Leading through momentum: Dr. Douglas Kupas on steering NAEMSP

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 year 01:45 – 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 next 07:02 – Building the pipeline: medical student/resident interest group, travel support ideas 08:47 – “Hot off the press:” NAEMSP accepted into WHO Acute Care Action Network 10:08 – Advocacy “hunting as a pack:” overlapping national orgs, EMS on the Hill coordination 12:40 – Why Hill visits work: stories, staffers and why first-timers matter 16:48 – “White hat” advocacy and patient-centered priorities; ED wall time as a key issue 20:07 – Tampa preview: “It’s not just for docs,” NAEMSP membership structure 22:11 – Pre-cons overview: Medical Director’s Course, QI workshop, MIH, ventilation, blood, TECC 23:55 – Keynote: Dr. Frank Butler and special intro by Dr. Bob Mabry; Grand Rounds obstetric focus 27:45 – Major legal session format and why legal content draws a crowd 29:28 – Space constraints and future planning: small convention centers; San Diego “buyout” scale 31:49 – Research explosion: oral abstracts, posters, receptions; better ways to access abstracts 34:39 – “Meat of the conference:” operations, clinical topics, international speakers/learning 36:49 – Closing question: Bill details Enjoying the show? Email [email protected] to share feedback or suggest guests for a future episode.