Top 10 tips when making your rank list
“How do I decide how to order the residency programs on my rank list?” On Feb 24, 2010, every residency applicant will have a brief moment of panic as their rank list is submitted and officially certified. Next week, I’ll be joining a group podcast with Dr. Rob Rogers (Maryland) and Dr. Dave Manthey (Wake Forest) for the next installment of EMRAcast. This new podcast series was created by Rob for EMRA for the specific purpose of providing advice to medical students. I still find it fascinating how much you can get done virtually. We’ll all be using Skype from [+]
Article review: Service versus education
It’s a busy day in the Emergency Department and there are 5 new patients to be seen. The waiting room is overflowing. As the attending, you are getting barraged with a million questions to answer and problems to fix. There is also a case of a full-thickness burn patient going to the OR in the next few minutes. She’d be a perfect teaching case for the residents. Should I have the residents go see the new patients, or should I pull them all aside to show them the physical findings and teach about burns for 5-10 minutes? [+]
Trick of the Trade: Hip flexion strength testing
Testing lower extremity strength is a crucial part of the examination in patients with low back pain. In Emergency Departments, however, some patients provide a suboptimal effort because of general fatigue or malingering. How can you differentiate whether asymmetric hip flexion weakness is from suboptimal effort or true weakness? [+]
Paucis Verbis Card: CNS Infections
PV Card: CNS Infections Here is another installment of the Paucis Verbis (In a Few Words) e-card series on the topic of CNS infections from EM Clinics of North America 2009. Adapted from [1] Go to ALiEM (PV) Cards for more resources. Reference Somand D, Meurer W. Central nervous system infections. Emerg Med Clin North Am. 2009;27(1):89-100, ix. [PubMed]
Article review: Failing at feedback in medical education
Most of the medical education literature on feedback is teacher-focused rather than learner-focused. In other words, focus is paid towards teaching faculty how to give feedback which: Is non-judgmental Is non-threatening Is specific Consists of both positive and constructive elements Offers alternatives [+]
Paucis Verbis Project: A peripheral brain e-card series
A few days I wrote about my "peripheral brain" note cards that I carry with me on each ED shift. These cards contain brief summaries of updated guidelines, evidence based literature, and clinical pearls. I constantly get requests for a copy of them, but they are fairly outdated now that I'm out of residency. So starting today, I'm going to start periodically posting new note cards in Word and PDF format that can be printed on any 4x6 inch index card. These will be posted every Friday. Feel free to download, edit, change font or font size, and use. You [+]
What’s in your pocket on an ED shift?
I am always curious about what people carry in their scrubs and lab coat pockets. Often you can identify residents based on what they are carrying or wearing. Stereotypically, I find the following: Long reflex hammer jutting way out of the lab coat pocket – Neurology Plaster smears on their scrub tops and bottoms – Orthopedics Fluffy animal on their stethoscope and/or lab coat – Pediatrics LMP wheel – Obstetrics/Gynecology Small textbook in lab coat pocket – a medical student [+]
Trick of the Trade: Laryngoscope lifting strength
You are about to endotracheally intubate a patient. As you struggle to elevate the laryngoscope more anteriorly, has your left hand ever trembled while trying to see the vocal cords? Before you say, “I think the cords are too anterior, hand me the [insert your favorite backup airway adjunct]”, let’s focus on some basics. How can you gain significantly more laryngoscope lift strength? You can do more left arm bicep/tricep exercises, or… [+]
Tricks of the Trade: Diagnosing retinal detachment with ultrasound
In a sneak peek of my ACEP News’ Tricks of the Trade column, Dr. Patrick Lenaghan, Dr. Ralph Wang, and I will discuss how bedside ultrasonography can significantly improve your ocular exam. Here is a classic example. A patient presents with acute onset right eye pain and blurry vision. She possibly has a field cut in her vision. Her pupils are a teeny 2 mm in size in the brightly-lit Emergency Department. You are having a hard time getting a good fundoscopic exam to comfortably rule-out a retinal detachment. [+]
Faculty hero: Ernest Wang (part 2)
Clinical Assistant Professor, NorthShore University HealthSystemAcademic Director, Center for Simulation Technology & Academic Research (CSTAR)Associate Program Director, University of Chicago EM Residency [+]
Director of Growth, Strategic Alliance Initiative, Center for Innovation and Digital Health
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