Tactical Medicine News Blog

Chief Resident Incubator, known colloquially as the CRincubator, which for the first time brought together in one virtual space chief residents from EM programs coast to coast. The inaugural class used this opportunity to meet with mentors in EM, discuss difficult situations of being chief residents, and collaborate on projects in areas of education, wellness/public health, leadership and administration. As the academic year comes to an end we want to highlight the top 10 projects that were accomplished by chiefs involved in the CRincubator.

Background: Many Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest (OHCA) are attributable to ventricular fibrillation (VF) or pulseless ventricular tachycardia (VT). Both are said to be treatable presentations of OHCA, due to their responsiveness to defibrillation. VF and VT can persist or recur after defibrillation with an inverse relationship between the duration of OHCA, the recurrences of arrhythmias, and ultimately resuscitation outcomes. Amiodarone and lidocaine are both recommended by the advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) guidelines to help promote successful defibrillation in refractory ventricular fibrillation or pulseless ventricular tachycardia and to prevent recurrences. In previous randomized controlled trials patients receiving amiodarone vs placebo or lidocaine in OHCA were more likely to have return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC) and to survive to hospital admission. However the effects of amiodarone on survival to hospital discharge or neurologic outcome still remain uncertain. Should we be using anti-dysrhythmic drugs in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest?

Dr. Rotte is an emergency physician currently practicing in New York. His passion for traveling, love of hiking, and commitment to eating right are some of his secrets on how he maintains wellness. Dr. Rotte shares how he is able to get away, travel, and stay well, while keeping up with his work demands. We could all use a little of Dr. Rotte’s passion for life long learning! Here is how he stays healthy in EM!  

Welcome to season 3, episode 7 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 difficult medical education cases each month. As usual, the community discussion will be reviewed using qualitative research methods to produce a curated summary that will be combined with two expert responses to create a functional teaching resource. This month’s case dives into the truth omitting or fibbing resident. Why do some learners lie and how should staff respond?

Welcome to another ultrasound-based case, part of the “Ultrasound For The Win!” (#US4TW) Case Series. In this peer-reviewed case series, we focus on real clinical cases where bedside ultrasound changed management or aided in diagnoses. In this case, a 43-year-old man presents to the Emergency Department after a syncopal episode.