Rick Sidwell

Trauma surgeon. Surgical educator. Die-hard Cubs fan. NASCAR enthusiast. Wanna be farmer. Christian. Husband, son, father.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

1.5 days. 8 faculty speakers. 16 presentations + Q/A + cases + lots of fun. For many years I've kept track of the "Pearls" from the "Advances in Trauma" conference in K.C., so here they are. Amazing good conference! Thanks to spectacular faculty & all who attended! @acsTrauma

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

After more than a year of planning and collaboration, pre-hospital blood transfusion is now a reality in Des Moines and West Des Moines! Great support from @IMMC_Trauma with this collaborative effort.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Just home from @acsTrauma Region 7 "Advances in Trauma" in Kansas City, the 46th annual conference. For many years I've recorded "The Pearls" - the things I found useful/interesting from each presentation. Many great topics! Lots of fun, too!

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

This 🧵.. this is what motivates me. #Rural.

[The ACS Committee on Trauma @acsTrauma]

In our current trauma system, where you live determines whether you live or die after an injury.

At the #TQIP24 Opening Session, Dr. Nathens shared 5️⃣ important facts to emphasize the need for a change in rural trauma care.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Here’s the @IMMC_Trauma crew at #TQIP24 meeting .. thanks @acsTrauma! Please keep it a secret that I was temporarily AWOL to get some new boots while in Denver. Ha! #Rural @pelaez_trauma @BethFuchsen @FunaroChelsy

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Yes! #RTTDC was developed as an educational offering, and it has proven effective at that. Its real value is developing relationships & trust, building the system, and opening communication 🟰⬆️quality! @acsTrauma

[Mark J @igfireman]

Why take a Rural Trauma Team Development course? Besides the stated objectives of the course you can develop relationships and trust with your larger centers. They are not the scary people you may think they are! #Tqip24

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

@b_feisty This inspires me

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

“You need to know how to get out of trouble, you just don’t want to look too good doing it.” That was an important message from one of my mentors many years ago. Problems are better avoided than solved.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

It is way easier to get tomatoes at the grocery store or the farmers market, but I love dirt on my hands and the smell of fresh wheat straw mulch. I don’t even eat tomatoes! Ha! #rural

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

There are lots of great things about being in Iowa. I love the smell of dirt in the spring. I’m planting a new section of raspberries! #rural

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Pleasure to participate in this discussion with @GPCAH and @b_feisty about farm emergency preparedness. With longer EMS response times, @acsSTOPTHEBLEED is especially important in #rural areas. Podcast here: https://t.co/uzKHGQ3OpE

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

@docmartin22 @SeanLangenfeld @LACUSCTrauma @TCCACS @topknife @TSACO_AAST @DrTanyaEgodage @pppatelmd @elliotthaut @Me4Trauma My take: if you place chest tubes with some regularity you should be facile with both open & percutaneous techniques. If you infrequently place them, the open technique remains safe, reliable, and relatively easy to teach/learn.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

“You have to act on what you see, not what you think you know” - that is surgical gold from @PMHTrauma_ALE at @TCCACS

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Trauma friends - how do you handle this? Patient with a medical event needing chest compressions. No other mechanism of injury. There are CPR-related rib and or/sternal fractures, without pneumothorax, hemothorax, pulmonary contusion, etc. What is the role of the trauma service?

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

@ElliotServaisMD @TomVargheseJr @juliomayol @BrendonStilesMD @CanesDavid T&T (Techniques & Triumphs) conference, where we present & discuss new and/or creative surgical solutions and celebrate surgical victories. We do it quarterly (today) and it is a great pick-me-up after M&M. @IMMC_SurgEd

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

@traumamom4 Not to mention that many things are not appropriate for electronic messaging and need direct communication. Incomplete or misleading information. Stuff falls through the cracks. Me, I have an old-fashioned pager.

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

My Mom has been at our home for a couple of days over Christmas; I have mostly been working. I found this on my desk at home before heading in to the hospital. I’m 56 years old - how fortunate I am! ❤️

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Yesterday wrapped up the @acsTrauma Region 7 "Advances in Trauma" meeting. So much fun & learning! Great to see friends!

Years ago I developed the habit of recording the "pearls" - nuggets of information that I find interesting - from each talk.

Here they are!

#Region7Rocks

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

7 years ago today - November 28, 2016 - we presented the first complete #StopTheBleed course in the state of Iowa at the Firestone plant in Des Moines. Wow - how far things have come since then! @IMMC_Trauma

[Rick Sidwell @rsidwell]

Another challenge disproportionately felt in #rural areas is EMS care. Thanks to LT @AdamGregg for hearing us out today & for working on solutions. Great day for a tractor ride! #PowerofRural @NOSORH

[UnityPoint Health - Des Moines @UnityPointDSM]

It’s National Rural Health Day! 🚜🏥 Dr. Rick Sidwell jumped on his 1948 John Deere and journeyed to the Iowa State Capitol to meet with @AdamGreggIA to discuss ways to shorten the time it takes to get rural Iowans who suffer from a traumatic injury to a hospital. @IMMC_Trauma