58 - Lessons Learned in Blood with Mike Shertz, MD

<p class="p1">Mass casualty events are rare and thus the mistakes made and lessons learned are often repeated, over and over. In this episode, emergency physician and former Special Forces medic Mike Shertz, MD walks us through the steps on how to be an effective first receiver of mass casualty victims and shares the lessons written in blood from previous events. </p> <p class="p1"> </p> <p class="p1"><strong>Guest Bio:</strong> Mike Shertz MD is an emergency physician who spent 13 years as a Green Beret and a Special Forces medic. He is the founder and purveyor of <a href= "https://www.crisis-medicine.com/"><span class="s1">Crisis Medicine</span></a> which teaches and trains first responders in tactical casualty care. Check out <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p50C7yrWCko"><span class="s1">this video</span></a> that we did together in 2019 on how to place and remove a tourniquet and <a href= "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ULJgkkA_lU"><span class="s1">this one</span></a> on how to pack a gunshot wound with combat gauze. </p> <p class="p2"><strong>We discuss:</strong></p> <ul> <li class="p2"><strong>The First Receiver who is in a singularly unique position as it applies to a mass casualty [03:55];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>The difference between a hospital’s surge capacity and mass casualty preparedness [05:30];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>The mindset of the medical provider after receiving a patient from EMS [10:32];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>The value of a field triage score which is a simple way to stratify casualties [12:50];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>How the success of a mass casualty event for the first receiver has to do with organization, throughput, and saving lives [16:15];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>Lessons learned from the Christchurch, New Zealand mass shooter incident [29:45];</strong></li> <li class="p2"><strong>How your response to a mass casualty differs if you’re unsure about the safety of your facility (as was the case in the 2020 B