MEdIC Series | The Case of the Returning Traveller

Many residents and medical students are engaging in international medical activities. Before departing many do (or should) undergo pre-departure training but how prepared are medical learners to return on the other end? Many struggle with “reverse culture shock”. This month’s ALiEM MEdIC series case considers how we might help a learner returning from an international elective. Please join us in discussing the case this month, we would love your thoughts and advice.

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By Eve Purdy, BHSc MD|2019-02-19T18:09:05-08:00Feb 27, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|

ALiEM Bookclub: How to Lie with Statistics

Although the title is ostensibly sinister, Darrell Huff’s “How to Lie with Statistics” is anything but. In medicine, we are faced with complicated statistics and “statisticulators” on a daily basis. And as the field of data science and statistics grows, so too does the complexity of these “statisticulations”. A statisticulation, defined by Huff, is “misinforming people with the use of statistical material” and, unfortunately, this is becoming all too common in the profit-driven world of medicine. With carefully crafted “non-inferiority” trials and overpowered industry-funded superiority trials cropping up in the literature, it would easy to give up on statistics altogether; but it’s imperative that we don’t. The key is harnessing the ability to identify the subtleties that statisticians use to misguide. As Huff eloquently states in his book, “The crooks already know these tricks; honest men [and women] must learn them in self-defense.”

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By Derek Sifford|2017-01-20T12:31:07-08:00Feb 21, 2015|Book Club|

Should you do a Pediatric Emergency Medicine fellowship?

Each year hundreds of residents apply to Pediatric Emergency Medicine (PEM) fellowships. There are multiple reasons that an EM resident might want to undertake a PEM fellowship, but over the last 15 years, fewer Emergency Medicine (EM) residents are applying for PEM fellowships than Pediatric residents, unpublished data suggesting that Pediatric candidates now outnumber EM candidates 20 to 1.

Recently, a group of PEM Fellowship Program Directors formed the “EM-to-PEM task force” of like-minded individuals desiring to promote PEM fellowships to EM residents. A PEM fellowship is an excellent career move for a resident who has a passion for the emergency care and advocacy of children. In this post, we will discuss and review benefits of EM residents undergoing a PEM fellowship.

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By James O’Neill, MD|2016-10-26T17:04:32-07:00Feb 20, 2015|Medical Education, Pediatrics|

ALiEM Chief Resident Incubator: Mentoring the Future Leaders in EM

We at ALiEM are incredibly excited to publicly announce the 2015-16 ALiEM Chief Resident (CR) Incubator. Every single year, I have seen Chief Residents struggle with their new role as a near-peer leader in the residency program. Because Chief Residents are generally high-functioning individuals, they usually figure it out as the year progresses. Why is it that we can’t we do better and prepare them for what is to come?

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By Michelle Lin, MD|2019-01-28T21:44:28-08:00Feb 18, 2015|Medical Education, Social Media & Tech|

ALiEM Bookclub: The Emperor of all Maladies

The Emperor of All Maladies has become my touchstone for medicine. Siddhartha Mukherjee writes in a poignant and humanist voice as he beautifully captures the “Biography of Cancer.” Interweaving science, stories, and his experiences as an oncology fellow, Mukherjee begins his examination of cancer in the ancient Egyptian times with the story of Imhotep, and carries us through to the modern 21st century diagnosis and management of cancer. From laboratory to bedside, Mukherjee provides both a panoramic and microscopic view of the advances and setbacks of cancer discovery, definition, and understanding.

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By Alia Dharamsi, MD|2016-11-08T10:20:26-08:00Feb 13, 2015|Book Club, Medical Education|

What is Open Access? Video chat with Dr. Martin Eve

Open Access is not just an issue that plagues scientists and clinical practitioners. Allowing access to scholarly publications and academic work is also widely debated in the humanities as well. We found this out as we sat down and discussed Open Access with Dr. Martin Eve (@martin_eve).

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By Nikita Joshi, MD|2018-01-30T01:52:45-08:00Jan 31, 2015|Academic, Social Media & Tech|

MEdIC Series |The Case of Breaking Bad News Badly – Expert Review and Curated Commentary

The Case of Breaking Bad News Badly precipitated yet another thoughtful and riveting discussion over the past week. We are now proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our two expert opinions. Thank-you again to all our experts and participants for contributing again this week to the ALiEM MEdIC series.

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By Teresa Chan, MD, MHPE|2016-12-15T14:14:50-08:00Jan 30, 2015|MEdIC series, Medical Education|