EM Match Advice: Reflections from the 2015 EM Residency Match
A new season is upon us again — the 2016 EM residency match season! This EM Match Advice video has program directors reflecting back on the 2015 match year, lessons learned, and advice for the 2016 applicants. Watch, learn, digest, and send us some comments. [+]
Introducing the New ALiEMU Capsules Series
We are excited and proud to introduce a new series as part of the recently announced ALiEMU: Capsules: Practical Pharmacology for the EM Practitioner. The Capsules series’ primary focus is bringing Emergency Medicine pharmacology education to the bedside. Our expert team distills complex pharmacology principles into easy-to-apply concepts. It’s our version of what-you-need-to-know as an EM practitioner. We hope you enjoy it. [+]
My ALiEM-EMRA Fellowship: From Finding the FOAM to Lathering the Soap
One of my favorite images of medical education is the renowned Eakin’s painting, The Agnew Clinic. It depicts a gilded age operating theater filled with eager pupils looking on as Dr. Agnew prepares to preform a partial mastectomy. Despite being a cross-section of medical training from the late 1880s, any medical trainee today will experience an unspoken bond with those students dutifully taking notes in the tiers of Dr. Agnew’s operating theater. And there is a certain beauty to this lineage of physicians: all of us familiar with the same rite of passage into medicine but separated by a century’s worth [+]
My Year as the ALiEM-CORD Fellow in Social Media and Digital Scholarship
Everyone has a slightly different relationship with technology. For me, it has always been a tool for creativity. Whether working on video, music, or photography – I have spent more hours in front of a computer than I care to admit. I always dreamed about somehow using my experience with media development in a productive way for the medical field, but judging by the doctors who I knew in high school/college (including my parents), my impression was that physicians and the world of the internet would remain forever apart. [+]
AIR Series: Respiratory Part 1 (2015)
We found an enormous amount of posts on respiratory topics and thus have divided the content into two modules. This first module will focus on general respiratory issues with airway and pulmonary embolism covered in the second module. Below we have listed our selection of the 15 highest quality blog posts within the past 12 months (current as of April 2015) related to respiratory, curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. In this module we have 4 AIRs and 11 Honorable Mentions. We strive for comprehensiveness by selecting from a broad spectrum of blogs from the top 50 listing per the Social Media Index. [+]
Salicylate Toxicity PV card v2: Lessons in post-publication review
I was recently the author of a PV card for management of Salicylate Toxicity, which had some discrepancy with expert opinion. The point of contention was in regards to measurement of urine pH vs serum pH for alkalinization. In preparing the first version of the card, I began with notes from a recent toxicology rotation, and expanded by examining textbooks and review articles. Although there was mention of serum pH measurement, numerous sources emphasized urine alkalinization as the primary endpoint for the treatment of aspirin toxicity. Therefore I choose to include this on the size-limited PV card. Despite review by numerous peers [+]
I am Dr. Gillian Schmitz, Associate Program Director, UT San Antonio: How I Work Smarter
Today we feature another young star in our field. Dr. Gillian Schmitz (@GillianMD1) is part of the next generation of emergency medicine leaders. In her young career she has already been decorated with several teaching awards, including the Academy for Women in Academic Emergency Medicine Early Career Faculty Award. An active member of EMRA as a resident, she continues her societal involvement as the chair of the ACEP Academic Affairs Committee. In a recent move to UT San Antonio, she helped launch a new residency program and currently serves as the associate program director. Dr. Schmitz kindly shares her pearls [+]
I am Dr. Ryan Tam, Emergency Medicine Resident: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Finishing up his first year as an emergency medicine resident, Dr. Ryan Tam has strived to integrate wellness into his normal routine. Maintaining his love for cooking and photography has helped provide him with balance over the past year. Being a foodie, he’s got great tips to eating well and hitting all of the essential food groups. Believe it or not, the food still tastes great! He hopes that his small changes in day to day routine, will become permanent habits of wellness. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM! [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: How Not to Be Wrong – The Power of Mathematical Thinking
“Math is like an atomic powered prosthesis that you attach to your common sense, vastly multiplying its reach and strength.” – Jordan Ellenberg “If you don’t get elementary probability in your repertoire, you’re like a one-legged man in an ass-kicking contest.” – Charlie Munger When your grade school teachers told you that you’d be doing math every day of your life, you scoffed. In adulthood, you likely took perverse pride in noting their predictions to be wrong. Enter Jordan Ellenberg (@JSEllenberg) to show you that math is nothing less than a method of thinking and reasoning, and it pervades your everyday decisions. [+]
Tricks of the Trade: Fluorescein application techniques for the eye
Application of fluorescein is a vital part of the workup of ocular complaints. Despite some studies showing questionable support, the typical cited clinical concern for stored fluorescein solutions is contimination with Pseudomonas and risk for iatrogenic infection with associated ulcer formation. 1–4 Subsequently, single dose sterile strips have become the standard agent stocked in most EDs. Many patients, especially children, can be apprehensive of the application of the physical strip directly to the eye, and are more comfortable with the concept of eye drops. In this post, we review multiple technique to create fluorescein solutions and additional tips for utilization [+]