Tactical Medicine News Blog
I am Dr. Howard Ovens, Department Chief: How I Stay Healthy in EM
Posted by Zafrina Poonja, MD on
Dr. Howard Ovens is an emergency physician and the Chief of the Emergency Department at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto. Dr. Ovens takes his personal health and wellness seriously, and is very committed to maintaining his physical fitness. No matter what the challenge or set back is, Dr. Ovens still makes it a top priority to keep his wellness in mind. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM!
Escaping Addiction with Dignity as a Medical Student
Posted by Luke Collins, MA on
“The most obvious, ubiquitous, important realities are often the ones that are the hardest to see and talk about.” –David Foster Wallace Addiction can be a nightmare of isolation and shame, but it doesn’t have to be. I will always remember my last night of withdraw; sitting in the busy waiting room of my training hospital. I kept thinking about what might happen if one of my EM attendings were to care for me. To see me sick, weak, and vulnerable. Nobody other than my family knew I struggled with alcohol abuse, and I was exhausted with the neverending cycle of trying to manage addiction on my own. This had to stop.
EM Match Advice: Program Directors Reflect on the 2016 Match
Posted by Michelle Lin, MD on
The new emergency medicine (EM) residency application season is upon us! Senior medical students are arranging away EM electives, asking for letters of recommendations, and thinking about what residency programs to apply to. But before we look forward, what lessons can we learn from the 2016 EM Residency Match? In this EM Match Advice series installment, an esteemed panel of program directors reflect on the trends, surprises, and lessons learned from the 2015-16 year.
MEdIC Case: The Case of the Honorary Authorship
Posted by Teresa Chan, MD, MHPE on
Welcome to season 3, episode 9 of the ALiEM Medical Education in Cases (MEdIC) series! Our team (Brent Thoma, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos, Tamara McColl, Eve Purdy, John Eicken, and Teresa Chan) is pleased to welcome you to our online community of practice where we discuss the practice of academic medicine! In this month’s case a junior staff person is unsure of whether or not to include a senior staff on a paper.
IDEA Series: Just-in-Time Procedural Training for Endotracheal Intubation
Posted by Dimitrios Papanagnou, MD, MPH, EdD(c) on
The Problem Procedural training is critical in emergency medicine (EM). EM residents must effectively acquire the skills to safely and accurately perform high-stakes, invasive, and life-saving procedures during high-pressure scenarios. Residency programs typically incorporate procedural skills workshops into didactic sessions, which results in residents practicing procedures several weeks or months before performing them clinically. Unfortunately, there is no established method to practice and evaluate procedural skills competency immediately prior to performing invasive procedures on a patient. A solution to this issue may lead to improved outcomes and greater patient safety.