Operating in the Gray Zone

Course overview

Objectives Describe the situations where critical thinking is necessary for the development of a call Identify strong guidelines for department SOPs when it comes to protocols that allow for provider discretion Explain the foundations of critical thinking and its use in EMS Content Summary In this episode Steve Dan and Holly discuss calls that are not black and white and have forced them to think outside the box Steve provides Dan and Holly with a case he encountered and has them walk through their decision making He then reflects on how he and his crew responded to the scenario Holly reviews a call she had that presented a variety of challenges and forced her to work in the gray zone and defend the clinical decisions she made to her agency and receiving hospital The team closes by reviewing the importance of critical thinking and its application in the world of emergency medicine Learning Points Situations in which EMS providers may be forced to both think and operate outside specific protocols How critical thinking is utilized and relied upon in all of EMS and specifically when the call may fall outside a specific protocol Foundations of critical thinking Opportunities to exercise critical thinking with real world case studies Guidelines to follow when one is operating outside the standard operating procedures