Episode 32: Clinical Judgment vs Checklist Medicine

New paramedics learn to work off a checklist, experienced ones learn when to think past it. In this episode, EMS Capt. Dusty King sits down with Medical Director Dr. Jonathan Apfelbaum and Paramedic FI Taylor Sweet to talk through the line between following protocol and using real clinical judgment. They dig into why protocols exist as a floor, not a ceiling, how regional consensus shapes updates across Denver Metro agencies, and walk through real calls where sticking to the checklist alone could've cost the patient.