Friday March 27, 2026 8:00am to 9:15am
Apathy, Empathy and EMS Liability: Case Studies Caught on Camera
Doug Wolfberg | PWW Advisory Group
Approved for 1.0 Other EMS Con-Ed
Doug Wolfberg is a founding partner of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth, and one of the best known EMS attorneys and consultants in the United States. Widely regarded as the nation's leading EMS law firm, PWW represents private, public and non-profit EMS organizations, as well as billing companies, software manufacturers and others that serve the nation's ambulance industry. Doug answered his first ambulance call in 1978 and has been involved in EMS ever since. Doug became an EMT at age 16, and worked as an EMS provider in numerous volunteer and paid systems over the decades. Doug also served as an EMS educator and instructor for many years.
I aim to provide a comprehensive overview of the tragic shooting incident that occurred at UPMC Memorial. We delve into the sequence of events leading up to the incident, identifying key factors that contributed to its occurrence. We discuss best practices and examine the coordination between hospital staff, local law enforcement, and emergency medical services.
I discuss the principles of "Rescue Medicine" or caring for patients in the austere environment where often, resources are limited, and the timeframe of patient care can be longer than we as EMS providers are used to. The course will discuss patient access issues, critical interventions for long term care and considerations of care for the austere environment. The course will discuss pathophysiology of issues such as crush syndrome.
Join us for a live game of trivia! This 60 minute session will present and discuss a variety of prehospital clinical questions related to the Pennsylvania EMS protocols, resuscitation, and EMS trivia/history. Attendees will have the opportunity to join this live trivia session via an online platform and answer questions presented in real time.
Management of head injury patients in the prehospital setting.
Myths and old-wives-tales have a tendency to perpetuate throughout the history of medicine. In this session, I will address little and big myths and what we have learned while dispelling them.
In this session we will explore the role of eCPR and the use of ECMO in cardiac arrest patients in the field. We will also discuss other techniques that may be helpful for patients that remain in persistent cardiac arrest without ROSC. Cases will highlight the use of these techniques while highlighting some of the limitations that exist.
Each time you apply oxygen, or use a bag mask, you are changing your patient's physiology! This physiologic change can be detrimental in some cases, and down right deadly! We discuss some basics with airway management, reviewing anatomy, physiology, and gas exchange principles. Are you killing patients with ventilations? Attend this session to see, and judge for yourself....the discussion will be a gas!
This presentation reviews what is the current state of the art in out of hospital cardiac arrest resuscitation.
Basic Life Support isn't basic--it's the backbone of EMS. Learn how simple, well-executed interventions make the difference between life and death. Through real-world cases, actionable takeaways, and the latest science, we'll reinforce why your BLS decisions and care matter. Leave confident in your role on the front lines of patient care.
Tension is one of the top issues anytime an ambulance arrives on scene, not only for the patient and family, but the providers as well. This class will show that breaking that tension right out the gate is not only important, but easily done, if handled correctly. This class will dive into showing that laughter is proven to be one of them, if done correctly. Examples of good and bad will also be shown.
The Uwchlan Ambulance Corps Juniors Program, the largest youth EMS organization in PA, is dedicated to empowering young people (ages 14-18) to become skilled and compassionate emergency medical professionals. Through rigorous training programs, we certify ambulance aides and junior EMTs, equipping them with the knowledge and skills necessary to provide vital pre-hospital care.
While crush injuries create images of people trapped under piles of rubble, we have the potential to encounter crush injuries on much more routine calls. With potential for patients to rapidly decompensate, we need to know how to proactively rather than reactively treat. We'll go over the etiology, pathophysiology, and treatment of crush injuries and compartment syndrome. At the end, we'll run through a real-time case.
Join our Regional Medical Director Dr. Wadas as he moderates a roundtable discussion with Director Martin and Commonwealth EMS Medical Director Dr. Bledsoe. You'll find out information on protocols, policies and procedures in Pennsylvania.
You may not realize how frequently your calls involve victims of intimate partner violence (IPV). We shed light on this, revealing the subtle signs and patterns of IPV, even when it's not immediately apparent.
join us in a survey of the latest and greatest in technological advances that will pave the future for EMS and public safety personnel. Rapid advancement of computer and AI systems as well as autonomous vehicles will certainly enhance our safety and ability to care for patients and victims, but we will still be needed, at least for a while!
DiscuApproved for 1.0 Clinical Patient Care EMS Con-Edssion of acute psychosis with delirium and the common prehospital mistakes that result in patient harm. When is sedation and more specifically ketamine helpful and when is it harmful?
Four clinical cases are reviewed, demonstrating that EMS clinicians can clinically assess clinical presentations.
