Portfolio

Susanna J. Smith writing portfolio samples, susannajoysmith.com

Surprising Results to Minnesota Burnout Study

We know working in EMS often has intense physical, mental, and emotional effects that likely contribute to profession’s high turnover rate. However, there has been little published research in the last 20 years on the topic of burnout among American EMS workers.

Occupational stress among EMS caregivers has been attributed to factors such as hazardous environments, exposure to traumatic situations, physical strain, the demands of shift work, and hierarchal cultures prevalent in the industry. In other healthcare professions, such as among emergency nurses and physicians, occupational burnout has been tied to lower-quality patient care.

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Trends in EMS Continuing Education

Earlier this year the National Registry of EMTs (NREMT) announced the launch of a new web tool to streamline EMS professionals’ recertification tracking. It was the latest of several tools the Registry has built since launching a new model for recertification, the National Continued Competency Program (NCCP), in 2012. 

The NCCP is a foundational part of the Registry’s efforts to support the EMS profession’s shift toward a model of lifelong professional learning and evidence-based education. The model offers state and local agencies, along with medical directors, more say in specifying training requirements for their EMS providers. 

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Technology and Collaboration Drive Dramatic Improvements in Stroke Treatment

Nearly 800,000 strokes happen in the United States each year. Like heart attacks, strokes are time-sensitive emergencies. Nearly two million neurons are at risk of permanent damage for every minute that elapses until the blocked artery is opened up and circulation is restored, meaning “time is brain” during a stroke. At Memorial Healthcare System in South Florida, a team of physicians and EMS professionals have transformed stroke care and more than halved the median door-to-needle time for the administration of IV tPA from 82 to 34 minutes from 2014 to Q1 of 2016.

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Disruptive Technologies in EMS

New technologies, including advances in remote monitoring systems, offer the promise of transforming the delivery of EMS, impacting everything from dispatch to treatment and diagnosis in the prehospital setting and moving EMS toward a more predictive, rather than reactive, response model. Remote monitoring systems, offer the promise of transforming the delivery of EMS, impacting everything from dispatch to treatment and diagnosis in the prehospital setting and moving EMS toward a more predictive, rather than reactive, response model.

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Susanna Smith
Interprofessional Teams Drive the Evolution of Healthcare

The U.S. healthcare system has been criticized as fragmented, inefficient and costly. But Eric Beck, DO, MPH, president and CEO of Evolution Health in Dallas, and his staff are proving it doesn’t have to be. They’re building new models of team-based delivery and processes that offer patients and providers a better experience. And they’re making healthcare more efficient and effective.

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