The Call Nobody Trained You For — Jim Schmidt on Domestic Violence Recognition

Episode overview

About This Episode

Most medics walk onto a domestic violence scene armed with instinct and not much else. Jim Schmidt thought 20 years in the fire service had prepared him for anything — until he had to identify his stepdaughter Gabby Petito's body in 2021. In the months and years after he realized how little EMS is prepared to recognize and treat domestic violence victims. What he's learned since has rewritten what first responders should be doing on these calls. Jim walks us through the red flags, why strangulation may leave no external marks but signals a 750% jump in homicide risk, how to document, how to treat and talk to the patient, and what patterns we can recognize.

Resources

• DomesticShelters.org — find local DV/SA orgs by address

• National DV Hotline — 1-800-799-SAFE · text START to 88788

• JEMS article by Jim Schmidt on educating first responders to recognize domestic violence: https://www.jems.com/ems-training/domestic-violence-educating-first-responders/ 

• Jim Hopper, PHD on the neurobiology of trauma and sexual assault: https://www.youtube.com/@JimHopperPhD 

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