Here are a few questions for all you paramedics out there: When was the last time you decompressed a tension pneumothorax? How many surgical airways have you performed? Have you ever delivered a baby in the prehospital setting? And how many times have you performed a rapid sequence intubation?

Flight medics face some of the highest job stress levels of any first responders, often responding to patients for whom seconds matter. In this rapidly changing environment, diligent airway management is critical, particularly for trauma survivors, neonates, and people with serious respiratory health conditions.

The quality of care you can provide patients is inseparable from the quality of the devices you have available. After all, it doesn’t matter how knowledgeable you are about choking if you can’t clear a patient’s airway.

It was the third vehicle crash of the shift. The first two were minor – low-speed fender benders with minor injuries. This one was different: a high-speed impact involving an unrestrained driver. The facial injuries were extensive.

It’s projected that by 2030, 1 in 5 Americans will be 65 or older, and the number of geriatric patients will only increase as medicine and science continue to advance and improve life expectancy. 

CPR, ACLS, NRP, PAL. As a nurse, you are likely familiar with some, if not all, of these acronyms. Early in your career, you were taught the skills to resuscitate a patient in cardiac or respiratory arrest. Every few years, you attend a class to review and renew your certification.

The COVID-19 pandemic made acute respiratory distress one of the most common emergencies faced by first responders. Without prompt intervention, the virus led to respiratory failure and life-threatening complications.

Medical providers have long used pulse oximeters as a quick and easy way to assess blood oxygen levels. However, the amount of CO2 a person expires is an equally useful piece of information that provides key details about ventilation. Capnography provides clear data about the amount of CO2 expired at each stage of respiration. Using capnography during medical suction can reduce the risk of hypoxia and provide additional details about patients at risk of serious suction-related complications.

One of the most stressful emergency calls a paramedic will encounter is a child who can’t breathe. Pediatric emergencies are stressful enough; in the case of an obstructed airway, stress levels can go through the roof.