Tricks of the Trade Book: Pre-order release of first 500 copies

Will there be a return to book publishing in this era of digital information chaos and overload? We believe so. We are proud to announce “Tricks of the Trade in Emergency Medicine: Where Experience, Ingenuity, and Evidence Intersect.” Being our own publishers (ALiEM Publishing) and selling through a print-on-demand bookstore has allowed us to design the book with full creative license. In stark contrast to our blog and other digital-based projects, we aimed to create a hardback, full-color book that you can read on a lazy Sunday afternoon, give as a graduation gift, or look delightful on your coffee table. We hope these tips spark your own creativity on how you can better improve your troubleshooting abilities on your next Emergency Department shift.

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2020-05-12T23:19:53-07:00May 18, 2020|Tricks of the Trade|

ALiEMU New Course: Pediatric Ultrasound-Guided Peripheral IV Access

Did you know that the ALiEMU learning management platform has courses in addition to the AIR Series? We just published the third installment of the pediatric point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) series, which focuses on peripheral IV access using ultrasonography. Do you use the traditional transverse, transverse with dynamic needle tip visualization, or longitudinal ultrasound technique?

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2020-04-27T14:42:47-07:00May 10, 2020|ALiEMU, Pediatrics, Ultrasound|

Welcoming PECARN to Twitter

Our organization has always been a champion and fan of the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN) research collaborative. We jointly worked on designing their official Head Injury Decision Tool found printed in various emergency departments around the country, featured several PECARN authors on our ALiEM podcast, and provide summaries of their 147-and-growing list of publications in our P3 app. So it follows that we are incredibly honored and thrilled to announce our Twitter collaboration. We will be helping to run their Twitter account. Join @PECARNteam and keep current on their growing list of publications, their clinical take-home points, and even insights from the authors themselves.

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2026-06-16T16:15:54-07:00May 1, 2020|Pediatrics, Social Media & Tech|

Guideline Review: Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention

While HIV medications receive much attention for the treatment of HIV infection, less attention has focused on the prophylaxis indications. In 2017, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) updated their guidelines on the indications for the HIV medications tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF) and emtricitabine (2′,3′-dideoxy-5-fluoro-3′-thiacytidine, FTC) for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The trade name for the combination medication is Truvada. These daily medications are taken by people at risk for HIV to prevent HIV. This Guideline Review succinctly summarizes the 77-page CDC document into the key pearls for emergency physicians.

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2026-06-16T16:15:44-07:00Apr 27, 2020|Guideline Review, Infectious Disease, Tox & Medications|

EM Bound: Newsletter for medical students interested in EM

Are you a medical student, pursuing a career in Emergency Medicine (EM)? You are navigating your third and fourth years of medical school during an unprecedented time of the COVID-19 era. What if you can not get a visiting EM clerkship rotation? Are you automatically out of luck when it comes to residency applications? How do you keep apprised of timely, relevant information for residency application season? In an effort to support you and get ultra-prepared for the near future and EM internship, we are launching a monthly free email newsletter. Led by editor Dr. Sree Natesan (Assistant EM Residency Director, Duke University) and featuring an all-star, growing team of contributors, we announce the EM Bound newsletter.

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2020-04-20T19:31:27-07:00Apr 21, 2020|Medical Education, Medical Student|

CRincubator Live: A Chief Resident Professional Development Learning Lab

“In every crisis, there is an opportunity.” This famous quote by Albert Einstein illustrates the opportunity to reinvent our Chief Resident Incubator (“CRincubator”) year-long experience. We had planned to retire the CRincubator as of a month ago. However, given the relative void in Chief Resident professional development opportunities this year because of physical distancing rules, we wanted to share our lessons learned and resources developed over the past 5 years. We thus announce a half-day, online, professional development learning lab opportunity to all EM Chief Residents. Come join us on May 6, 2020. Read more about the unique curriculum and our all-star speaker line-up on our CRincubator Live homepage.

By Michelle Lin, MD|2020-04-17T23:42:17-07:00Apr 18, 2020|Incubators, Professional Development|

EM Match Advice: COVID-19 and the 2020-21 Residency Application Season

With so much appropriate attention focused on getting frontline emergency providers with personal protective equipment in the COVID-19 era, one major overshadowed storyline is the uncertainty of the 2020-21 interview season for medical students applying into Emergency Medicine (EM). COVID-19 has thrown a wrench in the entire application season not only for medical students, but also medical schools, residency programs, and hospitals. The downstream effects of potentially canceling visiting (away) EM rotations and possibly even home EM rotations in the near term are dizzying. How does one obtain enough letters of recommendation? Should I even apply for visiting EM rotations? Fortunately, an experienced panel of EM program directors joins Dr. Michael Gisondi (Stanford) and Dr. Michelle Lin (UCSF) in discussing the thought processes, ongoing nuanced discussions, early available resources, and general mindset for the 2020-11 season.