American Trauma Society
Pennsylvania Division
Webinar Recordings
The recordings below were offered as part of an educational webinar series. They are now available for your viewing convenience. At this time we are unable to offer continuing education credits for these recordings but hope to offer them as part of an on demand series in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at atspa@atspa.org.
April 7: Suicide: Off the Record
Sarah Ames, EMT, Firefighter – Sergeant, Garden Spot Fire Rescue
Suicide: Off the Record will discuss suicide trends, productive ways in which to respond to a person with a suicidal ideology, and coping mechanisms to maintain a healthy mental outlook. This talk is designed for those employed in the healthcare, social service, or emergency medical services fields and will illustrate ways in which all suicide cases are unique. Participants will recognize the stigma surrounding this topic and will describe approaches to stress, coping mechanisms, and methods to maintain a healthy mental outlook when providing services in a healthcare or social service field.
April 14: Boston Marathon Bombing – Perspective from the Finish Line
David Hirsch, MD, MPH, FACEP, FAEMS – Emergency/EMS Physician, Littleton Regional Healthcare
Dr. Hirsch will provide a first-hand account of the Boston Marathon Bombing from his viewpoint as an operational EMS Physician who was working at the finish line of the marathon during the bombing. An overview of the EMS and trauma systems in Boston will be provided, as well as how these resources were mobilized during the event. Dr. Hirsch will discuss the strengths of the response, as well as address opportunities for improvement. The principles of damage control resuscitation will be outlined, with an emphasis on how EMS and trauma care has developed over the past several years. Finally, lessons learned will be highlighted for integration into attendees’ own local systems.
April 21: Unprecedented Violence During an Unprecedented Pandemic
Jeremy Cannon, MD, SM, FACS – Trauma Program Medical Director, University of Pennsylvania
While emergency department (ED) visits fell drastically during stay-at-home orders, visits for intentional injuries reached historic highs. During this session, Dr. Cannon will describe the pattern of trauma cases and explain the dynamics of penetrating trauma during the various phases of the pandemic. As the COVID-19 surge began, the trauma center determined the need to implement recommendations to stop the spread, while at the same time needing to respond to historic levels of penetrating injuries. Join Dr. Cannon to learn how Philadelphia’s trauma systems worked collaboratively to maintain readiness as trauma centers during the pandemic.
April 28: When All the Puzzle Pieces Fit Perfectly: A Successful Mass Casualty Incident Response
Gigi Taylor, MSN, RN, TCRN, CEN – Trauma Outreach Coordinator, University of Tennessee Medical Center
Deborah Tuggle, RN, CEN - Pediatric Trauma/Injury Prevention Coordinator, University of Tennessee Medical Center
A mass casualty incident (MCI) is an event in which the number of victims overwhelms the resources in both the prehospital and the in-hospital environments. This session will review a successful MCI case presentation and highlight how coordination between the RMCC and a Level I Trauma Center influenced patient outcomes. Surge contingency plans are vital to ensuring patient flow and efficient management of resource consumption without delaying non-trauma services.
May 5: The Effects of Emotional Trauma
Melissa Porrey, NCC, LPC – Mental Health Associate, American Red Cross
For many healthcare professionals, trauma is thought of in the physical sense - as potentially life-threatening injuries that impact the body. But, there is also a very important psychological component to trauma, and it affects more than the trauma patient. This session will outline the effects of emotional trauma by looking at traumatic responses from a whole-person perspective. It will define the automatic psychological trauma response and how it protects us and will outline the negative long-term outcomes when this response no longer serves us. Participants will learn about the ways psychological trauma can affect healthcare workers so they may assess their own level of burnout. This session will also provide evidence-based interventions that can alleviate the automatic psychological trauma response and encourage healthy coping.
Links to videos:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4EDhdAHrOg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv_79-p6SPM
Links to handouts:
https://www.proqol.org/uploads/ProQOL_5_English_Self-Score_3-2012.pdf
https://socialwork.buffalo.edu/content/dam/socialwork/home/self-care-kit/are-you-stressed.pdf
May 12: Acute Stress: A Normal Response To An Abnormal Event
Richard Kamin, MD, FACEP – EMS Program Director, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine, UConn Health
Through his experience as a physician providing medical support for law enforcement, Dr. Kamin learned first-hand about the symptoms of acute stress and how this normal response after a traumatic event differs from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although he was fortunate to have good guidance during this time in his life, Dr. Kamin realized that many who are subjecting themselves to the same potential are not well enough informed or resourced properly. Based on these insights, this talk aims to help prepare willing responders to be better informed and able to do the job they are called upon to do.