Episode Transcript
[00:00:03] Speaker A: Welcome to the @pit crew podcast. This high energy show dives deep into the world of sports emergency care. Join us as we explore cutting edge strategies, real world experiences and expert insights to help you step up your game in emergency care. We've got the tools, tips and stories you need to be ready when seconds matter. It's time for the @pit crew podcast. We have the green light in three, two, one.
[00:00:32] Speaker B: Welcome to the ATP crew podcast. I'm Ray Castle and today we're talking with Caitlin Place, who brings a unique perspective to sports emergency care. Caitlin is a dual credentialed athletic trainer in emt and she's here to share her insights on how her dual roles enhance emergency care for athletes. She's passionate about combining her skills in both fields to improve the immediate response to injuries and emergencies in sports. Her dual credentials have also allowed her to navigate the athlete training and EMS worlds, making her a valuable asset in the sports emergency care realm. It's time to buckle up and let's get this show rolling.
Caitlin, welcome to the show.
[00:01:13] Speaker C: Thanks for having me.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: Great to have you here. So if you would just real quick, just tell the audience a little bit about where you are and what you do and we'll get rolling.
[00:01:25] Speaker C: Yeah. So I am a solo athletic trainer in rural Minnesota at a high school and it is awesome. I love it. And I also work on our local ambulance service as an emt.
Both take up almost all my spare time. I don't know what spare time is anymore. My husband calls me a workaholic. But, you know, it's, it's hard to say it's work when it's something you like.
[00:01:54] Speaker B: So that's the passing time, the family, you do, the things to do, to do, to have fun in other areas as well. So very good.
[00:02:02] Speaker C: Absolutely excellent.
[00:02:03] Speaker B: That's. I love hearing that. So I've done that some before with EMS several years ago, doing that and love, love that combination, doing that. So, okay, so audience, this is what we have. We have just like in the pit crew, it's fast paced. We have 10 laps or 10 questions leading into the final lap and that's when it gets really high pace and high speed, lightning round and then we're going to go to victory Lane and then we'll close it out. So, Caitlin, you ready to get started?
[00:02:34] Speaker C: One thing quick. Who's your co host behind you?
[00:02:38] Speaker B: I'm like, what that is? That's a junior skeleton. So when I was at lsu, I had that and by chance a friend of mine told me, hey, you ought to get one of those miniature LSU helmets. So I put it on and I put a screw in it and it lines up perfectly with the skeleton head with the ears, you know, so I would use it in the office to just do as a demonstration, you know, this is what you do, you know, doing the pin, the 10 point check on a helmet. So it works great. You know, that was the, that was the student who probably, you know, probably didn't survive one of my insurance.
Oh, my gosh. That's a great one. So I was not expecting that. How you, how you frame that? So. Okay, so let's get started with. We're gonna go to lap one here. So. Hey, so Caitlin, you know, you and I've talked a good bit before in the past, and I know you with other dual credentialed athlete trainers. This is now a growing trend in having a combination of the AT&EMT credential. And it's just, it's marries so well. So with what you do. And then there's also the cross flow for other in athletics, outside athletics. So for you, how is being both an athlete trainer and EMT enhanced your ability to manage emergencies in your sports settings?
[00:03:55] Speaker C: So with being so rural and working both at the local high school and on our ambulance service, it honestly, like, the rapport that I've built among both settings is huge. Yeah, I've been able to, I don't want to say infiltrate, but kind of with the ambulance service, I've been able to establish myself as kind of the local authority, so to speak, on sports emergency care. And I've been able to coordinate like our annual trainings for football equipment and cold water immersion.
And then I know too that when my ambulance crew shows up for our games on Friday nights, I know the crew, I know they're there. I've personally vetted them and their skills to assist me on the field. And being in a rural setting, having those trained professionals ready to help and having them on hand is massive. It has been phenomenal to have that in place.
