In this episode we talk about something that is a little bit uncomfortable for most people. It’s something that we all do, but we don’t like to talk about, because it might make us feel ashamed, or guilt. Or maybe we don’t want to talk about it because we don’t want to damage our reputation or a fragile ego. I’m talking about making a mistake. Every single person that will ever listen to this podcast has made or will make a mistake at some point in their life and all of their careers. This is especially true for EMS providers, because the imperfect world of emergency services is inherently fraught with the potential for error. Being an EMS provider means taking care of people that are sick and or injured in an environment that is in a constant state of unknown, and/or change. That’s not exactly a set of conditions that lends itself to mistake free system. Remember, mistakes happen and you’re only human. What matters is what we do after we make a mistake.
Today, we welcome back Emily Bergquist MSA, EMT-P, EMS-IC, (email: BergquistE@michigan.gov) the Medical Control Authority Coordinator for the State of Michigan Bureau of EMS, Trauma and Preparedness. She is the one at the State EMS office that works on all of the protocols and provides support to assure that the multitude of Michigan’s EMS systems function the way that they’re supposed to. In addition, Emily spends quite a bit of time investigating situations where an EMS provider, crew and/or an agency has made a mistake. Emily is here to give us her professional advice regarding the best practices an EMS provider should take after making a mistake either on or off duty.
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