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 [+]
ALiEM Socks: Online sales open for our remaining 100 pairs
Every year, we try to get a unique gift for many of our core team members to show our appreciation for them, their tireless enthusiasm and dedication to education, and pioneering spirit. It is only a small token of our appreciation. A few months ago, we have expanded to giving out such gifts to members of our Chief Resident Incubator as well. Inspired by custom socks that the Slack company made for its employees, I thought — why not ALiEM socks? [+]
APPLY NOW: 2016 Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM) Education Fellowship Program
The Essentials of Emergency Medicine (EEM) conference named the Cosmopolitan Hotel (Las Vegas, NV) its new home as of October 2015. The conference is one of the largest live EM educational conferences in the world with over 2,000 attendees. The conference organizers, led by Dr. Paul Jhun, are again offering an amazing opportunity for U.S. EM residents to serve as an EEM Fellow for the next EEM conference in May 10-12, 2016. [+]
Top 5 Reasons to Join the ALiEM Fellowship Incubator: The “Fincubator”
We are thrilled to announce our newest project in the Incubator series, the ALiEM Fellowship Incubator! Modeled after and building on lessons learned from the Chief Resident Incubator, the “Fincubator” is aimed at all Fellows in Emergency Medicine, regardless of what subspecialty they are pursuing, with the goals of promoting mentorship, scholarship, and innovation. [+]
