In this first episode of Stimulus, we learn from two masters in the art of de-escalating those who are agitated and upset. Jose Pacheco, RN, known affectionately to his co-workers as ‘The Drunk Whisperer’, has a specific sequence to this approach, which he’s going to walk us through, step by step. The good news is that verbal de-escalation is a tool that can be learned by almost anyone. To that end, we’re also joined by Dan McCollum, emergency physician at Augusta University, to talk about conflict resolution that evolved from the martial arts principal of using your opponent's energy to resolve conflict, rather than simply butting heads. The name for this method? Verbal Judo.

Awake + Aware | Our 2026 Retreat

Join us at Awake and Aware, our 3-day retreat in Scottsdale, AZ. March 1-4, 2026. Space is limited.

🎓 P.S. This is a CME event.

The Flameproof Course

The hidden anti-burnout curriculum we all should have learned in training. Cohort 3 begins Sept 10, 2024. Get the deets

For full show notes of this episode and all sorts of other goodies, visit our podcast website

We discuss:

Ways to de-escalate and defuse [00:50]
“Verbal Judo” is teachable and learnable. [03:31]
McCollum’s de-escalation sequence [06:35]
Empathy can absorb tension [14:18]
Universal Upset Patient Protocol [22:30];
“We treat people as ladies and gentlemen not because they are, but because we are.” [32:52]
You can’t control how an upset person is going to respond to conflict, you can control how you respond. [34:43];
Seeing a situation from the other person’s eyes. [35:40]
Sword of Insertion technique [36:58]
Active listening [38:38]
Jose Pacheco’s tips for interacting with difficult patients in the ED. [41:15]
Non-verbal cues [51:46]

1. Verbal Judo | The art of verbal de-escalation

Stimulus - Learn Tools to Crush It in Your Medical Career