Dr. Dietrich Jehle, chair of UTMB Department of Emergency Medicine, expects future emergency medical residents in his department to respond to emergencies in the field by working shifts with EMS agencies, riding with crews, meeting them in ambulance bays and reviewing cases with them.
“They could respond to accidents with multiple injuries, SWAT responses or to chemical spills,” said Jehle, who created a similar hands-on training program when he was at the University of Buffalo in New York. “They can help supplement the care provided by EMS crews.”
While the Emergency Medical (EM) Residency Program is still awaiting approval at UTMB, Jehle’s intent is to help educate residents of all experience levels, not just those in the emergency medicine residency program and he said he can see lots of training opportunities for the EMS community in the future.
In fact, one of the faculty doctors in his department is a former paramedic who completed an EMS Fellowship and can help teach continuing education classes.
Teaching medical students and residents to communicate—listen and talk—with EMS crews will streamline care and lead to smoother interactions. The doctors learn a lot from experienced medics, and the medics learn a lot from the physician staff.
“It will be a win-win,” Jehle said.
In addition to giving residents opportunities to
work in the field with EMS crews, Jehle’s already
formulating how UTMB might pursue a partnership
that could take his students and residents to disaster
emergencies elsewhere.
“Texas A&M Galveston has a disaster-response ship,” Jehle said. “It has multiple procedure rooms. If there were a hurricane or earthquake in the region, it could assist in the response.”
For 27 years, Jehle had a side gig with the NFL as the Director of Emergency Medical Services for the Buffalo Bills.
In 2009, Jehle was on his way to work at a Buffalo Bills game when a six-car pile-up on a highway in New York blocked traffic. The Buffalo News reported what happened next. Jehle, who is an expert in car- crash injuries, pulled over and ran to the closest car. It was on fire with an elderly injured driver and two little boys in the back seat.
Jehle and an iron worker smashed out multiple windows as the doors could not be opened. They stopped a passing school bus and borrowed the fire extinguisher from the bus. A third bystander tried to keep the engine fire under control with the fire extinguisher. They pulled out one boy and the driver.
The car filled with smoke, but Jehle and the ironworker dove in to pull out the other boy, who was pinned in the car and was unconscious. The second boy would later die, but the family thanked Jehle and the ironworker for risking their own safety to pull the boys out of the vehicle.
“By the time rescue crews arrived, Jehle had triaged the victims,” the newspaper reported. His knowledgeable communication at that accident scene is something he wants prospective emergency doctors to master.