I am Dr. Jeremy Faust, Co-Host of FOAMCast: How I Work Smarter
Dr. Jeremy Faust is a EM resident of many talents. His accomplishment are wide and varied from his many musical awards, to his work with grammy award winning vocal group Roomful of Teeth, to his column in ACEPnews, to his appearance on the Rachel Maddow Show speaking on the Ebola crisis, to his upcoming SMACC Chicago talk. He’s well known in the FOAM world and, for the last year, has been producing quality FOAM core content with Lauren Westafer on their podcast: FOAMCast. Dr. Jeremy Faust, following his own mantra, broke the mold, submitting his How I Work Smarter column [+]
EM Match Advice: VSAS 101 – Securing an away EM rotation
Dr. Michael Gisondi has recruited another all-star cast of residency program leaders around the United States to share their sage wisdom about the Visiting Student Application Service (VSAS). This centralized process to coordinate visiting clerkship rotations first began in 2008 and now almost all medical schools participate. Because anecdotally the VSAS application process has been challenging, we gathered some experts to share their insights in a podcast. [+]
Design Challenge | An ALiEM Fellows Project
Design thinking is a concept that has recently taken the business world by storm, and more recently it has begun to creep into other fields, like education! At the core of it, the idea behind design thinking is to encourage designers to think about how they might solve problems that are experienced in the world – to think like engineers and architects, and focus on building solutions for end users. As a part of their fellowship, the 2014-15 ALiEM Fellows (Scott Kobner, BS and Sam Shaikh, DO) were each tasked with a different design job a few months ago. Click below [+]
Ultrasound For The Win! Case – 101M with Altered Mental Status #US4TW
Welcome to another ultrasound-based case, part of the “Ultrasound For The Win” (#US4TW) Case Series. In this peer-reviewed case series, we focus on real clinical cases where bedside ultrasound changed management or aided in diagnoses. In this case, a 101-year-old man presents after being found down with altered mental status. [+]
Ketamine for Excited Delirium Syndrome
Excited delirium syndrome is defined as “a syndrome of uncertain etiology characterized by delirium, agitation, and hyperadrenergic autonomic dysfunction”.1 You may have encountered a patient like this in the ED or prehospital setting. Although the etiology is impossible to determine in many cases, stimulant abuse and other drugs are involved in a majority of cases. An 8% mortality has been ascribed to Excited Delirium Syndrome, resulting from hyperthermia, severe metabolic acidosis, and cardiovascular collapse. [+]
I am Dr. Rob Woods, Program Director, Medical Advisor, and STARS Transport Physician: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Dr. Rob Woods (@robwoodsuofs) is an individual that is truly committed to self-improvement and, in terms of wellness, he has exceeded. Currently, he is the program director of the University of Saskatchewan FRCPC EM Program, Medical Advisor to Ground Ambulance Services, and a STARS (HEMS) Transport Physician. How he excels in all these jobs and still has time to be known as a loving father and husband, amazing Program Director, and CrossFitter is incomprehensible! But it may have something to do with the fact that he has mastered time management. A great competitor on and off the field, Dr. Woods is never afraid [+]
Dear Residents: 10 Things Your New Chiefs Want You to Know
This month starts our inaugural ALiEM Chief Resident Incubator and this post is the culmination of a 7-day intensive writing project by our 100+ Chief Residents. Incredibly we were impressed by the caliber of writing and insightfulness of our members. Congratulations especially to the lead editors, Dr. Melissa Joseph (LAC+USC) and Dr. Jimmy Lindsey (Univ of Chicago). Looking forward to an exciting year ahead of us! 10 Things Your New Chiefs Want You to Know [+]
Trick of the Trade: IV-Push Antibiotics in the ED
Limited intravenous access is a common conundrum in the Emergency Department, with heavy implications for medication administration. Of particular concern, are the profoundly septic patients that necessitate multiple timely therapies, which require tying up a line – fluids, pressors, several antibiotics, etc. The shift away from less central line (i.e. triple lumen) placement for initial resuscitation, may serve to further exacerbate this issue. [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: We Need to Talk About Kevin
We Need to Talk About Kevin. Yes we do, I’m afraid. You may have been (like me, for many years) avoiding reading this novel by Lionel Shriver, ducking away from discussions and avoiding reviews, having got wind of the gist of the story through the mass media. To summarise the book, We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver is written in the form of letters penned by Eva Khatchadourian to her estranged husband Franklin. These missives form a chronological examination of her life before and after the entrance of their son Kevin into their lives (or perhaps, more [+]
Vancomycin Loading Doses in Pediatric Patients: A Missed Opportunity?
In January 2014, ALiEM featured a must-read post by Bryan Hayes regarding proper dosing of vancomycin in the emergency department, including a special note related to the recommendations regarding consideration of loading doses of vancomycin ranging from 25 to 30 mg/kg in adult patients who are critically ill with a high suspicion for MRSA infection. [+]