Coda Change

After being in the trenches for 3 months, just how different will the medicine be in the future? Jesse, David and Swami talk about pivoting, steering the dinosaurs, and the lessons learnt along the way. One thing is certain- social inter-connectedness in healthcare is very important. To stay connected with Coda, subscribe https://codachange.org/you

In the part 2 of the special podcast with Simon Carley we touch on the issues of cognitive bias, that everything you see is COVID-related. Surrounded by the sea of COVID, just how do you manage the strokes, the acute myocardial infarcts, fractured neck aphemas, and the rest of it amidst this catastrophe? Simon shares his thoughts on the life outside COVID.

The legendary professor Simon Carley is joining us all the way from Manchester, UK to talk about positive innovations and evidence based agility. There is a fine balance between being slow to change and missing out on something that might benefit the patients, and jumping in too quickly into something harmful. The panic is understandable, what can we do about this virus, how can we treat it? The pressure to change is so high that the people are losing the plot with the evidence based medicine. 

This is part 2 of the special podcast featuring Reuben Strayer, sharing his first hand experience of the COVID-19 situation in New York with Ashley Liebig, the medical operations commander for the Travis County and a flight nurse. "There was only a brief period between when we first started noticing coronavirus and when seemingly everyone in the city had coronavirus", "emergency providers are working in an environment that resembles a lake filled with coronavirus".

This is part 1 of the special podcast featuring Reuben Strayer and Ashley Liebig, sharing their first hand experience of the COVID-19 situation in New York. "So many people in the region got infected at the same time, long before we were paying any attention to it. And as the patients got sicker, we started to notice a few things, such as this was oxygen deficit we never seen before".

Fear. Is it normal to be frightened during this pandemic, in this period of uncertainty, when we're so used to being very certain about what we do in an emergency and critical care? Does fear and uncertainty impact our communication? Do different departments use different language, do different departments communicate differently? And what do we need to address to help open the flow of communication, and make sure we are closing the loop? Liz, Roger, Chris and Jon talk about communication and interdepartmental collaboration becoming the norm. If one good thing can come about from this COVID-19 crisis, it's that it could help us, staff members, but also more importantly, the patients in the future.

This is the second episode of the three part series of the podcast dedicated to technical and communications aspects of managing the airways of COVID patients. In this episode we are breaking down the case of a particular difficult airway case published online by Chris Hicks earlier, and discovering that the approach is not all that different to the guiding principles, communications and checklists we would have used in the non-COVID related intubations. What seems to trip us up is the process, precautions and PPE. Sticking to general principles and processes is the rule here but we have to be careful in how we’re communicating, and the specific terminology we’re using. Bottom line, COVID or no COVID, best way to manage a difficult intubation is via the tried and tested emergency resuscitation procedures that have proven to be safe, effective, simple and familiar. Join Coda community of healthcare leaders: codachange.org/you

The Coda v COVID podcasts have been focusing on the non-technical skills we need to manage the pandemic crisis, but we have received increased requests to discuss more technical aspects of management. Accordingly, this is the first in a three part series dealing with the process for emergency intubation in the crashing patient with the novel corona virus. Here we discuss the technical protocols and the nomenclature around aerosol generating and airborne type precautions. Importantly, we also discuss the recent decision by some UK and Australasian bodies to designate chest compressions as a non-aerosol generating procedure, a decision that has caused ripples of confusion with different craft groups. This has added to confusion around PPE, again with different professional bodies providing conflicting advice for their members. Tune in to join the conversation as we attempt to decipher the messages and give our take on what we are doing and why.

Mary Freer, Roger Harris and Jane Sloane digging deep into the issues of gender equality during the current pandemic. At least 70% of those in the front line as health and community workers are women- and so they have a higher exposure to the virus. But often policies are designed by men, with no diverse representation of women, highlighting the issues of social inclusion. One thing is certain, when women contribute to strategies, we save lives.