The Leader’s Library: Dare To Lead | Curated Summary of the Discussion
In April 2019, a group of intrepid readers embarked on an adventure together: the debut session of The Leader’s Library, ALiEM’s new career development book club. Learners and instructors from around the world read and discussed Dr. Brené Brown’s newest book, Dare to Lead, on a 5 day journey via Slack. Each day had its own theme (Rumbling with Vulnerability, Values, Empathy and Shame, Learning to Rise, and Toolkit), and the asynchronous discussion was robust. A day-by-day breakdown of our conversation, along with tangible takeaways and recommendations for further reading, is summarized below. [+]
Teaming Tips Case 9: Organizing through Social Platforms | ALiEM Faculty Incubator
Many of you are asked to take a leadership role within a team, whether it’s for research, administration, or even clinical practice. It is easy to feel unprepared for these roles, and there are many pitfalls waiting to sabotage your team’s productivity. The ALiEM Faculty Incubator has created a series of 10 case-based teaming problems to provide you with evidence-based advice and solutions for tackling some of the more common problems encountered in our professional team experiences. This provides tips for using social platforms to enhance collaboration across your internal and virtual teams. [+]
ACMT Toxicology Visual Pearls: Eating Foraged Wild Mushrooms
What clinical symptoms would be expected after eating a meal made with the pictured foraged wild mushrooms? Bradycardia, urinary incontinence, and bronchospasm Hallucinations Seizures and rhabdomyolysis Skin flushing and palpitations [+]
SplintER Series: A Case of Severe Shoulder Pain
A 45 year old woman presents with several days of gradually worsening right shoulder pain and stiffness. Her shoulder is very warm to the touch but not erythematous. You obtain shoulder x-rays and see a linear density in the AP view (photo credit). What is the most likely diagnosis, the differential diagnosis, and management plan? [+]
2019-20 Wellness Think Tank: Open call for 30 passionate EM residents focused on physician wellness
We are thrilled to announce the open call for the fourth class of the ALiEM Wellness Think Tank. Every year has a different ambitious focus and this upcoming year is no different. We are lead by a 4-person powerhouse team (Dr. Simiao Li-Sauerwine, Dr. Sarah Mott, Dr. Katie Rebillot, and Dr. Sneha Shah). Want to learn more about it? Think you have what it takes to make the 30-member cut? Membership is free, if invited. Applications are due June 14, 2019. Read all about it and apply on the Wellness Think Tank home page. UPDATE: Deadline extended to July 15, [+]
Ultrasound Gel Warmers in the Emergency Department?
How many times have you told a patient “The gel will be cold?” How many times have you watched a patient retract from the transducer because of the cold gel? How about a pediatric patient? Could warm gel improve your rate of clinically successful scans? It seems easy enough to install gel warmers alongside our ultrasound machines. But, should we do this? Read more
SplintER Series: Case of a First Metacarpal Fracture
Click image to enlarge view A 22 year-old male was playing football when he fell, landing on his outstretched left arm with his thumb flexed. He now has pain at the base of his thumb. This AP view of the hand best demonstrates the injury (photo credit). What is this fracture, what additional imaging is needed, and what should be the management plan? [+]
ALiEM AIR | Neurology 2019 Module
Welcome to the Neurology Module! After carefully reviewing all relevant posts from the top 50 sites of the Social Media Index, the ALiEM AIR Team is proud to present the highest quality online content related to neurological emergencies. 6 blog posts within the past 12 months (as of January 2019) met our standard of online excellence and were curated and approved for residency training by the AIR Series Board. We identified 1 AIR and 5 Honorable Mentions. We recommend programs give 3 hours (about 30 minutes per article) of III credit for this module. [+]
DIY Ultrasound Model Compendium in Emergency Medicine
As the use of point-of-care ultrasound expands in emergency medicine, phantoms offer an attractive training solution for new learners and continuing education. Unfortunately, commercially available products are expensive and likely cost-prohibitive for individual practitioners to purchase. Luckily, there are a number of quality, low cost do-it-yourself (DIY) models published in journals and on the Internet. To help you navigate your options, I have created a compendium of DIY ultrasound models relevant to emergency medicine. The models are divided by system or application with a cost estimate for each model, if provided, as well as a list of materials and a [+]
Study: Thematic analysis of our “How I Work Smarter” series
In 2014-15, we hosted a “How I Work Smarter” (HIWS) series, led by Dr. Ben Azan, focusing on the individual strategies of high-performing, successful emergency physicians. After the conclusion of the series, Ben went one step further and recruited a team which included Drs. Marilyn Innes, Brent Thoma, myself, Alex Van Duyvendyk, Zafrina Poonja, and Teresa Chan to conduct a thematic analysis, which was just published in Cureus [open access full text].1 Although the content is from 2014-15 and many of the featured contributors have moved institutions with different roles, the themes and tips remain [+]