Tactical Medicine News Blog

A New York Times article titled “How Measurement Fails Doctors and Teachers” went viral on social media in January and caused a lot of chatter in medical circles. Its author, a professor of medicine at the University of California, gave voice to a wide sense of frustration, and while I understand that feeling and think it’s justified, I don’t agree with labelling measurement as the culprit. As I expressed in my first WTBS blog post, “Why Recording Time to Initial Assessment is Worthwhile,” I believe my job as an administrator is to make the job of my staff easier, and measurements can help us maintain standards of care and understand where gaps in the system may exist—when such data are collected and used appropriately. In this guest blog, Dr. Lucas Chartier, an emergency physician in Toronto with a background in quality improvement, expands on the subject of how we’ve gone off course in our zeal for measurement and helps us try to find the path back to our intended goals. The post WTBS 6 Measuring Quality – The Value of Health Care Metrics appeared first on Emergency Medicine Cases.

We are getting closer to the end of the year and pretty soon 3rd year residents will be graduating and moving on to their first jobs as attending physicians.  My own residents have been asking for advice, and I thought this would be a great opportunity to ask some EM educators what their advice would be. Essentially, I asked each of them two basic questions and let them steal the show. For our inaugural first episode I asked Anand Swaminathan if he could give us some of his words of wisdom.

Drug poisoning is now the leading cause of injury death in the United States,1 with opioids accounting for up to 40% of these deaths. In the U.S., prescription opioid death rates have more than quadrupled since 1999, and death rates exceed those due to motor vehicle crashes.2 Similar trends in opioid exposure and death rates in Canada suggest that it is not far behind. Prescriptions for opioid analgesics paralleled a rise in opioid abuse and fatalities between 2002 and 2010, leveling off between 2011 and 2013,3 only to rise again in 2014.4 Among the more frequently misused opioids nationwide are oxycodone and hydrocodone (the most widely prescribed drug in the U.S.) in their various formulations, and methadone, but a “rising star” in the epidemic in many regions is fentanyl.

You’ve got all your shiny new gear ready to go, but how do you turn all that steel and cabling into podcast goodness? Our 9 expert EM podcaster (@FOAMpodcast, @srrezaie, @TheSGEM, @stemlyns, @embasic, @Core_EM, @EM_Educator, @EMtogether, @EMCases) plus a 10th new addition, Dr. Rob Orman (@emergencypdx) of ER Cast and EM:RAP fame, share their system for getting from idea to published podcast. Lets take a peek behind the acoustic foam board at podcasting workflows.

Dr. Graham Walker (@mdcalc) is a physician that truly advocates for balance and wellness. He is currently an emergency physician practicing in San Francisco. Despite multiple work commitments and an active involvement with several successful start-ups, he still finds time to engage in his interests, keep fit, and stay well. From taking it to the next level at Bootcamp, to ensuring the day is infused with laughter, Dr. Walker is always taking the time to build on his personal wellness. He’s definitely got some great pearls you’ll want to know about. Here’s how he stays healthy in EM!