ALiEM Bookclub: Beyond the ED – Recommendations by Dr. Felix Ankel
Most people bring value to a community through their work and their ideas. It is the rare person who brings value by giving us a new perspective. This post is from such a person. Dr. Felix Ankel is Vice President, Health Professions Education at HealthPartners Institute and Assistant Dean at University of Minnesota Medical School. He has been a leader within the EM Education community through his national involvement and leadership in FOAMed. More than his accomplishments, he is best known for contributing to the EM education community as the resident philosopher and for his ability to bring a different perspective to any conversation. Hopefully [+]
MEdIC Series | The Case of the Awkward Assessors
Welcome to season 3, episode 4 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, 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. This month’s case features a couple of colleagues who are trying how to evaluate a medical student appropriate. How can we give critical feedback in a busy emergency [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: Beyond the ED – Recommendations by Dr. Jim Adams
“Leaders become great, not because of their power, but because of their ability to empower others.” Dr. Jim Adams is a Professor of Emergency Medicine (EM) and both the Chair of the Department of EM at Northwestern University and Senior Vice President/Chief Medical Officer for Northwestern Memorial Health Care. Although he is internationally recognized for his contributions to areas of ethics and leadership in EM, for myself and many others, he is best known as a mentor and an inspiration. To spend time with him is to walk away ready to take on the world. We appreciate the opportunity to share [+]
Trick of the Trade: Patient positioning for ultrasound-guided ulnar nerve block
Patients with 5th metacarpal fractures (commonly termed “boxer’s fracture”) are frequently treated in the emergency department (ED) with closed reduction and splinting. Obtaining analgesia and a successful closed reduction can often be challenging without procedural sedation. Severe swelling can make a hematoma block difficult, often resulting in inadequate analgesia. An ultrasound-guided ulnar nerve block provides a simple method to facilitate pain relief and allow for improved fracture site manipulation. [+]
Diagnose on Sight: Shortness of Breath
Case: 55-year-old restrained driver is reporting severe shortness of breath and right sided chest pain after a high-speed motor vehicle collision. Her respiratory rate is 26 breaths/min and her oxygen saturation is 96% on a 15-liter non-rebreather. She has decreased breath sounds on the right, epigastric tenderness, and an abdominal seatbelt sign. What is the diagnosis? [+]
Sarah G. Sifuentez MD
UCSF-Fresno Emergency Medicine Residency Program
EM Match Advice: What if I don’t match? What is the SOAP?
Although we would never wish negative thoughts to those who are applying for residency slot in an emergency medicine program this year, it is also important to be completely honest with yourself. Given your application packet and interviews, how likely is that you won't match and have to enter the post-match Supplement Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP)? What is the SOAP? This EM Match Advice installment provides advice about the experience of NOT matching and the next steps. Podcast Co-Hosts: Dr. Michael Gisondi (Northwestern), Dr. Michelle Lin (UCSF) Expert Panelists: Dr. Dan Egan (St. Luke's-Roosevelt), Dr. Tiffany Murano (Rutgers), Dr. Mary Westergaard (Wisconsin) Listen to [+]
I am Dr. Ambrose Wong, Director of Simulation Research: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Ambrose Wong (@ambrosehwong) is a healthcare simulation educator and researcher, with a passion for teamwork and collaboration across professions and disciplines. He grew up in Vancouver, Canada and moved to the United States for medical school and residency, but now calls New England his home. He recently completed his simulation fellowship at NYU School of Medicine, and joined the brand new state-of-the-art Yale Center for Medical Simulation as a budding educational researcher. Wellness is especially important as a junior faculty member, and he’s excited to share his experiences. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM! [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: Voices From Chernobyl
“Our life revolves around Chernobyl. Where were you when it happened, how far from the reactor did you live? What did you see? Who died? Who left? Where did they go? I remember in the first months the night life started buzzing again – “you only live once,” “if we’re going to die, let’s do it to music.” The soldiers came and the officers came. But now Chernobyl is with us every day. No matter what happens, everyone says: Chernobyl. pg 116 [+]
Team-Based Learning: 2016 JGME-ALiEM Hot Topics in Medical Education
As a follow-up to last year’s inaugural JGME-ALiEM Hot Topic in Medical Education on the Resident as Teacher role, this week we will be conducting a cross-disciplinary discussion about a unique instructional strategy called team-based learning (TBL). Originally developed by Dr. Larry Michaelson, a professor of Business at the University of Oklahoma, over the past 15-20 years TBL has been increasingly incorporated in health professions education. Prominent in undergraduate medical curricula, TBL focuses on active learning, collaboration, and application to real-world problems. As educators consider its value in postgraduate education, TBL is our “hot topic” for 2016. Whether you are hearing about [+]
ALIEM Bookclub: A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies
A Few Short Notes on Tropical Butterflies [1] is the brilliant debut collection of stories by physician turned-author John Murray. Inspired by his background in science and medicine, the novel focuses on the lives of researchers, physicians, nurses, explorers and collectors, who share a love for detail and scientific explanation. Murray’s stories are a wonderful balance of fiction and facts, which take the reader to the most enthralling places around the globe: from the slums of Bombay during a Cholera epidemic to remote areas of the key west; from the peaks of the Himalayas to a United Nations refugee camp in [+]