The EMS Show Podcast

Mike Verkest and Dr. Ritu Sahni casually discuss topics, headlines, and controversies as they relate to the world or emergency medical services. Who better than a Medical Director and Paramedic to get to the heart of the matter.

Episode 39: Cruel Summer (Hyperthermia Update) 06/30/2025

Episode 39: Cruel Summer (Hyperthermia Update) After a brief hiatus, The EMS Show is back in action! In this episode, hosts Mike and Ritu welcome listeners back and catch up on all things EMS and beyond. We kick things off with a quick high-octane review of F1: The Movie, Then, we shift gears into clinical talk with a breakdown of our newly updated hyperthermia protocol. From recognition to treatment strategies in the field, we’ll explain what’s changed, why it matters, and how to keep your patients (and yourself) cool under pressure. It’s EMS, entertainment, and education—back where it belongs. Let’s go! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/37214175

Episode 38: The Return of Measles 03/26/2025

Episode 38: The Return of Measles In this episode of The EMS Show, Dr. Hayden Smith joins us to discuss the recent resurgence of measles cases, particularly focusing on the outbreak in Texas that has affected over 150 individuals and resulted in the tragic death of a child. Dr. Smith delves into the factors contributing to this uptick, including declining vaccination rates and public health challenges. He also addresses the implications for EMS professionals, offering insights into recognizing symptoms, implementing safety protocols, and effectively managing potential cases in the field. This conversation is essential for EMS providers as well as friends and families seeking to stay informed and prepared in the face of re-emerging infectious diseases. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/35878360

Episode 37: 2025 Protocol Development and Changes 01/30/2025

Episode 37: 2025 Protocol Development and Changes Mike and Ritu finally get back to it. Its been awhile...2024 was a pretty trying year for us both, but we are looking forward to a great 2025. This is our 7th or 8th Annual protocol change episode. As always, it is a sneak peek of how the suausage is made when it comes to developing and implemeting new protocol changes in an EMS System in the Portland Metro Area. Be sure you are subscribed to the Podcast as well as our Facebook and YouTube pages! Stay Safe! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/35077610

Episode 36: Ground Ambulance Patient Billing Report 10/21/2024

Episode 36: Ground Ambulance Patient Billing Report Mike and Ritu are joined by Asbel Montes from Solutions Group, Patricia Kelmar from Public Interest Research Group and Shawn Baird, CEO from Metro West Ambulance. Big discussion on the Ground Ambulance Pateint Billing Report. These folks were all on the committee to tackle the question of surprise ambulance billing. See the report here. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/regulations-guidance/advisory-committees/advisory-committee-ground-ambulance-and-patient-billing-gapb /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/33555057

Episode 35: Pop up LIVE! 08/20/2024

Episode 35: Pop up LIVE! After the usual summer hiatus, its time to get back into it. Mike and Ritu catch up on some things, talk a little college football (sorry Bill Toon) and discuss the response time position paper (link below) and preview the balance billing recommendations for ground ambulances. Ritu was on the committee that did some work on this important topic. Thanks for listening! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/32647527

Episode 34: 2024 EMS Week All-Star Show 05/24/2024

Episode 34: 2024 EMS Week All-Star Show What an action-packed, "star-studded" episode this turned out to be! Special guests included: The EMS 20/20 Show hosts, Chris and Spencer, Dr. Mike Levy, Dr. Ron Roth, Oregon Representative Dacia Graber, Rob Lawrence, NAEMSP President, Dr. Jose Cabanas, Dr. Ben Abo, Dr. Frank Guyette, Dr. Jeff Jarvis, Joseph Zalkin and a hat tip to Miranda Franco from Holland and Knight who was on but we had some tech issues. WOWOWOWOW! Thanks for spending some of your time with us to honor EMS providers during EMS Week 2024! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/31458742

Episode 33: Live from Wave 2024 04/16/2024

Episode 33: Live from Wave 2024 Mike and Ritu are reunited in person again! YES! Recorded in Austin at ESO WAVE 2024! We talk about a lot of good stuff on this episode. EMS System design, AI, Decsion support, Protocol testing, and more! Feel free to share, like an leave us a review! we appreciate you still listening to some of the oldest OG's in the game! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/30855553

