About Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)

Vice Chair for Education
Department of Emergency Medicine
Assistant Dean, Faculty Development
Department of Emergency Medicine
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital
Philadelphia, PA

IDEA Series: Use of gamification through Clue: Pediatric Rash Edition

Emergency Medicine (EM) physicians care for anyone, with anything, at any time. This includes pediatric patients as well as adults. For those without advanced pediatric training, “sick kids” can be quite intimidating. Rashes in the pediatric population are often benign, but in rare cases they portend significant illness. Rashes are also frequent chief complaints; In 2015, there were 1,452,300 pediatric ED visits for “skin and subcutaneous tissue disorders” [1]. We sought to improve the teaching of pediatric rashes in our residency curriculum.

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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2020-05-05T16:22:24-07:00May 13, 2020|Dermatology, IDEA series, Pediatrics|

The Leader’s Library: Dare To Lead | Curated Summary of the Discussion

In April 2019, a group of intrepid readers embarked on an adventure together: the debut session of The Leader’s Library, ALiEM’s new career development book club. Learners and instructors from around the world read and discussed Dr. Brené Brown’s newest book, Dare to Lead, on a 5 day journey via Slack. Each day had its own theme (Rumbling with Vulnerability, Values, Empathy and Shame, Learning to Rise, and Toolkit), and the asynchronous discussion was robust. A day-by-day breakdown of our conversation, along with tangible takeaways and recommendations for further reading, is summarized below.

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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2019-09-03T12:44:06-07:00Jun 14, 2019|Book Club, Leaders Library, Professional Development|

The Problem

Burnout is a well-known syndrome characterized by poor self-care, dehumanization, exhaustion, and reduced effectiveness. The study of wellness and resilience among emergency medicine (EM) providers and trainees has recently blossomed, largely as a consequence of recent tragedies of physician suicide, provider distress, and an increased awareness the impact burnout has on both personal and professional domains. While there are ongoing discussions on practices to best address burnout, methods have focused on promoting resilience, mindfulness, and provider engagement.¹

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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2019-09-10T14:21:25-07:00Feb 12, 2019|IDEA series, Wellness|

The Problem

The peri-mortem cesarean section, rebranded in recent years as the “Resuscitative Hysterotomy”, is a potentially lifesaving procedure for both a pregnant mother and her child. It is both daunting and infrequently performed, necessitating frequent review of indications, techniques, and pitfalls to ensure the best possible outcome for mother and baby. The decision to perform this procedure should be made only in pulseless women with a uterine fundus above the umbilicus, which indicates a gestation of >20 weeks.^1,2 Prior studies suggest the procedure should be performed within 5 minutes of maternal cardiac arrest in order to maximize the probability of favorable maternal neurologic outcome and the secondary goal of fetal survival.^³ Given the paucity of clinical exposure to this potentially-life saving intervention, resuscitative hysterotomy is an ideal candidate for simulation-mediated deliberate practice.

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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2018-10-28T21:53:00-07:00Aug 28, 2018|IDEA series, Simulation|

The Problem

Psychiatric and substance use disorder complaints comprise up to 12% of all Emergency Department (ED) visits.^1–3 These conditions can present in a multitude of ways, making it essential for emergency physicians (EPs) to be aware of nuanced diagnostic characteristics of psychiatric illnesses in order to provide timely and appropriate care for these patients.

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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2019-03-28T18:29:32-07:00Jun 3, 2018|IDEA series|

The Problem

Providing high-quality healthcare in the busy, often chaotic world of EM requires teamwork. Team members must overcome varied levels of training, expertise, and conflicting personalities to function as a unit. Effective teamwork and collaboration, particularly in high-stakes, high-acuity environments, can improve patient outcomes and the cost of care.^1,2 Although the Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) includes “interpersonal and communication skills” (ICS) as a core competency, there is no consensus as to how to effectively teach these skills. Further, military literature identifies “trust” as critical to effective communication within teams.³ To improve trust, communication, and collaboration, authors suggest a training that is safe, low-stakes, high-impact, and dynamically engaging.
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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2018-02-02T11:33:46-08:00Feb 1, 2018|IDEA series|

The Problem

Early recognition of a patient presenting with a toxidrome is essential to providing high-quality emergency care. Learners are often first exposed to this topic, however, in one comprehensive grouping, which makes it challenging to learn the nuances that distinguish one toxidrome from another. Both learners and experienced clinicians alike often employ rote memorization (and sometimes suboptimal mnemonics) to differentiate these presentations. This can make it difficult to convert the details into long-term memory.
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By Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)|2017-11-28T23:40:32-08:00Nov 30, 2017|IDEA series|

12 Next

About Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c)

IDEA Series: Use of gamification through Clue: Pediatric Rash Edition

The Leader’s Library: Dare To Lead | Curated Summary of the Discussion

IDEA Series: A Workshop to Reflect on Personal Resilience

The Problem

IDEA Series: Building a High Fidelity Biosimulation Task Trainer for Resuscitative Hysterotomy

The Problem

IDEA Series | Chopped EM: A ‘Palatable’ Way to Teach a Challenging Topic to EM Residents

The Problem

IDEA Series: Trapped as a Group, Escape as a Team | Applying Gamification to Team-Building Skills

The Problem

IDEA Series: Using Gamification to Reinforce Toxicology

The Problem