Episodios

  • Ep 274 - What medical conferences offer in 2025 (and how they’ve changed)
    Oct 18 2025

    Episode summary

    • Why in‑person conferences still matter in a post‑COVID world.

    • What formats work now: short talks, interviews, demos, strong hosting.

    • How to turn “a great day out” into Monday‑morning change.

    Guests

    • David Carr — EM physician (Toronto). Leads the Annual Update in EM at Whistler. Focus: inclusive, high‑energy, “hard‑core EM” content.

    • Haney Mallemat — EM & Critical Care (South Jersey/Philadelphia). Founder of ResusX; designs short, high‑engagement sessions that feel like live conversations.

    Key themes

    • Why travel when content is online? Being in the room changes attention, reflection, and recall. Learning happens in corridors, evening sessions, and next‑day conversations.

    • From lectures to experiences. Shift to shorter talks, couch discussions, live demos, and deliberate hosting. Format follows audience and venue.

    • Programme design starts with the audience. Build for how people learn now. Coach faculty. Pick speakers for delivery and credibility.

    • Strong hosting is part of pedagogy. Good chairs manage flow, time, and psychological safety so the audience can relax and learn.

    • Social learning drives change. Purposeful social time and small‑group evening sessions create the “stickiness” that leads to projects and practice updates.

    Practical takeaways for clinicians

    • Arrive with intent: bring 1–2 real patient problems to solve.

    • Choose your format: prioritise short talks, interviews, and hands‑on if your attention is fragmented.

    • Make it stick on Monday: debrief with a colleague, write one practice change, set a review date. Present a short “what I learned” to your team.

    • Borrow authority wisely: take clear, referenced points (e.g., contrast allergy/nephropathy policies) back to local committees.

    Practical takeaways for organisers

    • Audience first: define who you serve; let that drive length, tone, and format.

    • Shorten and vary: fewer bullet‑heavy lectures; more interviews, panels, and no‑slide formats when it helps educators shine.

    • Coach and curate: select speakers for content and delivery; build a pipeline for new voices.

    • Invest in hosting: treat chairs as educators; they safeguard pacing, transitions, and safety.

    • Design the socials: plan purposeful evening micro‑teaching and cross‑disciplinary meet‑ups.

    • Measure impact: mandate feedback tied to CPD; analyse themes and close the loop next year.

    Risks and tensions

    • Edutainment vs evidence: keep the energy without losing rigour.

    • Access and equity: budgets, visas, disability, and caring responsibilities exclude many; amplify content post‑event.

    • “Too innovative?” Novel formats can struggle with recognition and funding; meet audiences halfway and iterate.

    How conferences translate to patient care

    • Prioritise topics that solve common bottlenecks.

    • Put change agents on stage with take‑home resources (e.g., clear radiology guidance on contrast “allergy” and nephropathy).

    • Encourage attendees to form local groups to implement one change within two weeks.

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    43 m
  • Ep 273 - Surg Cap Ed Barnard on the Abdominal Aortic & Junctional Tourniquet (AAJT) for Exsanguinating, Non-Compressible Haemorrhage at BASICs 2025
    Oct 9 2025

    Recorded at the BASICS Pre-Hospital Care Conference at Sketchley Grange, this episode explores one of the most experimental tools in civilian trauma care — the abdominal aortic and junctional tourniquet. Dr Ed Barnard joins us to discuss why this device was developed, how it works, and where it might — just might — save lives when all other options have failed.

    The conversation traces the problem of non-compressible haemorrhage, the leading cause of potentially survivable trauma death. Conventional limb tourniquets, pelvic binders and packing can’t reach these deep bleeding sites. The AAJT offers a radical alternative: external aortic compression to buy a few crucial minutes until surgical control or REBOA is possible.

    Ed explains the mechanism — an inflatable, ratcheted belt that can occlude the aorta or major junctional vessels — and the evidence so far. Laboratory and volunteer data show that it can stop flow, but pain and tissue ischaemia make it difficult to tolerate for long. Clinical experience remains limited to small case series, mostly in military or research settings, and no human trials yet demonstrate a survival benefit.

