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Authors: David McCreary, Ken Spearpoint / Codes: RP3, SLO3, SLO9 / Published: 19/05/2015

In my last interview from the London Trauma Conference 2014, I am joined by Ken Spearpoint (@K_G_Spearpoint), a Consultant Nurse in Resuscitation discussing his talk on the future role of the Resus Officer.

This role is ever increasing: they have roles in resuscitation, prevention, education and research along with many other grey areas. In this interview we discuss these roles along with some broader themes.

Human Factors – ALS teaches us the algorithms for resuscitating a patient in cardiac arrest, but doesn’t teach us much about how the team should be interacting and how significant an impact human factors can have on the outcomes of cardiac arrest. Should this be included in the course, or in a separate course altogether?

Teaching – whether you’re a natural born educator or not, if you’re involved in the medical profession, you’re going to be involved in some form of teaching (it’s even in the Hypocratic Oath! “I will respect the hard-won scientific gains of those physicians in whose steps I walk, and gladly share such knowledge as is mine with those who are to follow.”). Ken discusses here that if you are involved in education, that ideally you should have some formal training in adult learning, such as the GIC course for ALS/ATLS.

Resus Officers – They know how to run an arrest, it’s what they do and they are all very experienced at it. Why not utilize this resource at your next cardiac arrest to free up your cognitive bandwidth to concentrate on procedures, diagnosis, prognostication or planning in event of ROSC.

DNAR orders – always a hot topic in the media! It’s not just about knowing how to resuscitate, it’s also about knowing when to resuscitate, consider and discuss it with your patients and their families, try and prevent futile attempts at resuscitation.

You can follow the London Trauma Conference on Twitter @LDNtrauma or myself @dmccreary85 for any questions or comments.

Get the dates in your diary for this year’s conference: 8th – 11th December 2015.