AIR Series: Orthopedics Upper Extremity Module (2016)
Welcome to the Orthopedics Upper Extremity Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality orthopedic upper extremity content. Below we have listed our selection of the 14 highest quality blog posts within the past 12 months (as of March 2016) related to orthopedic upper extremity emergencies, curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. More specifically in this module, we identified 2 AIRs and 12 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 5 hours (just over 20 minutes per [+]
AIR Series: Orthopedics Lower Extremity Module (2016)
Welcome to the Orthopedics Lower Extremity Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality orthopedic lower extremity content. Below we have listed our selection of the 3 highest quality blog posts within the past 12 months (as of March 2016) related to orthopedic lower extremity emergencies, curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. More specifically in this module, we identified 1 AIRs and 2 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 1 hour (20 minutes per article) of III [+]
Free ALiEM In-Training Exam Prep Book is now published
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 [+]
Lumbar Puncture on an Anticoagulated Patient in the Emergency Department: Is it safe?
The lumbar puncture (LP) procedure is commonly performed in the Emergency Department (ED). While minor complications of LP such as post-procedure headache or back pain occur somewhat regularly, significant complications such as post-procedural spinal hematomas, are rare.1 Despite their low incidence, these spinal hematomas are associated with a significant amount of morbidity for the patient and increased medicolegal risk for the provider. [+]
Top 10 Secrets to Success as an Emergency Medicine Resident
So you are about to start your first year as an Emergency Medicine (EM) resident in a few short weeks. Or perhaps you are entering a new, more senior resident role in your department. You are probably unsure of what to expect, a bit anxious, but definitely excited to start. As part of a multi-institutional initiative launched by the ALiEM Chief Resident Incubator, chief residents from across the country pooled together what they wanted residents to know to become an amazing resident. After compiling the responses, we came up with these “Top 10 Secrets to Success as a EM Resident”. [+]
Ultrasound For The Win! – 63M with an Erythematous Abdomen #US4TW
Welcome to another ultrasound-based case, part of the “Ultrasound For The Win!” (#US4TW) Case Series. In this case series, we focus on a real clinical case where bedside ultrasound changed the management or aided in the diagnosis. In this case, a 63-year-old man presents with a painful, warm, and erythematous area of his abdomen. [+]
MEdIC Series: Case of the Terrible Code – Expert Review & Curated Commentary
The Case of the Terrible Code outlined a scenario where a resident observed a resuscitation that was not going well. Should he intervene even though the code leader was an attending? How? This month the MEdIC team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, John Eicken, and Teresa Chan), hosted a discussion around these questions with insights from the ALiEM community. We are proud to present to you the Curated Community Commentary and our 3 expert opinions. Thank-you to all our participants for contributing to the very rich discussions last week. [+]
10 Life and Work Tips for EM Residency Graduates
Congratulations to the Class of 2016 graduating class of emergency medicine residents! It is the end of a chapter and a beginning of another. For those of us practicing medicine for so many years, there are many things that we would have done differently… especially in that first year post-residency. In the following infographic, we present crowdsourced reflections and advice for residency graduates from the the UCSF Department of Emergency Medicine faculty. [+]
Diagnose on Sight: Swollen Leg
Case: A 58 year-old female presents with a one-day history of worsening right lower extremity pain and swelling, and an acute onset of dyspnea. Her past medical history consists of stage IV renal cell carcinoma diagnosed six months previously. Triage vitals are remarkable for a heart rate of 120 beats per minute and a blood pressure of 68/48 mmHg. What is the diagnosis? [+]
ALiEM Book Club: The Digital Doctor – Hope, Hype, and Harm at the Dawn of Medicine’s Computer Age
“Medicine is the most information-rich, knowledge-intensive human activity, probably ever.” — Matthew Burton in The Digital Doctor Medicine is becoming an even more information-intensive field as we continue to make new medical discoveries. This, among many other reasons, has prompted increasing efforts over the past couple of decades to develop computerized systems in healthcare. Through this lens, Dr. Robert Wachter examines modern medicine – both the achievements and downfalls that have manifested. [+]