[00:05:05] Speaker B: Yeah, it works great. I'll just say, you know, I, I was thinking when you said that just work, you know, I went to, I was working in Lexington, Kentucky, working a tennis tournament summer and happened to meet the chief or battalion. I think it was a battalion chief. And, you know, I got to give a shout out to Al and Sue Green and Rob Ullery and his staff at UK Orthopedics and Jim Madolino, you know, they, they've set a stage. So I'm talking to him, you know, at this event. And it just makes it just like you just said, being able to see that and also makes the job easy because they understand what we do. And then also for me is dual credential. We're talking in a, in a, same, in a specific language, so to speak, or cadence that, that really I find myself turning into the EMS role. My, my, my brain set to do that, but I'm talking the same thing with athletics and vice versa. So yeah, it's, it's been a, I agree with you wholeheartedly on that. So when we talk about moving in sports emergencies, you know, we've seen the range from very simple to these, you know, life threatening, where seconds count. So what has been your biggest challenge you face when responding to emergencies and how have you handled them or how do you handle them now?
[00:06:24] Speaker C: Yeah, honestly the biggest challenge is just being so rural, if for some reason the ambulance can't be there or shoot. Just a couple weeks ago at a JV football game, I had to activate EMS for a possible neck injury. And because we only have the ambulance on standby for the varsity games, I was just kind of hanging out until they got there. Couldn't really do much.
Of course I've got coaches, but my coaching situation is complicated. We'll say as far as my trainings go, not all of the coaches are present, so not all of them know the proper way to assist me.
So that's been a big challenge. And then in our little corner of the world, there are only a few schools where their athletic trainers travel with the football team.
I travel with my team, which I wouldn't have it any other way, but other area schools, most area schools around us, they have an athletic trainer, but their contract states that they don't travel. So most of the time home games, it's me for both teams and that's really hard.
But there have been times where we've been the visiting team and it's just been me. And that is a unique set of issues too. And in those, I always go up to the home team head coach and be like, hey, I'm here. Do you want me to assist with your guys? Like, I'm ready and willing and if they say yes, I'll happily do it. If they say no, we're fine.
I mean if, if things go south quickly, I'm going to jump in. I don't care what the situation is. Um, but that's, it's been hard. It's hard to be a rural high school athletic trainer. Um, a lot of times we're kind of on an island by myself, so to speak.
[00:08:26] Speaker B: You know, it's kind of, it's kind of like, I mean, you also see that as I'm gonna have you put your em, your EMT hat on, like riding in a unit. And I've done the same thing, you know, when I've, when I rode with the local EMS agency here. You're, you're in the same situation. You're an island. I mean, there's, you go out to a rural area and there is, you have, you and your partner and that, you have your equipment, but that's it. And you may have laid bystanders if you had to use, use them to assist, but it's still the, it's still kind of a similar. And I just, I say that to make, just to take pause for anybody. Like, look, ems, they have, they can have Calvary coming, you know, have radio communications, but still, if you're 30 minutes away from a host, from a hospital, you're still 30 minutes away from a hospital. And you have to have those basic skills, regardless of those, to be able to respond to that. And then the good thing is if you don't, like you just mentioned, you're calling, somebody's coming in and who can assist. So now they have an addition. You know, it's a, it's hand in hand, so works with that as well.
[00:09:31] Speaker C: So I will, I will add that being so rural does have its advantages too, because you, we're in a small town and you get that small town community. And so like all of our, all of our firefighters are volunteer, all of our EMS crew, most of us are from the town that we, that we serve in. And so I will say it is nice to know that there are qualified people in the stands who can help me if needed. And that's, and that's happened too. So while there's, while there's very few athletic trainers in the area, I know personally, at least at my school, if something happens, I'm going to have qualified people come out of the stands and help me. It's not like the random doctor coming down and trying to take over. It's my EMS crew partners or parents who are nurses that I know them personally and they come down and I know that they're going to give me good help.
And so you, you do get that small town camaraderie and, you know, the small town love, that happens too. And that's, you can't beat that.
