Episode Summary:Are EMS scenarios just "cookbook" exercises that teach students to follow a linear script? In this episode, Cory argues that the "perfect" scenario is failing our students and creating providers who are unprepared for real-world chaos. We go "beyond the protocols" to discuss why we must ditch the checkbox-style simulation in favor of dynamic, challenging, and even "unwinnable" scenarios. This episode provides actionable strategies for EMS educators to build more resilient clinicians and for students to take charge of their own training, no high-fidelity manikin required.

Key Takeaways:

• The "Cookbook" Trap: Learn why predictable, linear scenarios that focus on a single "correct" pathway fail to build true critical thinking and resilience.

• Forging Clinicians (For Educators): Discover practical tips to inject realistic stressors into your scenarios—like resource limitations, ambiguous patient information, and dynamic vital signs—that force students to think, adapt, and prioritize.

• Own Your Education (For Students): You don't need a high-tech lab to practice. We provide a simple framework for you and a partner to create your own high-yield verbal scenarios that build the critical decision-making skills you'll actually use on the street.

• Beyond the Test: This discussion challenges the idea of training to pass a test, re-focusing on the true goal of simulation: preparing providers to manage the "less than ideal" calls where real-world experience is forged.

Get Connected:

Enjoy this episode? Subscribe to The Prehospital Pulse on your favorite podcast app and leave us a review! It's the best way to help us reach more EMS professionals.

Follow us on social media for more clips, discussion, and "real-world" EMS content:

• YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzaxry6eZQV_-ih09CELbCw

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prehospitalpulse

• TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@prehospitalpulsepodcast

• Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6N3lygR8Bz8WZpXQWF8CNr

Is AI ruining your classroom? Did you forget that it's 2025 and AI is here to stay? Join us as we discuss how AI can be utilized by EMS instructors, students, and field providers to continue to improve.

Episode Summary

Being a "salty" provider with 20 years of experience doesn't automatically make you a good teacher. In fact, it can sometimes be a liability. In this episode, we go "Beyond the Protocols" to challenge the old-school, "because I said so" model of EMS education. We explore why the skills of an expert clinician (like intuition and pattern recognition) often conflict with the needs of a novice learner. We discuss the crucial shift from teaching children (pedagogy) to teaching adults (andragogy) and provide actionable strategies for educators to stop lecturing and start facilitating—all with the goal of forging true critical thinkers.

Key Takeaways

• Teach Adults, Not Children: We must move from pedagogy (teaching children) to andragogy (teaching adults). Adult learners are self-directed, problem-focused, and need to know the "why" behind the "what."

• Great Medic Does Not = Great Instructor: Being an expert clinician is a different skill set than being an expert educator. We must train our instructors in the craft of teaching, not just assume their field experience is enough.

• Ditch the Lecture, Embrace the Problem: Stop relying on 45-minute PowerPoints. The most effective way to build critical thinking is through problem-based learning (PBL), case studies, and high-fidelity simulation that forces the student to think, not just memorize.

• Facilitate, Don't Just Recite: An instructor's primary job isn't to give answers; it's to ask the right questions. Use "scaffolding" to guide students as they build a case, letting them make safe mistakes and learn from them.

• The Goal is Critical Thinking: Our success as educators shouldn't be measured by how well a student can recite a protocol, but by how well they can adapt and solve messy, real-world problems that don't fit the textbook.

Mentions & Resources

• Adult Learning Theory (Andragogy):

• • WebMD Ignite: Applying adult learning theories for effective patient education(https://webmdignite.com/blog/applying-adult-learning-theories-effective-patient-education)

  • UCSF: Andragogy vs. Pedagogy in Medical Education(https://libraryhelp.ucsf.edu/hc/en-us/articles/29431579339799-Andragogy-vs-Pedagogy-Understanding-Teaching-Approaches-in-Medical-Education)

• Instructor Skills & Precepting:

• • JEMS: Let Them Fail: Advice for Paramedic Field Instructors(https://www.jems.com/ems-training/paramedic-training/let-them-fail-advice-for-paramedic-field-instructors)

  • PSG Learning Blog: How to Succeed as a First-Time EMS Instructor(https://www.psglearning.com/blog/psg/2023/01/12/are-you-a-first-time-ems-instructor-read-this)

• Critical Thinking & Problem-Based Learning:

• • iTrauma.org: Critical Thinking in EMS (PDF)(

  • EMS1: Scaffolding in education for EMS problem-based learning(https://www.ems1.com/ems-education/articles/scaffolding-in-problem-based-learning-fwKtOWCtR5FjLbGX/)

  • Trauma Monitor: Scenario-based Training Versus Video Training(https://www.traumamon.com/article_174500_523ed2963da231504e5cb8f99e0a69ce.pdf)

  Connect with The Pulse

  Thanks for listening! Help us grow the show and keep the conversation going.

  • Subscribe & Review: Please subscribe and leave a review on Spotify.

• • Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzaxry6eZQV_-ih09CELbCw
  • Follow on Instagram: @prehospitalpulse

This episode introduces the host of the podcast as well as discusses what the podcast is all about.