Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2008 May 5

More than a year ago, a Texas paramedic was assaulted when Bryan Lawson Cotton threw a hydraulic jack from an overpass onto a Parker County ambulance. Donnie Stone, a paramedic in the passenger side of...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Jul 2, Bryan E. Bledsoe

It is 4:30 a.m. on a warm Sunday morning in the ambulance parking area outside the county trauma center. Paramedic Jeff Crosby sits on the back of the ambulance staring at the unmade cot. His mind is active—running...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Aug 2, Bryan E. Bledsoe

One of the biggest issues facing EMS is that we’re not sure what we really are. Is EMS health care? Is EMS public safety? Is EMS public health? In its recent publication, the National Institutes of Health...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Sept 6, Bryan E. Bledsoe

Mark Twain once wrote, “Humor is the great thing, the saving thing. The minute it crops up, all our irritations and resentments slip away and a sunny spirit takes their place.” Having a sense of humor...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Sept 21, Bryan E. Bledsoe

Not long ago, my wife made me go to one of those yuppie malls in North Dallas. Finding no acceptable excuse to get out of the trip, I went. In order to avoid the torture of shopping, I told my wife I would...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Nov 1, Bryan E. Bledsoe

There was a cartoon series entitled Pogo that was popular during the Vietnam War. Pogo was a possum that lived in a Georgia swamp. Life in the swamp satirically represented society. One of the most popular...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2007 Dec 6, Bryan E. Bledsoe

Have you noticed that animals play a role in many major western holidays? People associate Easter with little white bunnies and yellow chicks. We scare the children on Halloween with stories of cats and...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2008 Jan 10, Bryan E. Bledsoe

It's fun, on occasion, to challenge the status quo. Several years ago, I did this in a series on EMS myths. While the eight articles were generally well-received, the ones on Critical Incident Stress Management...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2008 Feb 7, Bryan E. Bledsoe

Now that EMS is more than three decades old, a body of research has started to evolve that will define the future of the profession. More often than not, EMS practices that made perfect sense when the...

Bryan E. Bledsoe, DO, FACEP, 2008 Mar 6, Bryan E. Bledsoe

This month, my column will take a slightly different twist. The reason will soon become clear. Believe it or not, I am actually somewhat shy. My wife often says that I am "a man of few words." My response...