These are the slides and references used in my talk at the Wisconsin EMS Conference on Jan. 26, 2018.
Video Feed from FOAMfrat on Facebook
Thesis for talk: The skills necessary to mitigate the ill-effects of stress are not intrinsic and can be taught/learned. The tools mentioned in this lecture should be taught as part of the standard paramedic curriculum.
“Don’t believe everything you think.” Allan Lokos
Michael Lauria’s Cognitive Paths Through Chaos
Michael Lauria et al reference studies supporting their recommendations. Link to full article here.
3 key conditions for situations getting “wicked”:
- We must care about the outcome,
- Novel things, and
- How we appraise our resources compared to the demands of a situation
“Wicked” is a term I first heard Dr. Pat Croskerry use in this article.
“The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is the fear of the unknown.” H.P. Lovecraft
Richard Lazarus’ Appraisal Theory
To decide if a situation is a challenge or a threat, we compare our resources to the demands of the situation.
If we perceive our resources to meet or exceed the demands, we call this a challenge and the stress response is low.
If we perceive that the demands are greater than our resources/abilities, we define that as a threat and the stress response can be high.
How John Smoltz changed his self-talk and changed his pitching performance.
Dual Process Decision-Making Theory outlined in Thinking Think Fast and Slow, by Daniel Kahneman.
Medic Mindset Microsode 1 explains the value of overlearning.
Warning about improper overlearning in Dave Grossman’s On Combat.
Michael Phelps use of visualization
Don Norman emphasizes the importance of design to decrease risk of error.
The Design of Everyday Things and Living with Complexity
Books mentioned in the lecture:
Deep Survival, Laurence Gonzalez
Thinking Fast and Slow, Daniel Kahneman
Streetlights and Shadows, Gary Klein
Mindset, Carol Dweck
The Design of Everyday Things, Don Norman
On Combat, Dave Grossman
Another key reference in making this lecture was a FOAM resource written by Justin Morgenstern from First10EM called “Performance Under Pressure.” If you liked this lecture, you will love his paper and all of the references and resources he cites.
Medic Mindset 
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