I am Dr. Ken Milne, Creator of Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine: How I Work Smarter
In this new installment in the “How I Work Smarter” series, we are featuring Dr. Ken Milne (@TheSGEM), is the creator and host of the stellar podcast series Skeptics’ Guide to Emergency Medicine (SGEM). This series focuses on really looking at the best available evidence for how and why we should practice EM. This series consistently puts out quality podcasts about the many challenges we deal with in the clinical arena on a day to day basis. Ken was called out by Dr. Anand Swaminathan in his Working Smarter blog post and kindly has agreed to share his trade secrets on how he works smarter. [+]
MEdIC Series: Season 1 Annual Review
Dear MEdIC readers: It’s been quite a whirlwind this year for the MEdIC team, and we’re so excited to announce that we’re taking a (much needed) summer hiatus this month to refresh. Tune in when we start “season 2” in late September! In an effort to continually improve the series, we would love to invite you to participate in our first annual audience evaluation of the MEdIC series. We want to make sure we always strive to meet the needs of our audience, and we would like you to help us by telling us about how you’ve experienced or used [+]
I am giving prochlorperazine. Should I give diphenhydramine too?
Prochlorperazine is a commonly used medication in EM. In certain patients prochlorperazine does wonders for migraines, and remains a great antiemetic choice for undifferentiated nausea/vomiting when ondansetron is ineffective. However, prochlorperazine has antidopinamergic activity increasing the chances of extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS), such as akathisia, dystonia, parkinsonism, and rarely tardive dyskinesia. A common practice in the ED is to give diphenhydramine with prochlorperazine to attenuate EPS. Does this really work? What is the evidence? [+]
Diagnose on Sight: Swollen Upper Extremity in a Patient with End Stage Renal Disease
Case: A 45 year old female with end-stage renal disease presents with 2 days of worsening pain, swelling, and color change of her left upper extremity. The symptoms began after her left arm arteriovenous (AV) fistula was accessed for hemodialysis. The skin is tense and a bruit is present. What is your diagnosis for this swollen upper extremity? Click on the image for a larger view. [+]
AIR Series: HEENT Module 2014
Welcome to the second ALiEM Approved Instructional Resources (AIR) Module! In an effort to reward our readers for the reading and learning they are already doing online, we have created an Individual Interactive Instruction (III) opportunity utilizing FOAM resources for US Emergency Medicine residents. For each module, the board curates and scores a list of blogs and podcasts. A quiz is available to complete after each module to obtain residency conference credit. Once completed, your name and institution will be logged into our private Google Drive database, which participating residency program directors can access to provide proof of completion. [+]
I am Dr. Anand Swaminathan – Co-Creator for EM Lyceum & Omnipresent Educator: How I Work Smarter
In this new installment in the “How I Work Smarter” series, we are featuring Dr. Anand Swaminathan (@EMSwami), who seems to have infiltrated all educational digital platforms that we use. As the faculty reviewer for the evidence-based EM blog EM Lyceum, regular contributor for the EM:RAP podcast, associate editor for the REBEL-EM blog, and Editor for R&R for the Life in the Fast Lane blog, he also serves as the Assistant Program Director for the NYU/Bellevue EM residency program in his free time! After Anand was called out by Dr. Salim Rezaie’s Working Smarter blog post, he shares his own useful pearls. [+]
Most Followed #FOAMed Women on Twitter
In 2014 we published a list of the Most Followed #FOAMed Twitter Users (FOAM = Free Open Access Meducation). One observation, keenly pointed out by Dr. Nikita Joshi (@njoshi8), was the lack of female representation on the list. Separately, Dr. Esther Choo (@choo_ek) published a blog post entitled Women in Emergency Medicine Who Give Great Talks. As a follow up to our original post, here are the most ‘followed’ women on Twitter in the FOAM world. [+]
EM Match Advice: Interviewing Strategies
With interview season rapidly approaching in a few months (Nov-Feb), we gathered a few of our favorite program directors to discuss interviewing tips. Thanks again to Dr. Mike Gisondi for spearheading this innovative and helpful resource for medical students. [+]
ADJUST-PE Study: ALiEM-Annals of EM Journal Club
We are very excited this month to bring you our fourth ALiEM-Annals of EM Global Journal Club on the use of age-adjusted D-dimer levels to help exclude the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism (PE). We hope you will participate in an online discussion of the four posted questions below from now until August 29th. Respond by commenting below or tweeting (#ALiEMJC). Mark your calendars: On Thursday, August 28th at 16:30 CST (17:30 EST), we will be hosting a 30-minute live Google Hangout with Drs. Jeff Kline and Jonathan Kirschner, the authors of the Annals of Emergency Medicine Journal Club for the ADJUST-PE [+]
I am Lainie Yarris, Residency Director at OHSU: How I Work Smarter
In the first post for the “How I Work Smarter” series, I called out Dr. Esther Choo (@choo_ek), who then called out superstar educator Dr. Lainie Yarris (@lainieyarris) from OHSU. A quick Pubmed search of her name scrolls on and on, that I can’t even do justice about summarizing. Oh, and did I mention that she’s also the residency director for her department’s EM program? She was featured on a recent EM Match Advice Google Hangout video. Lainie kindly shares her secrets on working smarter. [+]