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A History of Emergency Medicine: From Horse-Drawn Stretchers to Trauma Bays

·58 min·5 clips

Dr. Safar paralyzed volunteers without informed consent to test early CPR techniques in the 1950s.

This episode explores the history of emergency medicine and EMS, tracing origins from Napoleonic battlefield triage by Dr. Dominique Jean Leray to the development of modern trauma systems by R Adams Cowley. It highlights key stories like the Freedom House ambulance service, which trained black men as the first paramedics, and the founding of emergency medicine residencies in Cincinnati and Hennepin.

As heard by us

A clear history of emergency care that shows how the modern system was built.

The episode follows emergency medicine from the Napoleonic Wars to Freedom House paramedics in Pittsburgh, then to Cincinnati and the modern ED and EMS systems.

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Why you'd press play

Want the backstory behind how modern EMS and emergency medicine took shape?

Read the full recommendation in PlayNext →

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