We have all evaluated patients in the prehospital setting who want to make bad decisions, usually related to the refusal of care. We will discuss the concept of decision making capacity, define the elements of an assessment of capacity by prehospital clinicians, and the appropriate documentation of your assessment.
The quality of EMS clinical documentation - or lack thereof - is continuously identified as one of the biggest challenges EMS agencies face. While it's important to provide quality documentation training and education to EMS providers, it is equally important for EMS leaders to understand the key role they play in improving documentation by "the troops." In this session, Doug Wolfberg will discuss strategies that EMS leaders can use to lead their providers to produce better documentation, which supports proper billing and reduces organizational liability.
Not every life-threatening cardiac emergency comes with tombstones on the EKG. This fast-paced, case-based session takes you beyond STEMI to the high-risk conditions EMS must recognize and manage in real time, including rapid atrial fibrillation, aortic dissection, pacemaker malfunction, and myocarditis. So the next "non-STEMI" gets the right care, right now.
In today's fast-paced EMS environment, clinicians must balance patient care with ongoing education and professional development. "Appy Hour" explores innovative digital platforms and educational methodologies that empower EMS professionals to engage in lifelong learning and clinical relevancy anytime, anywhere. From microlearning apps to podcasts and social media.
In this session we well go over difficult airway management in the prehospital setting including airway size up, resuscitation and some techniques to bail you out of trouble when things go south.
We will explore the key reversible causes of bradycardia that prehospital clinicians encounter, from hypoxia and hypothermia to toxins and electrolyte derangements. Through real-world cases and practical tips, we'll walk through how to recognize red flags, intervene effectively, and decide when advanced therapies are truly needed.
At the core of every refusal is the responsibility to assess whether the patient has capacity to make an informed decision. We review a widely used four-part model of capacity, which includes understanding, appreciation, reasoning, and expression of choice. A structured approach to assessing decision-making capacity and common barriers are discussed.
We explore the tragic case of Earl Moore, Jr. to highlight how compassion fatigue and implicit bias can have deadly consequences in EMS settings. It defines key psychological and sociocultural concepts, discusses their impact on healthcare delivery, and introduces strategies to reduce risk. The goal is to promote awareness, accountability, and improved patient care.
EMS frequently encounters patients who refuse care. When EMS determines that the patient does not have decision-making capacity, EMS has a professional and legal duty to assure they get medical care. A challenge arises when these patients physically resist. We must rely on law enforcement to restrain such patients, but LE officers follow separate regulations and practices.
We explore the unique challenges of providing trauma care in rural settings, focusing on the obstacles faced by EMS personnel and rural trauma facilities. Key topics include the effective use of air medical transport, decision-making regarding trauma patient destinations, and current advances in trauma care.
This lecture will cover various devices being seen in complex pediatric patients including shunts, vagal nerve stimulators, g-tubes, tracheostomy tubes etc and will focus on emergencies or complications with such devices.
Participants will recognize critically ill neonates, understand the Pediatric Assessment Triangle for identifying sick infants, apply the initial steps of resuscitation (dry, warm, position, suction, stimulate), establish adequate ventilation, and initiate chest compressions when necessary. The lecture will also cover the importance of a consistent approach to infant care.
If a patient's EKG doesn't show a STEMI, that patient doesn't have an acute coronary artery occlusion, right? Not so fast! We will explore EKG waveforms called "STEMI Equivalents," which are also indicative of Occlusion Myocardial Infarction (OMI). Patients with these EKG findings need emergent reperfusion therapy in the cath lab.
Pediatric cardiac arrests are among the most stressful and challenging calls an EMS clinician can face. I review how to reframe the pediatric cardiac arrest by developing effective mental models that simplify decision-making, support high-quality resuscitation, and improve patient outcomes. Using evidence-based guidelines, cognitive offloading, and case-based discussion, clinicians will gain strategies to overcome hesitation.
When an asthma patient begins to crash, every second counts. We will walk through the pathophysiology of severe asthma, explore frontline and advanced treatment strategies, and highlight the critical decision points before intubation. Using real-world scenarios, we'll discuss how to recognize impending respiratory failure and optimize prehospital interventions.
Field amputation is a rarely necessitated event. A case of field amputation is presented, and the prehospital system's lessons learned are discussed. The indications, supplies needed, and the steps for performing this procedure are laid out. Areas for improvement and experience gained are introduced.
When that first drop of alcohol hits your tongue, your mind and body are taken to another place. We discuss the progression of alcohol intoxication and how it affects a patient's physiology. We'll also assess and treat patients who present with alcohol intoxication and discuss the risks of refusal.