[00:10:41] Speaker B: Yeah, I grew up in a very, well, I grew up in a, in a similar area in north Louisiana. And you know, I recall just in sport, you know, in sports we'd have injury. I remember there are tons of people there. They are even, you know, the volunteer fire, it wasn't a volunteer. They have a fire department, they have, you know, police, they're, you know, they're trained and they would still, they're there for your game and they still come out and even have others there to assist. So if needed to. So you know, along those lines, you know, we know that there's an inherent, this job function in sports where athlete trainers and EMS work alongside each other and you have to collab. It's a, it has to be a strong collaboration and cohesiveness. So how is your EMT background helped you to collaborate effectively with your EMT or EMS colleagues during emergencies.
[00:11:34] Speaker C: So it's really awesome.
And I can't speak enough to serving on the same service that would respond to emergencies. So having one foot in both ponds has been amazing because I know what our protocols are on the rig from our medical direction. So when they come I know exactly how their process is going to work. And honestly a lot of the processes with the crew and on the rig and our order of operations is the same as what I do as an athletic trainer. So the lexicon switch is not hard and so like the very few changes that we have.
So like cold water immersion for heat stroke, we know that cold water immersion is the gold standard. But on my ambulance, our standing orders for heat stroke victims are to place ice packs on the major pulse points.
But I've been able to get that changed. We've been able to secure like an exemption for athletics where if I call for heat stroke, our medical direction has okayed the cooling for 10 to 15 minutes or until the data therm reads 102 before transport. Any other person, a farmer out in the field, they're going to get the ice pack treatment.
So it's been really nice to know what the standing protocol is and be familiar with it because when I'm on the truck, that's the protocol I have to work.
But you know, in cold water immersion they're going to let me do my thing. But then if the patient starts deteriorating and we have to start doing cpr, we all know that patient's coming out of the tub and we're going to start on the other life saving care. So it's, we're speaking the same language and that is awesome. And I know not everyone can say that, especially those in the bigger Towns where EMS is kind of in their own world doing their own thing and they're not able to blend those protocols very easily. So I'm very lucky in that sense. But it's definitely something that I've worked for to be able to prove.
Not that I had to work hard, honestly, now that I think about it, but showing the value and knowledge of athletic trainers in order to get EMS medical direction on board.
It's made those few changes, those few differences in protocol a lot easier to navigate.
[00:14:13] Speaker B: Yeah, I think, I think the protocol thing you mentioned briefly is that one is most agencies are public agencies. I mean there may be some that are privately owned, but those that are, that are public, those are free access, free access information. So you can easily get that. And I think that the EMS agencies I know we've spoken with out here, like yes, please, for the schools or whatever, let's look at those. Not going to be every protocol, but when you work with them, hey, can we borrow these? Can we modify them? Yeah, your tax dollars are paying for them, so you can use them. Modify and actually use most of those and adapt your policies. I mean, and we have to understand that. I think you, I think you hit on the point is, you know, EMS overall nationwide is, it's the 800 pound gorilla. It doesn't move. They're very, it's efficient, it moves. So it's not going to move to what, they're not going to move to what we do. But in the case of like cold water immersion, they, you see this, everybody does the same. I think if you ask anybody across the world and I even heard a podcast recently that even saw it was a physician overseas. Oh, I know what it was. It was NFL pot on the, on the game day preparation. And one of the physicians in England and in London was like look, most of the policies, protocol emergency care is almost the same no matter where you go. And so it makes it easy let's, you know, communicate on that side as well. So.
Right. So regarding those, you know this is on the tie in it gets into is, you know, having the working alongside is it requires a fast coordinated response to those on field emergencies. And what are the some that key differences you've seen in how athletic trainers and EMTs approach the emergency situations? And then I think you've already hit on this a little bit. But maybe if not then how do you balance the two?
Because now you have, you're having a dual credential role.
[00:16:05] Speaker C: Oh geez, it's. This one's interesting, you know, as Athletic trainers.
We're used to the athletic setting and the types of injuries that happen. So I feel like the major difference is we go out there and we have a certain calm about us. Not that EMS personnel doesn't, but, you know, we're in our wheelhouse, we're in our zone.
