Anyone conducting or participating EMS research?

ExpatMedic0

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Is anyone here currently conducting or participating in EMS research? If so, is it with a university, an EMS agency, or another body? Do you have any published studies and what is your educational background? I'd like to ask some questions for those who have experience in this area.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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I'm currently running a small study looking at whether paramedics can predict hospital admission through my hospital/residency program.
 
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ExpatMedic0

ExpatMedic0

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Ah cool, is that for STEMI/ cath lab, treat and release, community paramedic program or something else?
On another note, hoping I might find an EMS provider who is conducting EMS research on this thread.
 

JPINFV

Gadfly
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It's not a part of any larger study, but I'm looking at it in light of issues like alternative transportation destinations. Granted, not everyone who is admitted needs an ambulance ride, but everyone who is admitted needs to come to the hospital.
 

MedicRx

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I'm currently working on several grants, both bench science and clinical/field studies. Two of them are cooperative efforts between EMS agencies and my academic health system. I've currently got two first author manuscripts in review, and I'm diligently working on my third. My bench work is also directly related to EMS, though it is obviously more basic science-oriented than the clinical studies. I find it hard to get my EMS agencies on board with this kind of thing because most of my providers are not big believers in "that science s***". EBP doesn't exist in the alternate reality that is EMS...
 
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ExpatMedic0

ExpatMedic0

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Thanks for your reply MedicRx. Did you take a research oriented degree; if so, at what level and major? Do you still find yourself working as a field provider at all? I've just completed my undergraduate degree and am applying to graduate school this month. I am looking into what possible career endeavours exist in EMS research, and just to get some general information from someone with experience in this area who came into it as a paramedic.
 

MedicRx

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Ha those are some good questions... I studied basic science (BS - Biology/Chemistry; MS - Physiology; PharmD/PhD candidate - Pharmacotherapy), all of which required research at my institution since I had to write theses in order to graduate. I will always find time to work as a field provider, since EMS is my first love and I always try to relate what I'm doing in academia to EMS. I currently work as an FTO and EMS instructor for the local agency where I started my career, but my main job is teaching undergraduates at my own institution, as well as my research. You probably won't find many graduate programs that focus their research on EMS, but you can always try to tailor your experience to your own interests. That's what I did. I took issues that I cared about from an EMS perspective, and made them relevant to people (namely my boss) in other fields in order to gain support/funding. None of my education (except my paramedic program) is DIRECTLY related to EMS, but I've tried to use it to steer my research in directions that do apply to EMS. I say go for it, because we definitely need more EMS providers who are educated at the graduate level. Paramedics and EMTs are the only ones who will lobby for this profession, and until we take charge of our own education, research, and governance, we'll continue to be looked down upon and "told what to do", rather than deciding our own fate.
 
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ExpatMedic0

ExpatMedic0

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Thanks for the reply MedixRx. I am applying to MPH, Global Health, and Human Biology programs, hoping to be accepted into global health actually. I have not yet decided how I am gonna tailor the program(s), but was thinking if I picked a broad field within those specialities such as Non-Communicable Diseases, ect... it should be easy to tailor it to EMS in some way. It sounds like your "living the dream" I have in the back of my head which is to continue to have some form of clinical practice but also wiggle my way into research for EMS.
 
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ExpatMedic0

ExpatMedic0

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Hey there, sorry to revive an old thread. Just thought I would update you as I was accepted into the Global Health masters, I start after summer. If you have any advice on grants, or paving the way for a PhD feel free to message here. Not really sure what I got myself into but I was part of %14 accepted and I have funding for at least the first year.
 

WolfmanHarris

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My only advice on Phd's come from the three people I'm friends with who have started them. Watch for burnout going right from your Masters on. Two of my friends stopped their PHd's (one genetics, one English Lit) part way through because they'd just had enough. My other friend finished his PHd in bio and walked away from the field to never look back. Take time to breath.
 

Melbourne MICA

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Hi all,

I've just had a paper published in the International wound journal on hydrogel burn dressings. Its a systematic review that looked at evidence from 3 databases (Cochranes, Medline and Embase) for all studies on hydrogel use in burn first aid. We found no pre-hospital or other studies meeting inclusion criteria so we went further and explored non-traditional data sources such as the gray literature, manufacturers websites, studies cited by burns agencies etc. I've uploaded below for all to read but don't reproduce on any kind of carriage or web service please - copyright stuff. Very much looking for comments/ feedback as this is the first SR in this area (ever?) and undermines existing widespread use of this product. So how is it benefiting patients and I would ask the companies who make hydrogel dressings for first aid to prove any such claims with studies. This includes its analgesic benefit, effects on wound healing and cosmetic outcome, mortality rates, rates of infection or any other outcome measure they would like to cite. Also, its implications on hypothermia rates given at least one hydrogel company claims the product doesn't cause hypothermia AT ALL and doesn't even need an evaporative mechanism to work.

It is a very worrying and perplexing situation to have virtual saturation coverage in some jurisdictions of this product as the primary burn first aid treatment option yet it cannot be supported with evidence of virtually any kind from independent studies.

I'm also contributing currently, to development of new burns first aid guidelines in the UK. Almost all UK ambulance trusts use a hydrogel product to cool and dress burns and most fire services use them as well.

Melbourne MICA.

Melbourne MICA
 

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ExpatMedic0

ExpatMedic0

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Hey sorry for the late reply. Interesting article and its amazing there have been no prehospital studies of this yet, so good find. Also congrats on getting published! I am curious though, why where studies in the clinical environment (i.e. in a hospital) considered exclusion criteria or, at least not discussed further? I understand this was looking specifically at the prehospital environment, but would those studies have revealed any evidence based medical trends as to why (and the effectiveness) of HydroGel dressings being used clinically?
 
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