Support for the Nocturnist comes from the California Medical Association.

Season 5 of The Nocturnist Stories from the World of Medicine is sponsored by the Physicians Foundation.

At the Nocturnist, we are careful to ensure that all stories comply with health care privacy laws.

Details may have been changed to ensure patient confidentiality.

All views expressed are those of the person speaking

and not their employer.

You're listening to The Nocturnous, Stories from the World of Medicine. I'm Emily Silverman.

Today's episode features a very special guest, Dr. Mike

Abernathy. Mike is a clinical professor of emergency medicine at the University of Wisconsin,

helicopter flight physician, and former naval engineer, EMT, and military officer.

I first met Mike when he submitted a story for our live show in San Francisco in June of 2022.

Our team was immediately struck by Mike's innate storytelling talent and invited him to come to the Bay to perform on stage, and it was a really amazing experience

to watch the story come to life for a live audience.

A few months after the performance, Mike and I sat down to talk about his work as a helicopter

flight physician, the concept of pre-hospital care, and the differences between the United

States and Europe and how they approach this really important part of medicine.

I came away from the conversation feeling like humanity is safer

because Mike exists, and I hope you enjoy his story

and our conversation as much as I did.

Before our chat, take a listen to Mike's amazing performance on the nocturnous stage.

Here's Mike.

It's January 2021.

...