Episode 32: Live from the State of Jefferson EMS Conference 03/11/2024

Episode 32: Live from the State of Jefferson EMS Conference Dr. Sahni sits this one out, so Mike is joined by long time friend of the show, Dr. Jeff Jarvis! This was a super fun event. Just prior to recording, we had the last talk of the day on how we got started in Podcasting. Was nice to have about 50 folks listening to our story and interested! Then, when happy hour started and the drinks started flowing, we hit record! We plug it all the time, but the State of Jefferson EMS Conference is one of our favorites...For Mike, he gets to come home and see his friends and family, for Jeff, he comes to his birth state (he lived here for 9 minutes when he was born)... it's an all-around great time. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/30326398

Episode 31: Advocacy Update w/ Miranda Franco 03/01/2024

Episode 31: Advocacy Update w/ Miranda Franco Mike and Ritu are Joined by Miranda Franco, a Senior Policy Advisor at Holland and Knight. Tune in to gain a deeper understanding of the critical advocacy work happening behind the scenes, and discover how each of us can play a role in ensuring that EMS professionals receive the recognition, resources, and support they deserve. Together, let's amplify the voice of EMS advocacy and contribute to building a brighter future for those who selflessly dedicate their lives to saving others. Video Available on The EMS Show Facebook, X, and YouTube accounts. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/30180798

Episode 30 - 2024 Protocol Update 02/04/2024

Episode 30 - 2024 Protocol Update Join Mike and Ritu for the 7th annual Protocol Update. Come learn what has changed for Ritu and the agencies under his watch and learn why they made the changes they did! Oh, and Dr. Ben Abo crashes the show! Wanna watch instead? /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/29794683

Episode 29: Airway Evidence Based Guidelines From NAEMSP 2024 01/12/2024

Episode 29: Airway Evidence Based Guidelines From NAEMSP 2024 Ritu is sitting this one out so Mike is joined by Dr. Jeff Jarvis! ya'll know him. We are going to go over the new AIrway EBG that was published in PEC a few weeks ago. NAEMSP 2024 has been a blast and we were able to carve out a few minutes to discuss this paper! Oh, PS, there is a significant shout-out period at the beginning...Listen, scroll, whatever. :) You can find the paper here: https://www.ems.gov/assets/Evidence-Based-Guideline-for-Prehospital-Airway-Management.pdf /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/29466428

Episode 28 - Dr. Josh Lupton 01/04/2024

Episode 28 - Dr. Josh Lupton Mike and Ritu welcome Dr. Josh Lupton to the show. He is an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland, Oregon, a cardiac arrest survivor, researcher, and dad! Oh ya, and really involved in the PDX Epistry! Come meet Dr. Lupton! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/29332723

Episode 27- Guilty 12/24/2023

Episode 27- Guilty Mike and Ritu are joined by EMS Attorney and Consultant Steve Wirth of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth to discuss the ramifications of the guilty verdict of the 2 Colorado Paramedics in the Elijah McClain criminal proceeding. Video can be found on the EMS Show YouTube channel as well as the Facebook page. Article referenced in the show: https://www.jems.com/commentary/what-paramedic-verdicts-elijah-mcclain-case-can-teach-us-all/ /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/29219303

Episode 26: Dual Perspectives from the Las Vegas GP 12/14/2023

Episode 26: Dual Perspectives from the Las Vegas GP You know we like to cross over a bit here, so let's do it! It was billed as the biggest event of the year! Bigger than the Super Bowl! Did it live up to the hype? Did you watch it? One EMS Medical Director in the stands as a spectator, one international man of mystery Marshaling...what are the EMS implications to an event like this based on those 2 perspectives? What lessons could be identified and put into practice? Listen and find out! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/29069768

Episode 25: Dr. Frank Guyette 11/17/2023

Episode 25: Dr. Frank Guyette Mike and Ritu welcome Dr. Frank Guyette to the show! Dr. Guyette is a Professor of Emergency Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Director - STAT MedEVAC as well as the Principal Investigator for the ongoing PACT Trial. We took some time to get to know Dr. Guyette and talk some EMS Research! PACT Trial: Prehospital Plasma during Air Medical Transport in Trauma Patients at Risk for Hemmorhagic Shock: /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/28696163

