In academic medicine, you inevitably will need to give presentations. This may include giving lectures on clinical topics, summarizing your research findings, or presenting your meeting agenda. Usually these are displayed using a laptop and a LCD projector. Depending on the room, you may or may not be provided a cordless presenter.
Evaluations of clinical faculty typically incorporate comments from rotating medical students and residents regarding their teaching ability. In the Emergency Department (ED), how do you balance your pressing clinical responsibilities with teaching?
When I did my residency training in Emergency Medicine and in the first few years as an attending, we regularly performed diagnostic peritoneal lavages in patients with stab wounds injuries to the abdomen. Patients also routinely went to the operating room for exploration.
Now with the evolution of CT imaging technology and more clinical studies, there is now a role for a less invasive management approach. These are the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma (EAST) guidelines.
Adapted from [1]
Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.
How do you teach pediatric patients, especially toddlers, how to cooperate with your pulmonary exam? How do you get them to take adequately deep breaths in and out?
Since 2006, I have been the ACEP News columnist on “Tricks of the Trade in Emergency Medicine.“ Four years later, I’ve published and co-published 33 articles on various both low-tech and high-tech pearls.
It’s official — I’ll be stepping down from the ACEP News columnist position and handing off the reins to someone with fresher ideas. Frankly, I’m running out of innovative ideas worth publishing about.
Burn classification and management are key skills for ED providers to remember. Depending on the prevalence of burns in your ED, it may be hard for forget the details. So here is a PV reference card on the rule of 9’s, different classifications of burns, and indications for burn unit referral.
Update (April 22, 2016): This card was updated by Dr. Christian Rose (UCSF-SFGH) to reflect current evidence that topical antibiotics and honey are IN, while silver sulfadiazine is OUT for partial-thickness burns.
Adapted from [1-3]
Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.
Kudos to Dr. Vineet Arora (Univ of Chicago) on creating a great video on the importance of clear, concise, and updated hand-off information on patients. This is especially important in the Emergency Department where patients are constantly being “signed out” to other residents for continued acute care. Whatever hand-off process you are using now, we can always do better.