Pediatric cardiac arrest: It’s on providers to strengthen skills

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In this episode, co-hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson discuss the topic of pediatric cardiac arrest following two recent articles on EMS1 that tackle the topic from different angles. Read them here:

• Out-of-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest management
• Pre-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest: Should children be treated like small adults?

Is it time to change the practice of how we handle out-of-hospital pediatric cardiac arrest? According to our hosts, the days of scooping and running are over, and EMS providers need to become more comfortable in staying on scene and delivering care before transport. During the discussion, Cebollero asks listeners, if providers know that pediatric calls are a personal weakness, “What are you doing to turn that into a strength?” He adds that “leaders are culpable if calls go bad” if they are not encouraging and working with providers to strengthen those skills.

This article was originally posted Aug. 6, 2021. It has been updated.