Points to Focus upon The emergency department (ED) is a safe haven for many. In the COVID-19 pandemic, many of those who might fall victim to violence at home are currently being asked to stay there in isolation with their potential abusers. During this time, it is imperative that we all be on high alert for signs of violence at home. The current Canadian statistics on intimate partner violence (IPV) are that women …
CanadiEM Frontline Primer – ED Skills – Safe Discharge
Points to Focus upon in Discussions Verbal discharge instructions are important to provide to your patient, but especially during the time of COVID-19, they may be especially challenging. Patients may be distracted, they may not have collateral visitors who can help them to remember things. Patients who are hard of hearing often use visual cues to help them understand speech; with our PPE on, they may not be able to read your lips. …
CanadiEM Frontline Primer – ED Skills – Safe Handover
Points to Focus upon Handover is when you transfer professional accountability and responsibility of at least one patient to another person, often within the same profession and within the same function. When there is a difference in skill set or practice (e.g. a community nurse practitioner asking an emergency physician to work-up a chest pain patient in the emergency department), this is often referred to as a consultation or referral. (Please see “ED …
CanadiEM Frontline Primer – Consulting Other Physicians
Points to Focus upon Consulting others in the outpatient or non-emergency setting may be quite different than the procedures we might use in the emergency department1. The following mnemonics can help you to scaffold your consultation requests so that you can quickly communicate with your consulting colleagues. As someone who has been redeployed in the ED, you’re already starting at a bit of a disadvantage. Previous literature has shown that familiarity is a …
CanadiEM Frontline Primer – Clinical Debriefing (“Hot Debrief”)
Points to Focus upon “Hot Debriefs” are clinical debriefs that occur right after a high acuity situation. As a physician who has been redeployed to the ED there will be a vast amount of knowledge you will have to review and sift through. Running a debrief will allow you to review protocols and bounce ideas off members of the team who are involved in resuscitations on a daily basis. If you are running …
CanadiEM Frontline Primer – ED Skills – ECG Interpretation
How to use this section? This is a quick refresher on ECGs commonly seen in the ED. We have provided one-liner introductions to each, and the answers are below the ECG. For those looking for a challenge, cover up the answer and quiz yourself. 1. ECG – Tachyarrhythmias ECG Cases Questions – What is the ECG and your next step? Case 1 25-year-old male. Feels very anxious watching the news. Very worried he …