Episode 23 - Dr. José Cabañas 10/20/2023

Episode 23 - Dr. José Cabañas Mike and Ritu are joined by current NAEMSP President, Dr. José G, Cabañas to discuss all things EMS, and yes, we talked abiout Neuroprotective CPR and the hubbub surrounding that. Of course our favorite part was learning more about José ! Thanks for listening to the EMS Show! Make sure you are subscribed! We appreciate you so much! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/28372847

Episode 23: a Summer Break? Really? 09/28/2023

Episode 23: a Summer Break? Really? Just like you, the boys have a million things going on, so they did what every other 12 year old does...take the summer off! Yep, they are back though....time to get back in the saddle and bring what everyone wants...a little catch up time, a bit of Buprenorphine, a little no surpises act, and billing conversation.....join us! oh, by the way, did you know all the podcast platforms will unsubscribe you? yep, go double-check and make sure you are still an EMS Show Subscriber! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/28173023

EMS Week 2023 with the Sklar Brothers! 06/07/2023

EMS Week 2023 with the Sklar Brothers! Ritu rode solo on this one...Mike was there, but just in the background....but, we welcome back Randy and Jason Sklar to the show! Boy have they been busy, go check out their website and see what they have been up to. We are so thankful these guys take the time to come and hang out with us. THANK YOU! and Happy late EMS Week! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/27066423

Episode 21 - Getting to know Dr. Ben Abo 05/16/2023

Episode 21 - Getting to know Dr. Ben Abo We had a great discussion with the banana man himself! An emergency and EMS physician who is involved in so much cool stuff, you have to listen! Sharks? Spiders? Snakes? USAR? All of it! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/26856999

Episode 20: The EMS Lighthouse Show Project 04/12/2023

Episode 20: The EMS Lighthouse Show Project Clever name huh? Well, this crossover is a little light on the paramedic and heavy on the medical directors....but you know....its all good (Dr. Jarvis) Man, did we have fun recording this one. I found myself in a hotel room in Ashland, Oregon with Drs. Ed Racht, Maia Dorsett, and Ritu Sahni talking about Sepsis. We decided this would make for a great crossover episode with The EMS Show, minus our buddy Mikey V. Anytime I get together with this group of friends, I always have fun. We discuss a new sepsis trial but also discuss the OG sepsis paper, Dr. River's Early Goal Direct Therapy and discuss the cautionary tale of performance measures gone awry. We also hit on using EtCO2 as a surrogate for lactate in sepsis and collectively decide Dr. Dorsett is a rockstar. Citation: The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Prevention and Early Treatment of Acute Lung Injury Clinical Trials Network. Early Restrictive or Liberal Fluid Management for Sepsis-Induced Hypotension. N Engl J Med. 2023;388(6):499-510. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa2212663 /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/26523939

Episode 19: How about a quickie? 03/31/2023

Episode 19: How about a quickie? 30 mins ... down and dirty. Mike and Ritu discuss getting old (mostly Ritu) and his 30th Medical School Class reunion, as well as the upcoming ESO Training Academy and Wave Conference, being held in Austin April 11-14. Be sure and join us on our social channels over on Facebook and Twitter! Have an idea for a podcast? let us know! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/26404917

Episode 18: Exploring F1 (non EMS!!!!!) 03/28/2023

Episode 18: Exploring F1 (non EMS!!!!!) Why in the world would an EMS podcast do a podcast and not talk about EMS? Well, if you haven't figured it out by now, we are different! Join us as we discuss the new American sweetheart, Formula One racing! If you are new or interested, this is the show for you! We were joined by our favorite Brit, Rob Lawrence, and Kaileb Verkest to talk everything about F1. Now, F1 the corporation blocked, censored and made us edit out a bunch of stuff, but what ya gonna do? it's still a great listen and was super fun to record! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/26368482

Episode 17: 2023 NAEMSP Recap and more 02/10/2023

Episode 17: 2023 NAEMSP Recap and more As usual, the MORE tends to recognize the first 17 minutes of fellowship and hangout time. We welcome our old pal, Dr. Jeff Jarvis to the show to talk about what has been regarded as one of the best conferences of the year! (haha, it's only February) but seriously, the NAEMSP annual meeting in Tampa last week was really, really great. The 2 docs talk about some of their favorite moments. TBI, DEI, and some other stuff. This one is worth listening to for sure. Thanks for hanging out with us for a bit. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/25886166

