If you train in a tertiary care center with obstetrical triage, you may not assess many pregnant women beyond the first trimester of pregnancy. However, in community emergency departments without a primary obstetrics triage department, you will often encounter pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH; systolic pressure 140 mmHg, or diastolic pressure 90 mmHg), a common complication occurring in 7-9% of pregnancies. HELLP syndrome is an important subset of PIH that comes with its own built-in mnemonic …
Counterpoint: Think Medical School is for you? Be brave.
This Counterpoint is an open letter that was written in response to a recent Globe & Mail commentary (Think medical school is for you? You’re probably wrong, Globe & Mail, July 16, 2014) which took a pessimistic perspective on the pursuit of medicine as a career. This piece contains the reflections of a resident physician, Sarah Luckett-Gatopoulos (BoringEM Resident Editor), who has just newly graduated from medical school.