And ems, if it's a situation that they're not particularly or like specifically trained on or familiar or comfortable with, you know, we always hope that they can come into any situation and be cool because in ems, we never know what we're going to get.
But what I've seen recently, we had a cross country meet and everyone knows at the end of the shoot, there's a lot of dramatics. There's a lot of collapsing and joking and crying and you have to like log roll people out of the chute.
We're used to that. But we had some shoot workers who are local first responders, and I could tell that they have not been around cross country shoots much because they, they had almost like a certain panic about them and I'm like, no, no, no. Like, it's all good. They all finish this way. They're all dramatic. You learn how to triage really quickly, who's, who's just exhausted from their race and who actually needs help.
And I remember saying, you know, no, it's okay. Like, this person's okay. And the one, the one shoot worker, like, looked at me like, are you crazy? Like, this is what I do. Um, and like, especially like football injuries on the field, we go out there and we, we have in our mind the, the process that has to happen, the flow of events for equipment removal. We know kind of what we're, what we're getting into.
And this is where it goes back to. I'm really glad that I can train my, my crew because when they come out, when I wave them out, they know what they're getting into.
But if they haven't done my training, then there's this element of uncertainty and it doesn't go as smoothly as you would hope.
So having that communication and that it. Training, if you can, is crucial for those emergent times.
But yeah, luckily, I mean, like you said, you know, every call starts with the basic, the basics. You know, every call is bls.
And so it helps that, you know, if we've got a tib fib fracture, I'm going to splint it. EMS is going to splint it. It's all going to be the same. Um, so when, when seconds count it, we kind of know what we're getting into.
[00:19:17] Speaker B: Yeah, it's a deliberate, deliberate cadence because no, I think that's the one thing I see that I think athletic trainers have gotten frustrated with. Well, EMS is they're not running. And I'm like, you don't have to run. You have to be a. You have to be deliberate, almost contagious. And that's the one thing I've got. No, there are few. They're very jokingly say there are very few things in which you really need to run. And you know, those are, you know, one, if you see obviously, you know, life threatening bleeding, you know, if they're definitely say their cardiac arrest, you know, or for some reason, you know, you may have a vehicle coming at you or something like, you know, that's, you know, something crazy like that. But you got to get out of the way or move fast. So that's the main thing is just trying to appreciate what both do and seek first to understand thing on both sides, you know, and it's worked well. I think it's getting tremendously better in the last couple of years. We're seeing that really seamless flow of what that looks like so big time.
[00:20:17] Speaker C: Obviously, sense of urgency is catching on with.
I would say the sense of urgency on the EMS side is catching on where they're not exactly doing, you know, their trainer trot. We don't expect them to, but I think we as ATS are slowing down collectively too.
[00:20:34] Speaker B: We're.
[00:20:35] Speaker C: We're recognizing the need to take that couple extra seconds that saves us from, you know, sprinting down to a jog to reassess the scene as we come up on it.
[00:20:46] Speaker B: You're not gonna get the death tax. Yeah. You're not gonna get to that. I'm not, I'm not. You second, I don't, I hate to tell people, but I'm not Usain Bolt, so, you know, I'm not gonna, you know, I wish I was. I think that's a great point. You bring that. It's starting to, you know, when you slow the situation down mentally, whether it's just a jog means you're assessing the situation, you're able to ascertain what's going on. But also it calms the situation down. I mean, and it also prevents errors. So I think that's one thing that. But also the. There's been a tremendous increase in emergency care training that's been going, that's been occurring. It's been rapidly improving a lot in the last couple of years, at least I've seen That, and I think that's helping the confidence to get people. But also it's a collaboration with ems and they're coming in doing interdisciplinary or interprofessional activities, which is really, which is working really well. So, you know, when you think about that, though, going into the, uh, our next lap is on. You know, you mentioned already it's high pressure, right? It is. We're rolling through. You know, it's a high pressure regardless of the setting you're in. It can be, you know, it's, it's, it can be. It's hard to prepare for that sometimes. And even the things you're not used to seeing what you just referred to. So how do you mentally prepare for the range of emergencies that happen, like before you go into a football game or a soccer match or.