    The discussion is candid about risk and realism. The AAJT is a last-resort device, to be used only within strict governance, with clear time limits and immediate plans for definitive haemorrhage control. It’s not something you reach for on a normal shift — it’s something you might need once in a career, and only if every other option has failed.

    Ed shares insights from ongoing research, including its potential role as a bridge to REBOA, and the governance frameworks that should surround any trial use. The episode ends with a look to the future: how civilian and military collaboration might refine indications, training, and data collection for this rare but potentially life-saving intervention.

    Surgeon Captain Ed Barnard

    Surgeon Captain Ed Barnard is a Consultant in Emergency Medicine at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, Cambridge, and a Professor of Emergency Medicine with the Defence Medical Services. He also serves with East Anglian Air Ambulance as a HEMS doctor (having had many years as a BASICS responder). His academic work focuses on prehospital and military trauma care, with a portfolio spanning clinical trials, blood product innovation, and trauma system development.

    Ed’s academic work focuses on improving survival from catastrophic bleeding, particularly non-compressible and junctional haemorrhage. He has published and presented widely on trauma resuscitation, traumatic cardiac arrest, and the evolving role of devices such as the abdominal aortic and junctional tourniquet (AAJT) and REBOA. He is a co-author of the 2025 BMJ Military Health systematic review examining the utility of the AAJT-S in military practice.

    He is also an experienced educator, contributing to trauma training for BASICS, HEMS, and Defence Medical Services, and continues to combine clinical work with research aimed at translating lessons from military to civilian trauma care.

    About BASICS: The British Association for Immediate Care (BASICS) is a UK charity uniting clinicians dedicated to pre-hospital emergency medicine. Founded in 1977, it supports regional immediate-care schemes, delivers national training, and hosts the annual BASICS Pre-Hospital Care Conference, bringing together experts in trauma, retrieval, and critical care — like this conversation with Dr Ed Barnard.

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    26 m
  • Ep 272 - Toxicology, Hyperthermia and the Future of Emergency Care (June and July 2025)
    Aug 23 2025

    In this episode of the St Emlyn's Podcast, Iain and Simon discuss the latest updates in emergency medicine during the hot UK summer. They discuss the latest research and content from the St Emlyns blog, touching on topics like serotonin syndrome, the impact of the new urgent and emergency care plan in the UK, and the use of salbutamol as an analgesic for renal colic.

    They also highlight the growing issue of nitazenes, a new class of synthetic opioids, and their implications for emergency medicine. Lastly, they emphasise the importance of staying updated on toxicology to effectively manage high-acuity, low-occurrence events such as drug-induced hyperthermia.

    00:00 Introduction

    01:35 Upcoming Conferences

    03:41 Med Pod Learn

    05:09 Serotonin Syndrome Deep Dive

    10:22 Urgent and Emergency Care Plan

    18:04 Salbutamol for Renal Colic

    22:07 Hypothermia in Toxicology Emergencies

    27:04 Nitazines: A Growing Problem

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    32 m
  • Ep 271 - Behavioural Disturbance, Trauma scores, Compassion, Thoracotomies and more
    Jul 11 2025

    Iain and Simon return after a brief hiatus to discuss key blog posts from April and May on the St Emlyn's Podcast. They highlight notable conferences including IncrEMentum 2025 in Spain, The Big Sick in Zermatt, and the BASICs Conference.

    Discussions cover content from recent emergency medicine research, the importance of compassion and patient-centred care, and operational strategies to avoid emergency department overcrowding. Insights are also shared from fieldwork in South Africa on emergency thoracotomies and their impressive survival rates.

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    36 m
  • Ep 270 - Insights on Cannabis Edibles, Pre-Hospital Thoracotomy, and more
    Jun 4 2025
    In the March 2025 episode of the St. Emlyn's podcast, Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley discuss a variety of topics covered in their latest blog posts and podcasts. Key discussions include the implications of cannabis edibles in emergency departments, expert viewpoints on pre-hospital resuscitative thoracotomy for traumatic cardiac arrest, and the use of ketamine for opioid-dependent patients. Highlights from recent conferences such as The Big Sick, IncrEMentuM 2025, and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine (RCEM) conference in Birmingham are shared. The episode also delves into department culture, addressing resilience, risk management, and other critical topics in emergency medicine. The podcast concludes with a recommendation of Matt Morgan’s book "A Second Act: What Nearly Dying Teaches About Really Living." 00:00 Introduction and March 2025 Roundup 01:45 Cannabis Edibles in the Emergency Department 05:25 Pre-Hospital Resuscitative Thoracotomy 12:38 Ketamine for Opioid Users in Acute Pain 15:17 Conference Highlights and Reflections 27:13 Matt Morgan's Inspirational Talk 30:50 Conclusion and Farewell
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    31 m
  • Ep 269 - Monthly Round Up Janury 2025 - Prehospital Papers Galore!....
    May 14 2025

