Leadership & Management

The use of polyvinyl chloride film (clingfilm) with burn injury in the pre-hospital setting—the clear facts

In 1987 the use of clingfilm gained early research exposure by Wilson and French. In their abstract they state:.

Clinical intuition: how paramedics make decisions, is experience always best? A case presentation

Firstly, it is important to consider why particular decisions are made, whether diagnoses are correct and what assumptions are made about the patient. It is pertinent to reflect on whether there were...

The expanding scope of EMS: decreasing emergency department overcrowding in the United States

Chronic disease is defined as a long-lasting condition that can be controlled, but not cured (Salzman et al, 2012). Interestingly, over half of the US population lives with a least one chronic...

An integrated ABCDE approach to managing medical emergencies using CRM principles

‘An unplanned life-threatening event in which there is a mismatch between the ambient level of resources and those that a patient needs to regain stability.’ .

Delivering enhanced safety, productivity and experience: early results from a frequent caller management system

999 activity increased by 6.9% last year (Anderson, 2013) with incidents resulting in an ambulance service clinician attending scene increasing by 4% (Anderson, 2013) and patients discharged on scene...

Increasing objectivity in the assessment of interpersonal skills and attitude

To establish a structure to improve the development of essential non-practical skills..

Why evaluation is important to you, me and everybody

Evaluation is a statement which appraises or adds value to something (Simpson et al, 1986). Evaluation is regularly paired with assessment which encompasses benchmarking and ranking; however, there...

Ministerial approval for commencement of work on paramedic prescribing

The Allied Health Professions (AHP) Medicines Project is a joint initiative by NHS England and the Department of Health to extend prescribing, supply and administration of medicines to Allied Health...

Recipe for success: baking in Boston strong-observations on Boston's success

The response to the 15 April, 2013 Marathon Bombing was not a fortunate event. Nor were the stars just perfectly aligned for a lucky response. In fact, the foundation of a successful response is built...

Documentation: are we writing it right?

‘The quality of your record-keeping is also a reflection of the standard of your professional practice. Good record-keeping is a mark of a skilled and safe practitioner, while careless or...

A brief history of analgesia in paramedic practice

Important advances in the prevention and management of pain occurred in the mid-1800s, when drugs that produced anaesthesia were first used during surgery. These drugs included nitrous oxide, ether...

The use of telemedicine technology to support in pre-hospital patient care

Before reviewing the available technology, it is worth briefly outlining the history of technology in medicine, referred to as ‘telemedicine’. Utilising technology for health care is actually an old...