When The Extreme Comes to You - World Extreme Medicine

At the World Extreme Medicine Conference, Chad Hollingsworth — flight paramedic and educator — asks a hard question: what happens when the extreme lands on you? Through candid, first-person accounts (“sickness, silos, and stones”), Chad traces the toll of cumulative stress and trauma — from a fatal farm-silo incident to a near-fatal surgical complication — and shares practical routines that helped him recover and keep practising well.

Expect frank discussion of stigma, peer support, and leadership, plus simple tools you can use on the next shift: pre-/in-/post-shift check-ins, micro-debriefs that actually work, and a procedural mindset that plans for failure before it happens.

This session covers:

Recognising cumulative stress, moral injury, flashbacks, and early warning signs
Pre-shift readiness (e.g., I’M SAFE), on-shift cues, and post-shift decompression rituals
Micro-debriefs and peer support that avoid blame and reduce second-victim harm
A “plan with failure in mind” approach for high-stakes procedures (airway included): define plan B upfront, change a variable after each failed attempt, role-swap early
Family communication, boundaries, and navigating clinician-as-patient experiences

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Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

Recognise indicators of cumulative stress, vicarious trauma and flashbacks in themselves and colleagues, and outline immediate grounding strategies.
Apply simple wellbeing routines across the shift cycle (pre-shift I’M SAFE, in-shift mental cues, post-shift decompression and creative outlets).
Conduct brief, blame-aware micro-debriefs and signpost peers to further support when needed.
Use a “plan with failure in mind” framework for high-risk procedures (e.g., airway): define contingencies, change one variable after each attempt, and role-swap appropriately.
Reflect on clinician–family communication during crises (e.g., code status, medical proxy) and set personal boundaries and follow-up plans to reduce second-victim effects.