecurity and food deserts are, and how Mike and Abound Food Care are working to stop it. We'll also talk about how food waste impacts the medical community, the homeless, and the climate. Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com

Empathy Fatigue is a very real side effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s critically impacting our health care professionals. Clinicians have been reporting more difficulty with empathy and compassion in the years since the beginning of the pandemic. How are we going to respond to this challenge?  Dr. Alaina Rajagopal features Dr. Ethan Kunstadt, an emergency medicine physician in Orange County, California. They explore two articles which highlight some of these issues, as well as strategies for coping, fighting misinformation, and moving forward. References: Sohn, Emily. 2021. Empathy fatigue in clinicians rises with latest COVID-19 surge. Medscape. Published Sept 16, 2021. https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/958890 Russell, Peter. 2022. Healthcare workers ‘most likely to report long COVID symptoms.’ Medscape. Published Jan 6, 2022. https://www.medscape.co.uk/viewarticle/healthcare-workers-most-likely-report-long-covid-symptoms-2022a10001dt Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! https://www.theemergencydocs.com