Special Edition: Unhappy Meal

Special Edition: Unhappy Meal

Author: Long Pause Media | FlightBridgeED September 24, 2025 Duration: 1:33:17
Chris is in the hotseat as he does a call hungry, making each roll harder and each success a little more out of reach. Are his efforts a super sized success, or does his clinical skill belong on the dollar menu? Vote now!

Hosted by paramedics Spencer Oliver and Christopher Pfingsten, EMS 20/20 turns the ambulance bay into a classroom without walls. Each episode is built around the raw, unfiltered details of real emergency calls, dissecting the split-second decisions and complex scenarios that define pre-hospital care. The conversation moves beyond textbook protocols to examine the human factors, the unexpected complications, and the critical thinking that truly matters when the pressure is on. You’ll hear a frank analysis of what worked, what didn’t, and the practical lessons that only come from years on the road. This podcast serves as an ongoing dialogue for the EMS community, whether you’re a student building your foundation, a veteran medic refreshing your perspective, or simply someone curious about the realities of emergency medicine. The focus is always on the granular details of the job-the kind of insight that changes practice. It’s a deep dive into the art and science of field medicine, produced by Long Pause Media and FlightBridgeED. Tune in for a candid look at the challenges and nuances faced by responders every day, where every call has a story and every story has a takeaway you can use.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 236

EMS 20/20
Podcast Episodes
Altered LOC Quest [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:19:26
Chris and Spencer make an attempt to unravel the mystery behind an altered level of consciousness and more importantly, they try to figure what to (and not to) do about it.
The Unimaginable Weight of Incredible Trauma [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:36:20
With deep, full bodied flavors of trauma and some light herbal notes of scene management during an MCI, the guys pour you a glass of wine to... decompress with.
Boldly Going (To The Birthing Center) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30:28
Spencer and Chris Boldly examine a call that occurs in a birthing center where a patient is hypotensive for obvious reasons... or are they?
Overdosed on AMS [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:28:54
Spencer and Chris try to stay with a crew as they wind down the treacherous rabbit hole that is an altered mental status patient. Do they take the wrong path? In short... probably, but listen and find out why they go whe…
Do Not Resuscitate The 80's [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:42:34
You ever want to intubate someone, but they tell you no? Chris swears a little less (barely) in today's episode that examines DNR's, POLST forms, and inaccurate SaO2 probes. We also get another rant from Chris!
Bill and Bob's Excellent Misadventure [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:39:28
Spencer and Chris go on a crazy adventure as they explore the choices made by Bill and Bob, two partners taking care of a patient that either stayed on or fell off the wagon... with a hard thud. Is it trauma? Is it alcoh…
The Queen's Gambit [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:57:50
The guy's review a call where the patient is deep trouble long before anyone arrives. In one of our longer and more serious episodes, the guy's talk about what it means to lead a call and how to talk to family members wh…
Never Ending Plot Twists [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:15:51
The guys are given a call that takes place in a precarious system with a patient that has no memory... and a never ending stream of twists and turns that take this call from "eh" to WTF in a hurry.
Is This Even Legal? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:14:19
On this weeks episode a very sick patient is taken to the hospital... but do issues of patient abandonment arise when a Paramedic refused to be the primary provider? Listen to this weeks call and find out if Spencer and…
(Please) Free CO2 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:07:20
A crew find a patient that rapidly deteriorates, prompting quick action. Baffling monitor readings are the result, so the Chris and Spence bring in back up: Nicole Johnson, a seasoned ICU RN and host of the Found Down po…