Using Slack for Residency Communication – Do’s and Dont’s
One of the most difficult parts of residency and medical education is coordination and communication. Often residents and faculty alike can be found drowning in a never ending onslaught of emails, with chains of projects getting buried amongst reply-all’s and attachments. Over the course of the past year, our residency program at Doctors Hospital-OhioHealth in Columbus, Ohio has been using a newer form of communication to facilitate the dissemination of information and collaboration as a group.
After some initial exploration into technology and apps, it was decided to try out the program called Slack. Designed to help large groups work together as well as separately on projects simultaneously, we felt this may be our solution to the clunky and at times unbearable onslaught of emails. For those of you interested in taking your residency or group to the next level, below are our observations from the past year in a simple do’s and dont’s fashion.
Welcome to season 3, episode 9 of the ALiEM 
Procedural training is critical in emergency medicine (EM). EM residents must effectively acquire the skills to safely and accurately perform high-stakes, invasive, and life-saving procedures during high-pressure scenarios. Residency programs typically incorporate procedural skills workshops into didactic sessions, which results in residents practicing procedures several weeks or months before performing them clinically. Unfortunately, there is no established method to practice and evaluate procedural skills competency immediately prior to performing invasive procedures on a patient. A solution to this issue may lead to improved outcomes and greater patient safety.
It is with great pleasure that we announce the first edition of the ALiEM In-Training Exam Prep Book in both PDF and iBook form. This free book was a year-long project from the Chief Resident Incubator, led by the Editors Dr. Michael Gottlieb, Dr. Dorothy Habrat, Dr. Margaret Sheehy, Dr. Samuel Zidovetsky, and Dr. Adaira Chou with the support of Associate Editors Dr. Nikita Joshi and Dr. Michelle Lin. Over 90 EM residents and faculty from the Incubator and across U.S. emergency medicine residency programs contributed board-review type questions. Five practice tests are included for those preparing for the in-training exam (also known as the in-service exam) or even for the ABEM written board exam. You can download the free PDF or iBook below.