Objectives
     Upon successful completion of this module, the 
       EMS provider will be able to:
     • Identify the need for critical thinking in 
       Emergency Medicine
     • Identify patient care influenced by biased 
       decision making
     • Identify documentation influenced by biased 
       decision making
     • Identify critical thinking skills and their 
       application to EMS
                                                               2
                  Objectives cont’d
    • Identify communication issues that can lead to 
      patient care errors
    • Identify different levels of patient acuity
    • Identify transportation options a patient 
      may/may not have
    • Identify use of differential diagnosis to provide 
      improved patient care
                                                        3
                  Objectives cont’d
    • Discuss, as a member of a group, factors 
      involving lawsuit Schulman v. County of Los 
      Angeles
    • Discuss, as a member of a group, factors 
      involving lawsuit Hackman v. American 
      Medical Response
    • Discuss, as a member of a group, factors 
      involving lawsuit Wright v. City of Los 
      Angeles
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               Critical Thinking in EMS
     • There is a need for field based EMS personnel 
       to think “outside the box”.
        A number of lawsuits initiated due to inaccurate 
          care of a patient.
        Determine best way to provide quality care.
        SOP’s cannot cover every scenario we may face in 
          the field
     • Decision making is expected of us!
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              Critical Thinking in EMS
    • We must obtain medical information for each 
       individual patient.
          Then we have to decide what we think is going 
          wrong with our patient.
             After that we come up with a plan for 
             treatment.
                Then we evaluate the treatment; make 
                modifications as needed.
                   • Simple, right???
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