Episode
Leading through momentum: Dr. Douglas Kupas on steering NAEMSP
- Podcast
- EMS One-Stop
- Published
- Jan 8, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2359
- Processing state
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Summary
Dr. Douglas Kupas joins Rob Lawrence to kick off EMS One-Stop in 2026, reflecting on his first year as President of NAEMSP — a year he describes as fast-moving, complex and occasionally “whack-a-mole,” with emerging issues demanding real-time leadership while long-term priorities still had to move forward. He shares what he’s learned about the presidency, the value of NAEMSP’s leadership “bench strength,” and why advocacy and coalition-building across national EMS organizations has become more coordinated, more strategic and more essential. The conversation then turns to what’s immediately ahead: the NAEMSP Annual Meeting in Tampa (late January), including pre-conference courses, the flagship Medical Director’s Course, and a packed scientific program. Kupas highlights a keynote focused on transforming battlefield trauma care; major research programming through oral abstracts and hundreds of posters; and high-impact sessions spanning clinical care, operations, legal issues, and international perspectives — reinforcing why the Tampa meeting remains a must-attend event for anyone serious about the science and future of EMS. Episode timeline 00:00 – Rob tees up NAEMSP Annual Meeting growth as a “good problem to have”00:50 – Welcome/Happy New Year 2026; Dr. Kupas introduced as first guest of the year01:45 – Year one as NAEMSP president: what’s surprised Dr. Kupas, pace of work, governance “bench strength”04:26 – NEMSAC termination: what happened, what NAEMSP hopes comes next07:02 – Building the pipeline: medical student/resident interest group, travel support ideas08:47 – “Hot off the press:” NAEMSP accepted into WHO Acute Care Action Network10:08 – Advocacy “hunting as a pack:” overlapping national orgs, EMS on the Hill coordination12:40 – Why Hill visits work: stories, st…