Rommie L.Duckworth

MPA · EFO · CFO · CEMSO · NRP

Career fire chief and nationally registered paramedic. Textbook author, national instructor, and Northeast Region Director on the NAEMT Board of Directors. Current work runs from traumatic circulatory arrest guidance to officer development, and it all points the same direction: turning evidence into practice that holds up at three in the morning.

Presentation catalog Full background

Rom Duckworth presenting to a full conference session. — Conference general session

The work

Command

Municipal Fire & EMS

Fire chief of a combination fire and EMS system serving roughly 26,000 residents and more than 4,500 calls a year, with 36 career firefighters, about 60 volunteers, and ALS ambulance and paramedic engine operations.

Education

Teaching & Program Design

Adjunct instructor for the National Fire Academy and the Connecticut Fire Academy. Conference and workshop faculty for NAEMT, NAEMSE, IAFC, FDIC International, EMS World, and the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.

Scholarship

Writing & Standards

More than 100 published articles and textbook chapters for AAOS, IAFC, NAEMT, and Mosby. Contributor to national guidance on traumatic circulatory arrest, open fracture care, and prehospital sepsis education.

Presentation catalog

Fifty-seven programs across nine domains

Clinical, operational, educational, and leadership sessions, built for mixed EMT, paramedic, officer, and chief audiences. Every program can be scaled to a conference session, a workshop, or a keynote.

Keynotes & General Sessions Perspiration and Inspiration · The One Thing They’ll Remember · Ben Franklin’s Lessons for 21st Century Emergency Services 6 programs Clinical: Airway & Breathing Difficult Airway Management · Advanced Practices for Basic Ventilations 2 programs Clinical: Medical It’s NOT Always Sepsis · The Most Important Vital Sign · Improving EMS Stroke Care 8 programs Clinical: Trauma Hot Controversies in Traumatic Cardiac Arrest · EMS and TBI · Squeeze Play: Crush Injury and Crush Syndrome 8 programs Clinical: Special Populations Super Sick Kids · Pediatric Cardiac Arrest · The ABC’s of Geriatrics 7 programs Operations & Incident Management More Than Just Batteries: Alternative Fuel Vehicles · Bus Collision Response · Mass Casualty Incidents 4 programs Education & Training Incorporating Critical Thinking in Education · Don’t Lose Your Cool · Debriefing for Real-World Learning 9 programs Leadership & Management The Steps to Successful Succession Planning · Crew Resource Management · Catch Them and Keep Them 8 programs Quality & Performance Improvement Change Management in Emergency Services · Closing the Performance Gap · Making Meaning of Medical Research 5 programs

57 programs / 9 domains / full abstracts and objectives on every page Browse the catalog

National service

Where the work goes

NAEMT: Board of Directors, Northeast Region Director · since 2023
NAEMT: Founding leader and chair, Lighthouse Leadership mentoring program
ACS COT: NAEMT liaison to the Committee on Trauma EMS Group
NFPA: Alternate member, NFPA 1900 technical committee
Editorial: Fire Engineering, JEMS, and FDIC International advisory and editorial roles
Sepsis: Advisory roles with Sepsis Alliance and The Sepsis Institute

Recognition

Selected honors

2023: Star of Life, Unit Citation, and Education awards · Ridgefield Fire Department
2021: Presidential Leadership Award · NAEMT
2019: Lifetime Achievement Award · Western Connecticut Health Network
2019: EMS 10 Innovators Award · innovation in sepsis education
2015: Sepsis Hero Award · Sepsis Alliance
2001: Special Service Award · September 11 response, BSI EMS

Rom Duckworth presenting at an international emergency services conference. — International conference faculty

Booking

Bring a program to your agency or conference

Programs are delivered through the New England Center for Rescue & Emergency Medicine and can be customized to the focus, theme, or concern of your event. Sessions run from sixty minute conference blocks to multi-day workshops.

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Education, consulting, and speaking services are provided independently through the New England Center for Rescue & Emergency Medicine, LLC. Organizations, agencies, publications, and employers named on this site are identified solely to describe professional history, service, and qualifications. Their appearance does not indicate endorsement, sponsorship, or affiliation, and nothing offered here is offered on behalf of the Ridgefield Fire Department, the Town of Ridgefield, Connecticut, or any other organization named.