For 14 years, the Inside EMS podcast helped drive conversations shaping the profession. Across nearly 900 episodes, hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson examined hot topics affecting providers and leaders, from field operations and clinical decision-making to technology adoption, workforce challenges and agency leadership. With more than 2.3 million downloads and listeners in 51 countries, the podcast built a lasting archive of practical insight, debate and perspective for every stage of an EMS career.
While new episodes have concluded, the Inside EMS archive (and the Inside EMS YouTube playlist) remains a valuable educational resource. Listeners can revisit discussions on clinical care, leadership, workforce challenges, professional development and the evolving role of EMS in public safety and healthcare.
Episodes
Friday Feb 10, 2023
Friday Feb 10, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
Inside EMS hosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson open this week's episode with the news of the death of Paramedic Pete Reed, a former Marine who was recently killed in Ukraine when his ambulance was shelled by Russian forces as he was helping to evacuate civilians out of the city of Bakhmut.
"I have tremendous respect for those who don't have a legal requirement to render aid but give of themselves, and in this case, Pete Reed paid the ultimate sacrifice," says Grayson.
Our co-hosts also discuss a county in New York that is offering a 10% property tax exemption for volunteer providers and firefighters, as well as the sentencing details for a man who stabbed an on-duty EMS captain.
"We see a lot of our peers who are getting assaulted and getting hurt on the job. Where is the justice for those people?" asks Chris Cebollero.
Listen to the latest episode and subscribe to get next week's episode automatically in your feed.
Top quotes
"Ten years from now, this work that you do still shows up on your work history and what will it say about you as you go forward and you go on to the next phase in your career?" — Chris Cebollero
"That's why we have this podcast. This is something we do to extend our advocacy and our passion for our profession beyond the guy in the other seat in the truck and beyond the classroom. It's a way to leave our mark and leave our profession a little better than we found it by spreading the message and getting advocacy out there to a broader range of people." — Kelly Grayson
Monday Feb 06, 2023
Monday Feb 06, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
This special episode of Inside EMS is a crossover post from FireRescue1's new Better Every Shift Podcast. Hosted by Madison (Wisconsin) Firefighter Aaron Zamzow and FireRescue1 Editor-in-Chief Janelle Foskett, the show brings kitchen table conversations to the airwaves, always focused on solutions, positivity and the realities of station life.
Follow the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.
This episode of the Better Every Shift podcast is extra super because Zam and Janelle are talking all things Super Bowl with Glendale (Arizona) Captain Ashley Losch, digging into the fire and EMS preparations, training and coordination for this year’s big game. Captain Losch details the many moving parts of “Super Season,” what they’ve learned from the past two Super Bowls the city has hosted, plus how the Damar Hamlin incident prompted additional questions.
Plus, we get into all this:
- The big messaging change for this year
- Maintaining citywide staffing during the big game
- The tabletop exercise that had 150 agencies represented
What else …
- Hot seat sneak peek: Best Super Bowl halftime shows of all time
- Don’t miss: How the super-wealthy deal with Super Bowl travel
- Episode power quote: “It’s about connection, it’s about coming together for a common goal, making sure that people are safe, making sure that everyone has a good time, everyone goes home with good memories, and the sheer amount of people that are coming together to make sure that happens is really incredible.”
Resources we mentioned on the show
Connect with us!
Email bettereveryshift@firerescue1.com to share your feedback, and if you enjoy the show, take a moment to rate and review Better Every Shift on Apple Podcasts.
Friday Feb 03, 2023
Friday Feb 03, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
This week, Inside EMS host Chris Cebollero is joined by Chief Gary Ludwig to discuss killing of Tyre Nichols, which led to the firing of five Memphis police officers and three members of the Memphis Fire Department. Ludwig previously served as the deputy chief of the department for 10 years, running their EMS program.
Chief Ludwig discusses professionalism, how a “normalization of deviance” may account for the lack of concern for bad behavior, and leadership’s role in keeping our workforce safe. The pair round out the episode by discussing whether it’s time for EMS to start wearing body cameras during patient care or at other times during a call.
Top takeaways
“The cameras are rolling and people know the cameras are rolling and this is still the behavior.” — Chris Cebollero
“We behave on these cameras inappropriately, and nothing happens to us. You go on the next call, there’s cameras there – body cams, security cameras, Ring doorbells – there’s cameras everywhere. We behave inappropriately and there’s no consequences, even though it was captured on camera, so it becomes normalized.” — Chief Ludwig
Friday Jan 27, 2023
Friday Jan 27, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
As the industry waits for more details in the case involving two Illinois EMTs charged with murder in the death of a patient, cohosts Kelly Grayson and Chris Cebollero discuss the lack of compassion show by the providers and the scourge of apathy that plagues EMS. The conversation explores how EMS leaders can help keep industry personnel on a more professional path.
Top takeaways
"Members of the workforce will stay for low pay if they are treated well, or good pay if they are not treated well, but they won’t stay for both.” — Kelly Grayson
"We must define our own professionalism, and every call we go on now has the opportunity to become a national news event. It is not 'if' but 'when.'" — Chris Cebollero
Additional resources
- Malpractice or murder: When do EMS providers cross the line from negligence to a crime?
- Video: Is deeply disturbing patient care murder?
