The week in review

So I’ve spent the last few days at the NJ State EMS Conference in Atlantic City. I have a love/hate relationship with conferences (of any type), mostly because I am not as much of a social creature as many would believe. However I do love the opportunity to get away from life in general for a couple of days and there is something to be said for a quiet hotel room and the ability to order room service.

They had some national level speakers there this year, which was fortunate for me. Having seen the names in print so often, it was interesting to hear the actual voice behind the text. Dr. Bledsoe offered a review of the recent research regarding prehospital intubation. While I approached the topic feeling defensive of my own abilities and with a sense of dread, it was hard to argue the science being presented. I walked away with an appreciation for the situation we’re currently in regarding our scope of practice and a sense of futility because I do not know if we can truly surmount the issues at hand.

For the record, he remains an advocate of prehospital intubation – but there are significant issues in education and competency that should be addressed if we’re truly to be the apex providers in the skill. Skill dilution, O.R. competition, and competency evaluation – these are all trends that we already recognize and know to exist; we can’t pretend that they do not. Yet we see it all the time, we are all guilty of treating the yearly competencies like a joke. Or perhaps we take steps to avoid the skill, or turf it to our partners if we’re unsure. If we do not take ownership and work to become experts on an individual basis, we have nobody to blame but ourselves if future generations find the ability taken from them.

I also had the opportunity to see A.J. Heightman speak for the first time. If you do not know the name then you’ve never picked up an issue of JEMS magazine. He was animated and down-to-earth, I enjoyed listening to him. He did a talk on management lessons taken from the TV series M*A*S*H. It was humorous and injected with anecdotal experience and real case studies that were applicable. While I cannot say that I learned a lot of anything new, it was thoroughly enjoyable and I truly appreciated the analogy. He also spoke at one of the lunch presentations, on professional image. I think he did a very good job pointing out just how much perception people can get from our exterior appearance and practices.

Dwain Pegues spoke on recreational drugs that was, not surprisingly, very well attended. He is a terrific speaker, and it was fun. In fact when his time was up he still had more information, so more than 2/3 of the room didn’t even bother getting up – we listened until they kicked us out.

Dave Langley & Dr. Brabson spoke on the new STEMI Triage Guidelines, which are official as of well … yesterday. It’s exciting to be part of the vanguard that introduces a new practice. This is the first new protocol in awhile that can really, truly, without a doubt, save lives if enacted properly. Based on the Trauma Triage model, it shouldn’t be too hard to adapt and hopefully we will see a difference for people who might otherwise die from an acute myocardial infarction.

Vinny Cisternino did a great talk on Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, focusing on treating for Carbon Monoxide poisoning. I can say that I learned the most new material here; it was interesting and also cutting edge as far as monitoring goes. It made me want to go research more on when to suspect possible exposures. (Even if Macs don’t appear to have spellcheck, it was still a pretty presentation.)

Entertainment-wise most of us stayed at the Tropicana. While commuting to the Sheraton is not always convenient, it’s less expensive and there’s plenty to do there. Plus who can say no to an Irish Pub right on premises? Ri Ra’s made a lot of money off of everyone. Thaedra introduced me to Irish Car Bombs, evil evil woman that she is. Jason Manes, Dave Strange and I had an absolutely fantastic meal at P.F. Changs and then Dave and I tried out Cuba Libre’s the next night. It was really great food and terrific conversation, it was so nice to be able to do that.

The M*A*S*H Bash was a really good time. I would’ve liked to see a better turn-out; hopefully we can manage that for next year. The guys put in a tremendous effort recreating the “Swamp” and the detail and scale were amazing. Klinger (Tim Brown) arrived dressed for an afternoon tea, parasol and hoop skirt impeccable. Sally was most gracious to her fan club. MB is always a blast to spend time with and it was great meeting new folks as well. The surprise of the night was Mike Stitley, it was so awesome to see him after so much time. If they do it again next year I hope that we can really make it another great time.

I guess that about sums most of it up. I think a lot of people forget that one of the advantages to conferences can be just reconnecting with your peers. Friends and former co-workers who you have not seen in awhile, but with whom you share a fraternal bond that remains. You can pick up the threads and catch up, share some good food and conversation and become richer for it. Walking away with memories and new friends, as well as a CEU or two, is really not such a bad way to spend a couple of days.

Maybe I’ll see some of you at the next one.

Slainte’