[00:22:11] Speaker C: Oh, yeah. So I'm definitely an over prepper, I'll be honest. I tend to bring out more equipment than I think I'll need. But that's because I like the mindset. If I have it, then I'm not going to need it, but if I need it, I'm not going to have it.
Yeah, that's how I approach it in the broad sense. But mentally, I look at it as. I have extensive training for emergency situations. Everything starts with bls. You know, you go out there, you do your ABC checks, and then you get down to the nitty gritty of it and you know, trauma is trauma and it's whether it's a broken leg or a C spine injury, you know, it's. I'm going to, I know how I'm going to handle it because I know that I can fall back on my training. Um, so I kind of look at it as I can take on whatever comes. But there are situations where, especially recently, I like to think of something that I might be less familiar with or less comfortable with and, and do the what if game. Like the okay, if this happens, how am I going to handle it? And then I think through the process, I open up a textbook if I need to, to refresh myself.
You know, the odds of any of these weird zebra emergencies happening are slim. But, you know, the odds are never zero.
So I don't know. I like to play the what if game to a degree, we'll put it that way. I don't like to live in that state of like, oh my gosh, what, what if? But it's more like a self challenge. How would I handle this?
[00:23:58] Speaker B: You revert to your training. I mean, it's just, you go right bigger Training and your mental training. I do the same thing. I just do a lot of periodically I'll go through, okay this one situation, I go through a mental rehearsal. So I'm going to do this, I've done this once even when I was a student, you know, as I, you know, I'm gonna say more than 10 years ago, preparing for our BOC exam and even the other ones just work through the mental reps, just work through them. And I would do that and I still do that to David. I mean, you know, just something, you know, easily or I just go do a quick review on something takes two minutes. But I'm just constantly training my brain keeping that when I before I walk into an activity, you know, to a, to a unfamiliar venue or something along those lines, I'm just having with that as well. So you know, however it is just having, maintaining your confidence, your knowledge and your hands on skill is super important. So along those lines, you know, we know that seconds matter and especially you know, you mentioned this earlier about working in a rural setting or having limited equipment. And the limited equipment oftentimes may be. I just don't, I'm not getting the equipment. I don't think it's important where versus it's not that it will happen. The likelihood is it, it won't happen, but it will happen and it's going to happen when you least expect or some kind of odd situation. So you know, how do you ensure. I think, I think you mentioned that you've already answered this already but with having, being prepared is having make sure you're prepared, ensure that you're able to provide the immediate care, the appropriate care within your training to ensure that their safety long term.
[00:25:44] Speaker C: So for me I like to, I like to make sure that I have a lot of the same equipment that my ambulance service uses because then you know, if I do have to activate them, there's not that much crossover that has to happen. You know, AED pads don't have to be swapped out because we use a Zol here at the school and the trucks have Zols.
So even just keeping track of those minute little things can help save seconds of care.
And I've actually worked with my department on like okay, if you know, if you've got some Igel airways that are going to expire soon, technically they can't use them on the ambulance, but I can use them at a school.
I will take them off your hands. And then if I ever have to place an eye gel then it's the exact same equipment that they're going to use on the rig. And so there's no swapping, there's no equipment juggling that has to happen because, yeah, seconds count and if we're wasting time, you know, wrestling with different pieces of equipment, then we're going to have issues.
But, you know, on the less emergent side of things, I just like, I like to be prepared. But I also know that, you know, I care deeply about my kids. I call them my kids. And if I'm concerned for their longevity, I'm going to do whatever it takes to preserve that.
Even if that's just pulling them for the night or, you know, hey, we need to make sure that there's no fracture here because you dislocated your shoulder. I had to reduce it. You need to make sure that it gets checked out and that we're not missing anything that can cause long term issues. Um, so, yeah, it all, it all comes down to, I guess the bare bones of it is I care about my kids and I will do whatever it takes for them. Um, yeah, I would drive in the battle for them.