- Listen: 'How does this happen?' – Wolfberg and Wirth weigh in on EMT murder charges
- You've seen the video; now what? 14 action steps for EMS leaders to root out bad behavior
- You’ve seen the footage – Now what? Part 2: 15 steps for providers to compassionate care
- Prone positioning: Therapy or apathy?
Friday Jan 20, 2023
Friday Jan 20, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
In this episode of Inside EMS, Host Chris Cebollero discusses goal setting for a successful 2023. Chris breaks down the top 5 golden rules for making your goals and resolutions a reality.
Chris notes, “success does not happen by chance, you have to create the opportunities that will create your success.”
Listen for more on:
- Developing a motivating value statement
- Using the SMART method of developing goals
- The importance of developing an action plan
- Ensuring you are sticking to the plan you developed
This is a great show to outline a blueprint for your success in 2023.
Friday Jan 13, 2023
Friday Jan 13, 2023
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
In the first episode of the 10th year in EMS, Cohost Chris Cebollero is joined by the legal powerhouse of Page, Wolfberg & Wirth’s EMS Attorneys Doug Wolfberg, Esq.; and Steve Wirth, Esq. to discuss the case everyone is talking about.
An Illinois prosecutor has filed virtually unprecedented first-degree murder charges against two EMS providers over the death of a patient in their care. Wolfberg and Wirth broke down the points of the case and the lessons for EMS in an EMS1 article, "Malpractice or murder: When do EMS providers cross the line from negligence to a crime?"
In this episode, Wolfberg and Wirth share their first impressions of the case and the body camera footage of the incident.
Wolfberg noted what hit him was the “callous, cold, very detached, aggressive demeanor of the providers.” “You get into EMS because you care for people – how do you get to the point to what we saw in the video – that’s really where I keep coming back to,” Wolfberg said.
Wirth added, “it wasn’t until I looked at the video that I felt outraged – outraged is the word that comes to my mind – how could a human being deal with another human being in this fashion – basically treat another human being as an inanimate object.” He asked, “how does this happen … because we can’t allow this to happen; we can’t.”
Are first-degree murder charges warranted in this case? See how EMS1 listeners are weighing in.
Friday Dec 30, 2022
Friday Dec 30, 2022
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
Our co-hosts bid farewell to 2022 by counting down the most talked about and debated stories from this year's slate of Inside EMS episodes. Join Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson as they discuss EMS-police relations, patients' gender identity requests, legal conundrums and more.
Related resources
Check out the stories referenced in our episode:
- Video: N.Y. officer on desk duty after handcuffing EMT in hospital
- 2 medics' credentials suspended after Texas patient dies in transport
- Mother's lawsuit: 23-year-old dies in ED area after Conn. hospital ignores him for 7 hours
- 2 Mich. firefighters suspended over delayed response to EMS call
- Air ambulance pilot refused to fly in dangerous conditions; feds say company retaliated
Friday Dec 16, 2022
Friday Dec 16, 2022
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
This week, Cohost Kelly Grayson is joined by guest Host Greg Friese, MS, NRP, editorial director for Lexipol, and the pair discuss the traits of a great EMS book. Grayson and Friese, both fans of the genre of EMS literature, discuss the importance of clinical accuracy, a narrative arc that connects the patient responses, and author point of view. They also dive into whether the EMT or paramedic author needs to both experience and convey personal transformation through the narrative. Listen closely as Grayson and Friese shout out some of their favorite EMS authors and books.
What's your favorite book by an EMT or paramedic? How did that book influence your education and career in EMS? Listen to the full conversation and add your comments on the topic below.
Kelly Grayson is the author of "Perspectives, Volume I: An Emergency Medicine and Public Safety Anthology", and the follow-up, Perspectives, Volume 2.
Friday Dec 09, 2022
Friday Dec 09, 2022
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
This week cohost Kelly Grayson is joined by guest host Greg Friese, editorial director for Lexipol, and the pair discuss a Canadian research study on the diversity of CPR manikins used in instructive social media posts within North and South America.
During a two year period, researchers found that fewer than 10% of the more than 200 manikin images used in social media instructional posts represented Black or Asian patients, while fewer than 2% represented overweight individuals.
“I kind of rolled my eyes at the study itself, but it does speak to a larger issue,” Grayson said. “No CPR manikin looks like me; none of them have legs and they all have at least one less chin than I do, but [this research] does speak to a larger issue in EMS, and society as a whole, about diversity and inclusivity in our profession.”
What do you think about the study? Listen to the full conversation and add your comments on the topic below.
Additional resources for EMS education
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
Tuesday Nov 22, 2022
This episode of Inside EMS is brought to you by Lexipol, the experts in policy, training, wellness support and grants assistance for first responders and government leaders. To learn more, visit lexipol.com.
Our Inside EMS cohosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson are joined by guest Major Chris Lokits from Louisville Metro EMS (LMEMS) to discuss paramedic intubations in the field. LMEMS is part of the Prehospital Airway Control Trial (PACT), a four-year Department of Defense research study aimed at "improving survival among people who have difficulty breathing after a trauma," through the University of Louisville. A significant number, up to 15%, of people with traumatic injuries die due to a lack of airway management.
Dr. Raymond Orthober, LMEMS medical director and assistant professor of emergency medicine at UofL, is helping lead the university's participation in the clinical trial.