Global Pulse Check: What the World Can Teach Us About EMS

In an increasingly interconnected world, EMS agencies face common challenges—workforce shortages, rising demand, constrained funding, and the need for rapid innovation. Yet across the globe, EMS systems respond to these pressures with different models, strategies, and solutions. In this dynamic and highly interactive session, Rob Lawrence and UK emergency physician Dr. Linda Dykes reunite to deliver the long-requested revival of their popular international EMS briefing. Joined by colleagues and international attendees from Europe, Canada, Australasia, and beyond, the session provides an up-to-the-minute tour of global EMS systems and the practices shaping their success. Participants will explore how various countries organize dispatch, response, clinical practice, mobile integrated healthcare, leadership structures, and system design. The session will highlight innovations—from UK performance targets and Scandinavian community paramedicine frameworks to Australian workforce models and Singapore’s technology-driven operations—offering practical comparisons with U.S. practice. Attendees will also contribute to a live discussion drawing out best practices from across the world, creating a real-time exchange of ideas, challenges, and actionable solutions. Whether you're a leader, educator, clinician, or strategist, this session brings the global EMS community into one room to spark cross-border learning and inspire fresh thinking.