[00:27:50] Speaker B: Oh, no. I feel like, you know, I have my, I have our response kits for my company. We have eight to 10 of them that have everything. It's a rapid, it's a BLS response kit and everything is organized in a certain format, you know, and we do checks on them. And I've been in one before, I need to grab one. And one of the one item was not in the same pouch area for that I got afterwards I got, I mean, I hate to say I got bit out of shape. I'm like, this has to be, you know, it's just like riding in the back of a unit, you know, you know where like this is labeled box 7. You know exactly where it is and if it's not there on that shelf then, or that specific spot, you, that, that becomes problematic. So, yeah, agree with you. So. Which also kind of leads into the next thing I want to talk, ask you about is communication. So, you know, communication is critical. You know, what advice, quick advice do you have for athlete trainers on improving communication with EMS teams during an emergency or at an event or prior to.
[00:28:55] Speaker C: The event, the pregame medical timeout period.
I do it every time with my ambulance crew at every football game. Even if the crew has been coming to the games for years and working with me for years, you don't assume that we're all going to be on the same page. So every time that truck shows up, I'm there to meet them. I'm there to park them and then they get out and we hash out the details of, you know, if I need you on field, this is how I'm going to wave you on. These are the conditions I would call you out for.
We even coordinate spectator response if somebody goes down in the stands. So there cannot be enough emphasis put on the medical timeout. It is such a huge component. And if we have, if we have another athletic trainer for the visiting team, I bring them in on it too. And if we can't meet as a group, I go to them individually and say, hey, this is, this is the deal. And I just lay it all out, you know, this is the hospital they're going to just so that there is no question at all. And then it gives EMS a chance to ask questions too, you know, because maybe your protocols for things that do differ and then it gives you a chance to figure out those differences before you need them because the last thing you want is to be, you know, going back and forth in the middle of an emergency. I actually had that happen last year. We had to spine board a visiting player and the one EMS member had never been to one of my trainings and so they, they were kind of freaking out a little bit.
Even though I had, you know, had that medical time out with them ahead of time, it still threw them off so much. But their partner was able to stay cool and level headed and remembered what we talked about pre game and was able to kind of help control the situation with me.
So I, I always say you're only as good as the information you're given.
And maybe that's why when I talk to my kids about their injuries, I over explain. I know I do and I apologize to them all the time for it because knowledge is power and I want them to have a good understanding of what is going on with their own body. So you know, for me communication is thorough, it's full, it's probably too much.
But the same is said for my communications with ems. I. Last night at our football game, I shot the breeze with them the entire pregame warmup.
We covered what we needed and then we just chatted.
[00:31:50] Speaker B: So I know that was fun. I mean doing that. So I think the two things I do in addition to the medical time out, one is I explain to them what equipment I have available on site. I have this, I have a BLS response kit, complement airways. Okay. They, so it just know that, you know, by telling them that, they're already thinking, okay, this guy's on our page. The other, you know, and the other thing I do, other than trying, you know, shoot the breeze with them and stuff, is that I try to tell them, look, my job is to do my tr is to not have y'all to do anything tonight. And. And they were like. And then they're like, oh, yeah, I like this. And, you know, I don't have to do anything, you know, you know, that's really good. And just, you know, we're all the same. We're doing this, we're rolling the same boat. So. Yeah. So with that. So. All right, so trying to wrap this up. I got a couple, a couple more laps, so to speak. We're going to get done. So. So let's get gears a little bit talking about educational training. So real briefly. So athlete training degree programs, master degree programs, now they're teaching most, if not all of the EMS EMT core skill sets as emt. And in addition, they have other emergency interventions well beyond what the emt, the basic training is. So, you know, and you see this, I've seen this. I taught that, you know, in the curriculum. I was program director and saw some. We're doing that as well. So what are some good resources real quickly of where athlete trainers are interested in improving their emergency medical skills competence? And that's for the athletic trainer who may not have, who didn't, who may, you know, doesn't have that formal training. They're trying to, they're trying to upskill very fast. They want to do this. Is it going to. Getting an EMR course going? Find a hybrid EMT program doing, you know, just real brief checks. If you have any suggestions them.
