Alameda County EMS is entering the web 2.0 world with a new podcast geared toward EMS professionals working in Alameda County.  With a mainly clinical focus, the goal is to provide content that is both relevant and engaging.

“We want to educate our medics and EMTs in a way that gets them thinking, that gets them mad if necessary; anything to break the silence that currently pervades the space between the field and the EMS agency,” states host Joshua English, “…in the near future, we want our website to include an area where we can directly engage with the field, listening to their thoughts and concerns.”

With two episodes produced at the end of last year and received lots of positive feedback.  The first episode for 2010, The Airway Checklist: Composite Scoring gives the details and rationale for a new way of analyzing airway emergency performance from a patient’s perspective.  Though the current episode may sound a bit dry, give it a listen.  Mike Taigman (General Manager of AMR in Alameda County) does a great job of making a very clinical subject fun to listen to.

Even though the main audience is Alameda County field personnel, ALCO EMS hopes to engender dialog with the greater EMS community by sharing their cutting edge approach to EMS system management.

Upcoming episodes

(released bi-weekly on the second and fourth Wednesday of the month):

• Asthma Assessment and Treatment: Using an innovative tool for ensuring that patients suffering from asthma receive the proper care, not just in an emergency situation, but preventing acute asthma attacks through simple measures.
• Camp Sweeney Project: Redeeming juvenile offenders and offering them a chance to change their lives by learning helping others as EMS professinals.
• Spinal Injuries (Video Podcast): A step by step run through of performing a State of Maine spinal injury assessment.
• Check out their new iPhone web app at http://www.acgov.org/ems/iPhone/