Episode 16 - NFL Medicine with Dr. Ron Roth 01/16/2023

Episode 16 - NFL Medicine with Dr. Ron Roth Mike and Ritu welcome Ron Roth, MD, FACEP. Fun fact...he was Ritus attending while he was in his residency at Pitt! (did we say Ritu knows everyone?) Dr. Roth is an integral part of the Pittsburgh sports scene in his role as team physician for the National Football League’s Pittsburgh Steelers. Over more than two decades with the team, Dr. Roth has seen it all. He could be assessing neck or head injuries, or various fractures. On other days he may be called to treat a collapsed lung or manage an athlete with hyperthermia. He also steers the organization’s emergency action planning and oversees the rapid response for anyone who experiences a medical emergency at the stadium, practice facility, or training camp. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/25624257

Episode 15: Self-Care (PS: You aren't as important as you think you are) 12/18/2022

Episode 15: Self-Care (PS: You aren't as important as you think you are) Finding yourself becoming a little "crispy" around the edges? Maybe it's time to pause and take a look inside and come up with a plan. Dr. Sahni talks about his experience with just that and how getting away may have been the right Rx for him. How do you navigate that? So many people depend on you....how can the world POSSIBLY go on when you decide to take care of yourself....turns out, it does. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/25362246

Episode 14: The Bourn Lift Assist - Crossover w/ EMS 20/20 11/02/2022

Episode 14: The Bourn Lift Assist - Crossover w/ EMS 20/20 It it, it was...uplifting! Mike and Ritu were thrilled to join in with Chris and Spence from the EMS 20/20 Podcast to talk about lift assists. Oh, you'll have the usual jackassery, but also go through a real case...was the crew right or wrong? was it ok to leave this lady? Listen in and find out! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/24881760

Episode 13: Getting to Know Chief Chris Way 09/30/2022

Episode 13: Getting to Know Chief Chris Way In this episode, Mike and Ritu welcome The Fire Chief from Kootenai Fire Rescue near Coeur d'Alene Idaho. Chief Way and Dr. Sahni go back 20 years and he joins us to talk a little about how the EMS guy became Fire Chief, Cancer and advocacy. This is a great episode and we hope you enjoy getting to know Chris! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/24547662

Episode 12 - Time to Catch up! 09/20/2022

Episode 12 - Time to Catch up! Sheesh, with all the life changes going on, we know we have slacked off, but hey, were are back and getting caught up. Mike is settled in from the move and the boys get back to it. There is a lot of "peopley" stuff in this one with a little mix of EMS stuff. We are glad you are hanging with us! /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/24427260

Episode 11: CAAHEP Accreditation w/ Executive Director George Hatch 08/02/2022

Episode 11: CAAHEP Accreditation w/ Executive Director George Hatch So, ya might have heard of some hubbub surrounding a proposed plan from the NREMT to give options to programs to conduct EMS primary education without being accredited. This has created some significant backlash in the industry and strong feelings on both sides. We welcome the Executive Director of CoAEMSP, George Hatch to discuss the situation and to tell us more about what accreditation means and what we may be in store for in the future. Thanks for hanging out with us! wed appreciate a subscription and a rating to keep us out in front! PS, did you remember that SecondShift is gone and we need all those subscribers over here! THANX FREINDS! Go check out for more information /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/23941968

Episode 10: Data with Seth Fisher (MGoBlog) 07/19/2022

Episode 10: Data with Seth Fisher (MGoBlog) Ok, this one is a doozy! Dr. Sahni and Mike welcome Seth Fisher, the Editor from to talk data. College sports (Specifically Michigan sports...don't forget, Ritu is UM Alumni) and EMS, where is the connection? You might be surprised. FAIR WARNING, This one is HEAVY FOOTBALL...Lots of EMS talk, but the parallels and similarities between the 2 are uncanny. This is different and we know you will love it. Thanks for listening and subscribing. /episode/index/show/theemsshow/id/23783543

The EMS Show Podcast

TOPICS