[00:33:46] Speaker C: Um, I would say any, any sort of EMR or EMT course would be a phenomenal start. Even if you don't go on to get the certification because a lot of the skills are being taught.
It's actually a very easy transition from athletic trainer to emt, or vice versa? Well, I can't speak to vice versa. Never mind. Um, but the other thing that comes to mind is a lot of hospital systems host like trauma symposiums or emergency medicine symposiums. If you can register for those, go to them.
I know not every system recognizes athletic trainers as first responders, but we are.
And a lot of those symposiums have really valuable information.
I'm particularly interested in the trauma symposiums just because I love the trauma side of things.
But, you know, it's, it's a wealth of knowledge. There's resources out there, but the more hands on that you can find, whether it's those classes or those symposiums do it. It's. It's invaluable.
[00:34:54] Speaker B: They are. Yeah. It's just hard part. We don't have a lot in athlete training specific it is. They're having mult, you know, so generic. So you have to go to other disciplines to really find that. That con. That content. So I. Yeah, I know exactly what you're saying, so. And then also I'd say reach out to audience, reach out to us, reach out to Caitlin. We can definitely point you some directions for specific courses, hands on intensive courses or other things we've seen as well that work well after this show. So last thing we know that emergency care protocols are evolving. We've seen that as well. What's the one change or advancement in emergency care that you think that athletic trainers need to be aware of? It's on the horizon that will improve their preparedness for emergencies?
[00:35:41] Speaker C: That's a really good question.
Gosh, it could be anything.
What comes to mind immediately for me though is the growing use of end tidal capnography.
[00:35:52] Speaker B: Yeah, that's it.
[00:35:53] Speaker C: I know we, we see it a lot in the truck. We use it a lot.
Yeah, you know, we use it a lot in ems. But I think its value is becoming more and more prominent even in the EMS circles. It's being used more and more because it's showing that it is reliable. It's a lot more reliable than just using pulse oximetry. Um, so I think if, if the equipment becomes available to athletic trainers, that is a train that we should absolutely jump on.
[00:36:25] Speaker B: And they have some, they have the. They have the disposable ones that are really inexpensive. I mean if you. I know I've seen those. I. I've seen one or two of them before, but they're not that expensive. It almost like a litmus, not litmus paper. It changes color. So not as accurate, but it doesn't give you the number of, you know, the specific number, but it's not hard to tell. Hey, it's in red or it's green. Based on entitled CO2. So valuable clinical trajectory determination and dish in to add in if you have capabilities for that. So that's a great. Other one I will say is using immersion bag, you know, cold water immersion bags. I'm. I hate to say this using body bags, but that's what I mean they're really inexpensive and that's what I use at the school. Look, I have instead of having a trunk now I have now. I mean, I mean the tubs I now have Four or five of them. And now I can really become mobile and nimble without. And then also, if you had to go with it, they could put ice into. On a gurney, put it with them, and they could still roll with, you know, some degree.
[00:37:31] Speaker C: We actually tested that a couple months ago. I have a very robust body bag with like heavy duty handles.
[00:37:37] Speaker B: Yep.
[00:37:38] Speaker C: And it was during my, my annual EMS training and we actually. God bless him. One of my football players actually climbed in the bag, we poured ice water on him, we strapped him to the gurney, and I had one of my first responders basically do donuts in the truck in the parking lot with us in the back just to see if it was feasible if we could still keep cooling taco method in route. And we could. It was, it was not messy. We were able to get his one arm out for potential IV access and it was awesome. So I am all aboard the body bag for, for Keith's train.
[00:38:15] Speaker B: I tell you. I went on a big event out of state and my wife came with me and she's. We packing everything she's asked me for. That's. Well, where are your. What are you going to do about the tubs? I'm like, well, now I have body bag. She's like, are you telling me, you trying to tell me something? You know, I. Come on, go.
