Opportunity for med students: SAEM meeting in Boston (Jun 1-5, 2011)
The Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) holds its annual meeting at various U.S. metropolitan cities. This year, it is going to be at Boston in June 1-5, 2011. It is a terrific conference for medical students and residents interested in EM academia. To help coordinate the huge meeting, the SAEM Program Committee is looking for 15 enthusiastic medical students to serve as volunteers. [+]
Tricks of the trade: Intranasal fentanyl for pediatric patients
Pediatric patients often receive inadequate pain control in the setting of orthopedic injuries. Because the child experiences fear, anxiety, and pain with needles, practitioners often shy away from ordering IV or IM pain medications. Oral agents, while easier to administer, usually provide inadequate pain control. Trick of the Trade Intranasal (IN) fentanyl Thanks to my friend Dr. Ron Dieckmann (Editor-in-Chief for PEMSoft, Chairman of Board for KidsCareEverywhere, and Pediatric Director for Valley Emergency Physicians) for his tip about intranasal fentanyl:It is imperative that the drug be administered in a nebulized form using an atomizer device -- one half the [+]
Article review: EM in medical schools
Similar to JAMA, which publishes an annual publication focusing on Medical Education, the Academic Emergency Medicine (AEM) journal just published a AEM-CORD/CDEM supplement focusing on EM education. I was fortunate to be involved with one of the papers published in this supplement.This paper, written on behalf of the Clerkship Directors in EM (CDEM) and the Association of Academic Chairs of EM (AACEM), reviews the past, present, and future of EM in the U.S. medical school curriculum.EM faculty members are playing an increasingly important role in both the preclinical and clinical curriculum. Our specialty teaches skills and knowledge, crucial for all [+]
Paucis Verbis card: Pediatric weight-based reference (5-34 kg)
The foundation in any pediatric resuscitation is the length-based estimation of the patient's lean body weight. Once determined, equipments and medications are sized and dosed, respectively, according to that weight. You can use electronic resources such as PEMSoft (Pediatric Emergency Medicine Software) or the more traditional paper-based Broselow tape. If you have neither of these at your easy disposal, I thought I would create a multi-card reference which works best in electronic pdf form on your mobile device. Even if you DO have other available references, it's still nice to have some redundant back-up sources just in case. This data [+]
Practicing Judo in the ED: Secret to success
OK, you don’t actually practice Judo in the Emergency Department, but the principles in Judo are interestingly relevant in approaching our work in the ED. Thanks to Garr Reynolds of Presentation Zen fame for introducing me to the 7 rules of judo practice by the great Judo master Kyuzo Mifune. In his blog post, Garr specifically talks about how these rules are relevant in the realms of leadership and public speaking. These rules in fact are extremely relevant when you are a senior EM resident or an EM attending. These 7 simple rules really are the heart of maintaining respect, [+]
Trick of the trade: Face mask ventilation in edentulous patients
Can you imagine trying to bag-valve-mask ventilating this patient without teeth? Edentulous patients can cause BVM problems because air tends to leak out the sides of the mouth, because the cheeks don’t contact the mask as well. You can do a jaw-thrust and/or place an oropharyngeal airway to help. What else can you do? [+]
Retinal detachment on ultrasound
I just wanted to revisit the Trick of using bedside ultrasonography to diagnose retinal detachments. Be sure to use plenty of ultrasound gel and use the linear tranducer. [+]
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for [+]
Paucis Verbis card: C3-C7 spinal fractures
This is the second Paucis Verbis card on cervical spine fractures. Part 1 covered C1 and C2 fractures. This card covers the lower cervical spine fractures. These two tables are part of my chapter on "Spine and Spinal Cord Injury" in the textbook Emergency Medicine by Dr. Jim Adams (Northwestern EM Chair). PV Card: C3-C7 Fractures and Injuries Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources.
Life of an Attending: Is this or will this be you?
Thanks to one of our residents, Hangyul, I just recently learned about a hilarious comic strip series called Scutmonkey Comics in the blog The Underwear Drawer. It is side-splitting funny. [+]
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for [+]
Trick of the trade: Discounted medications at pharmacies
Many times, patients who we deem as “noncompliant” with medications may actually be financially unable to afford medications that we prescribe them. Thanks to Amy Kinard, I just learned about this great new website where you can find pharmacies with amazing discounts for common medications. [+]