    In this episode of the St Emlyn's Podcast, Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley revisit January's blog posts and podcasts, covering several seminal studies relevant to emergency and pre-hospital care.

    Topics include the Sub 30 Feasibility Study on pre-hospital ECMO, comparisons of pre-hospital versus in-hospital emergency anaesthesia, variations in maintenance of pre-hospital anaesthesia in trauma patients, and the effectiveness of physician-led pre-hospital teams.

    They also discuss the economic implications of advanced pre-hospital interventions and highlight reviews from the London Trauma Conference.

    00:00 Introduction and January Recap

    01:58 Pre-Hospital ECPR Study: The Sub 30 Study

    07:09 Emergency Anaesthesia: Pre-Hospital vs. Emergency Department

    13:55 Maintenance of Pre-Hospital Anaesthesia: Variations in Practice

    16:57 Physician-Led Pre-Hospital Teams: Do They Improve Outcomes?

    22:12 Additional Insights and Upcoming Content

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    24 m
  • Ep 268 - Top Papers of 2024 from The Big Sick Conference
    Apr 23 2025

    In this special edition of the St Emlyn’s podcast, Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley review the top medical papers of 2024, originating from Simon’s talk at The Big Sick conference in Zermatt. The discussion includes a comparison of non-invasive versus arterial pressure monitoring, the association of intra-arrest arterial blood pressure with ROSC, the efficacy of serratus anterior plane blocks for rib fracture management, and the evaluation of a micro axial flow pump in cardiogenic shock.

    They also delve into double sequential external defibrillation in refractory out-of-hospital cardiac arrest and provide a rapid-fire review of additional critical papers discussed at the conference. Notable mentions include the HEMOTION trial, PRE OXI trial, BLING III, and PARAMEDIC-3, among others.

    A must-listen for those passionate about evidence-based medicine in emergency and pre-hospital care.

    You can read more about all the trials, including links to all the papers here (part 1) and here (part 2)

    00:00 Introduction and Conference Highlights

    01:51 Non-Invasive vs. Arterial Pressure Monitoring

    03:28 Intra-Arrest Blood Pressure and ROSC

    05:34 Serratus Anterior Plane Blocks for Rib Fractures

    08:38 Micro Axial Flow Pump in Cardiogenic Shock 10:49 Double Sequential Defibrillation in Cardiac Arrest

    13:17 HEMOTION Trial

    15:01 PRE OXI and BLING III Trials

    17:08 Fluid Management in Septic Shock

    18:37 Expedited Transfer vs. On-Scene Resuscitation

    20:39 Intraosseous vs. Intravenous Access

    21:48 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

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    23 m
  • Ep 267 - Social Media and Artifical Intelligence in Medicine with Peter Brindley at LTC
    Apr 16 2025

    Join hosts Iain Beardsell and Natalie May at the London Trauma Conference as they welcome Peter Brindley back to the St Emlyn’s podcast. In this engaging episode, they delve into the nuances of social media, digital footprints, and the burgeoning influence of artificial intelligence in medicine. Brindley discusses the importance of maintaining an authentic digital presence and addresses the impact of misinformation and disinformation in the digital age. They explore the challenges and opportunities presented by AI in clinical decision-making and share insights on navigating this evolving landscape as healthcare professionals. Tune in for a thought-provoking conversation on staying relevant and responsible in a digitally-driven world.

    00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:40 Understanding Digital Footprint 03:53 Navigating Information and Misinformation 05:41 The Role of AI in Information Search 08:45 AI in Clinical Decision Making 15:28 The Kardashian Index and Social Media Influence 17:39 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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    18 m