Editor’s note: Welcome to the What Paramedics Want podcast series of Inside EMS, sponsored by Pulsara. The state of the industry What Paramedics Want Report explores issues tied to provider recruitment and retention; safety, health and wellness support; technology adoption; and career development, produced in partnership with Fitch & Associates and the National EMS Management Association. Learn more and download your copy.
In this episode of Inside EMS, our cohosts discuss how a lack of training feedback has led to an epidemic of providers not knowing the proper way to bag patients during ventilation, according to Kelly Grayson. He shares his new training plan for performance-focused ventilation and the tools he’s implemented to make the procedure easier to master and understand.
Top takeaways
- Over-ventilation is an issue. Many EMS providers unknowingly over-ventilate patients during resuscitation, resulting in increased intrathoracic pressure and decreased coronary perfusion.
- Smaller BVMs can prevent over-ventilation. Using large BVMs, which deliver up to 1600 milliliters of air, leads to excessive tidal volumes far beyond the average adult’s requirement of 500 milliliters. Switching to smaller-volume BVMs, such as pediatric bags for adult patients, can help prevent over-ventilation and improve patient outcomes.
- Real-time feedback improves ventilation. Devices like the EOlife X provide real-time feedback on ventilation rate and volume, helping EMS providers learn proper ventilation techniques. Grayson’s workshops utilizing these tools have demonstrated immediate improvement in the ability of providers to deliver the correct amount of air to patients.
Memorable quotes
- “When was the last time you actually got feedback on how good you were ventilating?” – Kelly Grayson
- “Everything you thought you knew about bagging is probably wrong. And if you want to improve something you have to measure it. And if you’re not measuring it, you don’t know what needs improving or not.” – Kelly Grayson
- “We’re under-ventilating the vast majority of our patients if we’re only looking at chest rise.” – Kelly Grayson
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