Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 60: No Pulse, No Problem
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
Release Date: 01/21/2026
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 63: Doing the Same Thing Twice-When Needles Aren’t Enough
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
A man in a high speed, rollover motor vehicle crash experiences a multitude of symptoms including hemorrhagic shock and profound respiratory distress. As our team assesses him, they attempt multiple needle decompressions to relieve pressure and improve breathing. None are successful. Having recently received training and approval to do a finger thoracostomy, they talk with their lead clinician and decide that is the best course of action. Listen in as we hear from the team on the ground, experience their decisionmaking, and find out what happens. Interested in obtaining CE credit...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 62 The Eye of the Hurricane- Vigilance in the Deceptive Stillness
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
On this episode of AMPED, when our team arrives on scene for a pediatric head trauma case in a 10-month old, everything at first seems normal and under control. But in that calm, something feels off to one of our clinicians and he believes our patient faces imminent peril. Does he defer to the doctor on scene who has given assurances that everything is fine, or does he listen to his intuition and communicate his concerns to his partner in order to take action? Listen in and find out how this case unfolds, and hear how this particular case affected our clinicians greatly after the fact. ...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 61: Mise en Place - Staging the Chaos
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
When our crew is dispatched to an extremely rural location, they find our patient has fallen off an a-frame ladder and been impaled in the chest by a large piece of rebar on the ground. We know that in dealing with impalements, removal or jostling of the object can cause a host of problems for the patient, so the team must take great care in transporting him to a location where removal and treatment can occur in a safe and controlled environment. Listen in as our team coordinates with other first responders, readies their equipment mise en place, and communicates to ensure the best outcome...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 60: No Pulse, No Problem
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
Our crew was dispatched to a high energy, rollover MVC with a patient ejection, which usually demands aggressive trauma protocols. But what happens when the patient is equipped with a HeartMate II, a Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) that pumps blood for failing hearts. The irony is that this extremely sophisticated medical device that keeps our patient alive, also precludes our team from gathering regular vital signs, like a palpable pulse or traditional blood pressure measurements. How does the team manage a trauma resuscitation when the patient's circulation is a continuous flow rather...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 59: Scales of Uncertainty
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
On this show we have espoused the general guiding principal of "when you hear hoofbeats, think horses, not zebras." Sometimes the hoofbeats actually are those of zebras. But what if sometimes there not even zebras, they're unicorns? On this episode of AMPED, our patient has been bitten by a Jameson's Mamba, one of the deadliest snakes in the world. Thankfully, he is an expert herpetologist who is able to talk our team through the steps needed to save his life. But what our team learns is that sometimes that which seems extremely rare results in care that isn't rare at all. ...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 58: The Muck and the Mechanism
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
A brutal incident where a woman gets hit by a truck leaves her with a multitude of injuries, most notably both of her legs bent into a position best described as "frog legs." She's in good spirits and her vitals are good, but her legs bent at that angle means that she cannot fit into our team's helicopter. How does our team get her legs back into place without causing further trauma or risking her stable vitals? Complicating factors is the extremely uneven ground because they're in a cow pasture and the risk of infection is extremely high because the team and the patient are surrounded by cow...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 57: The Gravity of the Fall
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
In an incredible twist of irony, this month's case focuses on our flight crew loading into their helicopter to be dispatched to... a patient who has fallen out of a helicopter. From a height of approximately 40 feet and at a speed of 30 knots, our patient has an abundance of injuries, which requires our team to remember their axiom: "Slow is smooth, and smooth is fast." This episode also introduces an important question: How do we intervene in different kinds of shock? Our patient had three different kinds: Hemorrhagic, neurogenic, and obstructive shock. Listen in as our guest, along with our...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 56: The Zebra Call
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
A common aphorism in the medical community comes from Dr. Theodore Woodward who said in the 1940s, "When you hear hoofbeats behind you, think of horses, not zebras." It's a way of reminding medical practitioners that the most common explanation is usually correct. In other words, Occam's Razor is usually correct. But what happens when the most common explanation isn't correct? What happens when you turn around and find a zebra looking at you? In this month's episode, our team finds a pediatric patient who seems to have had a stroke. Stroke is very uncommon in children, but that doesn't mean...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 55: The Sum of All Efforts
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
Extreme weather once again plays an important factor in this month's case where our team comes upon a car accident victim who has a litany of injuries that make care extremely challenging, even in optimal conditions. Featuring a pilot for the first time ever in AMPED history, we hear from our clinicians about how to give our patient the best shot at survival, and from our pilot about the many considerations he has to make in order to expedite his arrival at a care facility. Hear these unique insights in this fascinating episode of AMPED. Interested in obtaining CE credit for this...
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Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast Ep. 54: Chilling Complications
Air Methods Prehospital EDucation Podcast
A severely ill Flu A patient, fully intubated, and fighting for every breath requires the AMPED team for transport for possible ECMO. Under even the best of circumstances, this type of patient requires extensive care and presents many challenges. But what happens when extreme weather causes problems with the team's equipment, making care even more challenging? Find out how our team dealt with and overcame these challenges to help ensure our patient's recovery and survival. Interested in obtaining CE credit for this episode? Visit to learn more. Listeners can purchase individual...
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As always thanks for listening and fly safe!
Hawnwan Moy MD FACEP FAEMS
John Wilmas MD FACEP FAEMS
Nyssa Hattaway, BA, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CFRN