MEdIC Series | The Case of Breaking Bad News Badly
Code status. Do not resuscitate. Allow natural death… These can be some of the most daunting concepts for new learners to explain to patients, but they can also be the most critical. Depending on the circumstances, discussing these topics may be difficult for the most advanced clinicians. This month’s ALiEM MEdIC series case considers how we might help a learner through a bad experience with end-of-life care discussions. Please join us in discussing the case this month, we would love your thoughts and advice. [+]
PV Card: Testicular Ultrasound for Torsion and Epididymitis
"Time is testicle." Every minute drags by while you are awaiting your ultrasonographer to arrive to scan your patient to rule out testicular torsion. Why not take a quick look yourself? What are you looking for? This is an excellent PV card by Drs. Matthew Dawson and Mike Stone on the topic of testicular ultrasound, giving the basics about testicular torsion and acute epididymitis. PV Card: Testicular Ultrasound Adapted from [1, 2] Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources. References Blaivas M, Sierzenski P. Emergency ultrasonography in the evaluation of the acute scrotum. Acad Emerg Med. 2001;8(1):85-89. [PubMed] Blaivas M, Sierzenski P, [+]
Must-Know EM Pharmacotherapy Articles of 2014
There is so much literature to sift through each year, it becomes nearly impossible to stay abreast of it. Here is a quick summary of the 6 must-know Emergency Medicine pharmacotherapy articles from 2014, in my humble opinion. [+]
Welcome Dr. Matthew Zuckerman: 2015 ALiEM-AAEM Social Media and Digital Scholarship Fellow
Welcome to the newest member of our team, Dr. Matthew Zuckerman (@matthew608b), who is an Assistant Professor in Emergency Medicine at the University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus. He will serve as our inaugural 2015 ALiEM-AAEM Social Media and Digital Scholarship Fellow, working on advancing medical education and upgrading the AAEM e-book “Rules of the Road for Young Emergency Physicians.” [+]
I am Dr. Felix Ankel, VP for Health Professions Education at HealthPartners Institute: How I Work Smarter
It’s no coincidence that Dr. Felix Ankel (@felixankel) is Vice President for Health Professions Education at HealthPartners in Minneapolis. Dr. Ankel lives and breaths education and self-improvement. He has been active with CORD, SAEM, ACEP, ABEM, AAEM, among others. He is the recipient of the prestigious ACGME Parker J. Palmer Courage to Teach Award for his contributions to medical education and his work in competency based learning. Today he was generous enough to take some time to share not only insights about the logistics of working smarter but also an approach to the mindset for success. [+]
ALiEM Bookclub: Brain on Fire – My Month of Madness
“Looking back at this time, I see that I’d begun to surrender to the disease, allowing all the aspects of my personality that I value – patience, kindness, and courteousness – to evaporate. I was a slave to the machinations of my aberrant brain. We are, in the end, a sum of our parts, and when the body fails, all the virtues we hold dear go with it.” – Brain on Fire, Susannah Cahalan [+]
What Makes a Great Resident Teacher: JGME-ALiEM Hot Topic in Medical Education
Let’s talk journals, knowledge translation, and building our community of practice around scholarship hot topics specifically in medical education. This week we are piloting a cross-disciplinary discussion week, featuring and co-hosted by the Journal of Graduate Medical Education (JGME). We talk about the hot topic of the Resident As Teacher role in the JGME publication entitled “What Makes a Great Resident Teacher? A Multicenter Survey of Medical Students Attending an Internal Medicine Conference” by Melvin et al. using the Twitter hashtag #JGMEscholar. [+]
I am Dr. Nicholas Genes, pioneer in social media and clinical informatics: How I Work Smarter
There are early adopters of social media, clinical informatics, and educational technologies, and then there’s Dr. Nick Genes – a man wise beyond his years. Nick had one of the very first blogs in Emergency Medicine called Blogborygmi, which he started way back in 2003. Compare this with ALiEM which I started in 2009. So I am not surprised that he is working alongside the giants of EM, such as Professor Tintinalli in his role as a senior editor at Emergency Physicians Monthly, and doing amazing things in clinical informatics. Nick kindly has carved out some free time to share some of his tips [+]
Duarte meets #FOAMed: How I learned that we can give better presentations
What medical educator does not dream of improving their lecturing skills? As a junior faculty member, I aspire to constantly challenge myself to do this better and better. As a part of this quest, I have read ample books that have inspired change in my material – but no one has been more impactful on my lecture skills than Nancy Duarte. [+]
Trick of the Trade: Knee Arthrocentesis
A patient comes into the ED and you suspect septic arthritis to the knee. As you consent the patient for arthrocentesis, you can tell s/he has reservations about a needle being inserted into their knee and left in place while you aspirate. You also think in the back of your mind how tricky it is to sometimes change syringes while keeping the needle in the correct location. Is there another way of tapping the knee without a needle? [+]