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.
Memorable quotes
- “One of the things about this position this year … it’s been a little bit of a whack-a-mole kind of thing day-to-day.” — Dr. Douglas Kupas
- “A good problem to have is that every year more and more people are attending the annual meeting, whether it’s in Tampa, whether it’s in Austin, whether it’s in San Diego, it’s growing.” — Rob Lawrence
- “NAEMSP has recently been accepted into the Acute Care Action Network of the World Health Organization.” — Dr. Douglas Kupas
- “It is the clinical conference I think everybody should attend.” — Rob Lawrence
- “I have really wondered how organizations that do a 1-year presidency get things accomplished because it does fly by.” — Dr. Douglas Kupas
- “As I always tell people, you know, you’re hunting as a pack.” — Rob Lawrence
- “So the Bill is House Resolution 3443, and it is called the Meds Act or the MEDS Bill and it’s modernizing EMS delivery and sustainability.” — Dr. Douglas Kupas
- “Also, I’d love to have, you know, my medical director standing next to me. Don’t listen to me; listen to the clinical guy as well, because between us, we can actually make those elegant points we need to make on the hill.” — Rob Lawrence
Additional resources:
- NAEMSP Annual Meeting
- House Resolution 3443, the Meds Act/MEDS Bill
- NEMSAC dismantled: Inside the fallout shaking federal EMS policy
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
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