So like, no, no, no, that's not it. So. Okay, we are now in the final lap. Real quick, five rapid fire questions. You ready? I'm ready. Okay. Favorite movie?
[00:38:45] Speaker C: Gosh, I wasn't expecting that one. No, the Goonies saw the other day.
[00:38:51] Speaker B: I love it. I love it. Just. That's a great movie. Yeah.
[00:38:54] Speaker C: I cannot wait for the second one. I'm so excited.
[00:38:57] Speaker B: Yeah, the other day I was, I was, I was enamored with it, you know. So the favorite musician of the band.
[00:39:04] Speaker C: Oh, Jordan Davis.
[00:39:12] Speaker B: What genre? I've not heard. I've not heard Jordan Davis. Okay, so I'm.
[00:39:16] Speaker C: I listen to a lot of alt too, though, so I don't.
[00:39:19] Speaker B: I listen to old school, I don't listen to new. I don't listen to radio, so you couldn't tell me otherwise. But I'm. I'm hard, you know, back in George.
[00:39:27] Speaker C: Straight stuff that's not on the radio other than when I'm in my country mood.
[00:39:31] Speaker B: Favorite food?
[00:39:32] Speaker C: Ooh, pizza. Easy.
[00:39:33] Speaker B: Good, good. Okay, so if you were to score the winning goal or points in a championship game with Saints, quickly describe what your victory dance will be like.
[00:39:45] Speaker C: Gosh, low key. Probably flossing.
It's like the one hip dance move I can do, and I have a history of doing it to embarrass my high school kids, and that would probably be my go to just.
[00:40:01] Speaker B: I'm not doing. I'm not doing that.
It doesn't end well for no matter. Oh, that as well.
All right, so last one. A fun fact about you that people may not know.
[00:40:14] Speaker C: Oh, gosh, I am a huge board game nerd.
I love board games. And the nerdier the better. And like, I'm talking some that take a couple hours to play, like Risk or something like. Yeah, Risk or Betrayal at House on the Hill. My favorite is Pandemic, but weirdly, since 2019, people don't really want to play that one with me anymore.
[00:40:39] Speaker B: We played that game well, too well. So we could have. All right, so we're in the. We're in the victory lane now. Caitlin, thank you so much for sharing your expertise today. You know, before we wrap up, can you give us a final thought or one takeaway about to the audience about being a dual credentialed emt?
[00:41:00] Speaker C: Remember that you. You play an important role. You are one of the main cogs in the emergency medicine wheel.
Even if you're just an athletic trainer, you are a cog where emergency care for sports cannot happen successfully without you. So be confident, trust your skills. You know, practice the things that you feel you need to, especially those vital skills, and just be open to interprofessional collaboration with your local EMS crews, because it's just going to benefit everyone in the end. You know, you play an important role. Don't forget that. Don't doubt it.
And, you know, take confidence in that because your patients, your athletes are better off because you are there to help them.
[00:41:49] Speaker B: Fantastic.
Thank you. So that's it for this episode. Thank you, Caitlin. Again, that's it for this episode of the A2 Pit Group podcast. Big thanks again to Caitlin for joining us and sharing her valuable insight. So before we get out of here, can you share with the audience how they can contact you with any questions?
[00:42:09] Speaker C: Yeah, so I am very active on Twitter. To me, it'll always be Twitter. I refuse to call it x@cater atc. I'm also on Instagram @cater aid c a I T R A I D otherwise. Yeah, I mean, I'm active in our athletic trainer Facebook groups. You know, just come find me.
[00:42:34] Speaker B: They'll be on the show notes as well. So this is not the first time she's done something with it. So we're going to get you to come back in again if you want to and hope you do. Yeah, okay. Awesome. That's all right. It's done. It's a virtual handshake. So thank you all for being here today. Be sure to like subscribe. Subscribe and share this episode with your community. And if you love what you heard, don't forget to leave a review. Until next time, we are out of here.
[00:43:06] Speaker A: Thank you for joining us on the AT P Crew Podcast. We encourage you to like, subscribe and join our community.
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