I caught up with airway educator, innovator and self-described enthusiast Dr. Richard Levitan at SMACC in Chicago this past June. In this Best Case Ever on Airway Strategy and Mental Preparedness in EM Procedures, Dr. Levitan uses a great save of his in a penetrating trauma case as a basis for discussion on mental preparedness and how we've been thinking about our general approach to emergency procedures the wrong way. Rather than fixating on the final goal of a procedure, which can often be daunting and lead us astray, he suggests a methodical incrementalized and compartmentalized approach to EM procedures that reduces stress and fear, improves confidence and enhances success. He runs through several examples including intubation, cricothyrotomy and initial approach to hypoxia to explain his Simple Incremental Approach to EM Procedures. Could this be a paradigm shift in the way we think about procedures in EM?....
