Improving Consultation Communication Skills

Talking to colleagues is an essential skill especially as we advocate for our patients. We should not only know what’s going on with our patients, but also how to communicate our thoughts effectively and succinctly with our colleagues. In a great article by Dr. Chad Kessler et al ¹ just published Academic Medicine, the authors state that although “communication skills may not develop naturally, [they] can be taught and fostered through evidence-based educational models.”

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By Javier Benitez, MD|2016-12-20T10:02:45-08:00May 13, 2013|Education Articles, Medical Education|

Deception and Simulation

Have you ever created a simulation case with hidden objectives that the learners were not aware of? Would you ever purposefully try to trick or deceive learners in a simulation case?

Simulation can be used to reinforce clinical and procedural knowledge. It can teach important teamwork skills. It can also be used to learn about ourselves in morally and ethically challenging situations.

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By Nikita Joshi, MD|2016-11-11T18:38:34-08:00May 10, 2013|Medical Education, Simulation|

App Review: EMRA Basics of Emergency Medicine

The app EMRA Basics of Emergency Medicine covers the 20 most common EM complaints in a concise manner. I first heard about it from Dr. Rob Orman’s (@emergencypdx) podcast (ERCast) where he endorsed it when it was only in book format. The book is great, thin, and it fits in a white coat pocket.

Here is an in-depth review of the app.

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By Javier Benitez, MD|2018-10-28T21:45:14-07:00May 6, 2013|Medical Education, Social Media & Tech|

Death and Simulation

Should the manikin ever die in a simulation scenario?

Effective simulations require suspension of disbelief and willingness by learners to play along with the game created by the facilitators. Without this buy-in, learners could argue against discrepancies, simply on the basis that the scenario is not real. Learners give their trust that the educators will also play the same game, and that the rules will not change.

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By Nikita Joshi, MD|2016-11-11T19:59:21-08:00May 3, 2013|Medical Education, Simulation|

Coping with Simulation Case Derailment

The simulation scenario starts and things are going well. The learners are on their game. Instability – recognized, managed. Initial orders – done. And then it all falls apart. We’ve all been there.

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By Corey Heitz, MD|2016-11-11T18:38:43-08:00Apr 26, 2013|Medical Education, Simulation|

Learning Information Management instead of Evidence Based Medicine?

Keeping up with the literature these days is quite a daunting task. Medical information has increased exponentially over the past few decades and continues to do so. We spend a great deal of time and energy memorizing information which soon may become obsolete (see excerpt from the book The Half-Life of Facts by Arbesman).

Expecting physicians to keep a busy practice AND keep up with all the most current literature is impractical. By the time textbooks are published, the information is already a few years old and this puts us at risk of not practicing the most up to date and best evidence practice. We also know that with the increasing volume of information there has been new development on statistics on how to evaluate this vast amount of data. Most physicians are not properly equipped with the necessary statistical skills or time to analyze this vast amount of information.

So how DOES a practicing physician keep up with the most current, evidence-based medicine (EBM)? (more…)

By Javier Benitez, MD|2018-10-28T21:48:04-07:00Apr 22, 2013|Medical Education|

Poll: Disability Insurance – Yes or No?

I am set to graduate residency this June 2013 and among all the other things on my to-do list such as credentialing paperwork for my future employer is to explore disability insurance. Because I know very little about insurance, I decided to do some research.