IDEA Series: Team-Based Learning Activity – Fever in the Returning Traveler
The Problem Most academic conferences are run as one-room school houses, with an audience that includes a wide variety of learners ranging from interns to highly experienced attending physicians. Engaging a group of 30 to 40 learners simultaneously can be difficult, especially when covering a particularly dense topic. Although this teaching environment presents unique challenges, it also provides an opportunity to pilot innovative techniques. [+]
MEdIC Series: The Case of the Terrible Code
Welcome to season 3, episode 8 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, John Eicken, and Teresa Chan) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss difficult medical education cases each month. As usual, the community discussion will be reviewed using qualitative research methods to produce a curated summary that will be combined with two expert responses to create a functional teaching resource. In this month’s case a resident observes a code that is not going well. She should help, shouldn’t she? But she doesn’t want to offend the [+]
5 Tips for Managing Pain in Older Adults
Pain is the most common reason people seek care in Emergency Departments. In addition to diagnosing the cause of the pain, a major goal of emergency physicians (EPs) is to relieve pain. However, medications that treat pain can have their own set of problems and side effects. The risks of treatment are particularly pronounced in older adults, who are often more sensitive to the sedating effects of medications, and are more prone to side effects such as renal failure. EPs frequently have to find the balance between controlling pain and preventing side effects. Untreated pain has large personal, emotional, and [+]
PEM Pearls: This may hurt! How to manage pediatric anxiety in the ED
Pain and anxiety in the emergency department (ED) are two of the most common things we see in children. Pediatric patients, whether first time visitors or those with chronic illnesses, can exhibit marked anxiety and fear when in the ED setting. Child development, parenting styles and prior medical experiences will guide their reactions in these cases. Practitioners must have a unique set of tools to work with these children and understand the optimal methods for providing care, while decreasing some of these normal reactions to a stressful environment. The most important part of treating anxiety and fear in children is recognizing [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: Beyond the ED – Recommendations by Dr. Lainie Yarris
“Not all readers are leaders. But all leaders are readers.” – Harry S. Truman Dr. Lainie Yarris is the Program Director at Oregon Health and Sciences University Emergency Medicine Residency as well as the Co-Director of the Emergency Medicine Education Scholarship Fellowship and Co-Director for Faculty Development for OHSU School of Medicine. Beyond these multiple roles she has most readily known for her leadership in Emergency Medicine Education research, authoring over 40 publications and acting as a mentor for the MERC program, in addition to serving as an editor on multiple journals. She is an inspiration and role model for those of [+]
I am Dr. Martin Huecker, Associate PD and Research Director: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Martin Huecker is an associate program director, research director, and emergency physician from Louisville, Kentucky. When it comes to setting an example of how to maintain wellness and balance in our everyday lives, Dr. Huecker is definitely crushing it! From fulfilling his academic responsibilities, to staying active with his 4 children, Dr. Huecker doesn’t have any time to waste. His ability to prioritize, stay focused, and mentally reset in stressful situations is remarkable. If you want to learn more about ketoadaptation and sprit training, you’ll have to check this out. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM! [+]
ALiEM Bookclub | Beyond the ED – Recommendations by Dr. Maria Moreira
If you only read the books that everyone else is reading, you can only think what everyone else is thinking. – Haruki Murakami Dr. Maria Moreira is the Program Director of the Denver Health Emergency Medicine Residency. In addition to her role in her own program, she has been a fixture in the national medical education landscape. She is the chair of the County Program committee and is a member of the CORD executive board. She brings a humility and gentleness to everything that she does that belies her depth of thought and leadership skills. She is a leader, a role [+]
Managing migraine headaches in complicated patients
Case Vignette A 42-year-old female presents at 10 pm with a throbbing right frontal headache associated with nausea, vomiting, photophobia, and phonophobia. The headache is severe, rated as “10” on a 0 to 10 triage pain scale. The headache began gradually while the patient was at work at 2 pm. Since 2 pm, she has taken 2 tablets of naproxen 500 mg and 2 tablets of sumatriptan 100 mg without relief. The patient has a diagnosis of migraine without aura. She reports 12 attacks per month. The headache is similar to her previous migraine headaches. She is forced to present to [+]
Congratulations to the winners of 2016 ALiEM Awards!
Congratulations to the winners of the first ever 2016 ALiEM Awards! We had great submissions and the decision making process was tough, but ultimately we felt that these winners represent the true spirit of medical education and digital innovation! Most of all, congratulations to all the submissions, we are proud of all you do for the medical education community! [+]
Trick of the Trade: Pre-Charge the Defibrillator
In cardiac arrest care it is well accepted that time to defibrillation is closely correlated with survival and outcome.1 There has also been a lot of focus over the years on limiting interruptions in chest compressions during CPR. In fact, this concept has become a major focus of the current AHA Guidelines. Why? Because we know interruptions are bad.2,3 One particular aspect of CPR that has gotten a lot of attention in this regard is the peri-shock period. It has been well established that longer pre- and peri-shock pauses are independently associated with decreased chance of survival.4,5 Can we do better to [+]