Editor’s note: This post was collaboratively written by the coordinators of Amazing & Awesome Rounds at Queen’s. Eve Purdy, Chris Meyer, and Elizabeth Blackmore. You may have seen multiple postings on twitter and even an article in Annals of Emergency Medicine recently related to “Amazing and Awesome rounds.”1 A number of Canadian and international institutions are trying out this positive, spin on case reviews. At Queen’s University we have paired Amazing and Awesome (A&A) …
Head Injury: minor, minimal or trivial. The difference matters!
The Canadian CT Head rule is a great rule. Really. Yet, time and time again we see it applied erroneously, or learners fail to appreciate the population for whom this decision rule was meant. Patients with head injury are often seriously over investigated, and this likely is secondary to a lack of appreciation regarding decision making. Here, we seek to dissect some of the nuances. The vast majority of literature examining the utilization …
Choosing Wisely: Low Risk Pediatric Ankle Fractures
This post has been co-written by Drs. Kathy Boutis and Maxim Ben Yakov. The dogmas of the past are now being challenged for the most common minor pediatric fractures, distal radius buckle fractures and minor distal fibular fractures. Since these fractures are stable and have an excellent prognosis, they do not need to be routinely immobilized in a cast nor followed by an orthopedic surgeon. Last time, we reviewed low risk distal radius …
ImageSim: Building Competency For Visually Diagnosed Tests in Emergency Medicine
Visually diagnosed medical tests (e.g. radiographs, electrocardiograms) are the most commonly ordered tests in front-line medicine. As such, front-line health care professionals are faced with the task of learning the skill of interpreting these images to an expert performance level by the time they provide opinions that guide patient management decisions. However, discordant interpretations of these images between front-line physicians and expert counterparts (radiologists, cardiologists) are a common cause of medical error1–9. In …
Choosing Wisely: Distal Radius Buckle Fractures
This post has been co-written by Drs. Kathy Boutis and Maxim Ben Yakov. The dogmas of the past are now being challenged for the most common minor pediatric fractures, distal radius buckle fractures and minor distal fibular fractures. Since these fractures are stable and have an excellent prognosis, they do not need to be routinely immobilized in a cast nor followed by an orthopedic surgeon. This article reviews the evidence that recommends that …
CAEP FEI | Preparing for High Acuity Events – Stress Inoculation Training
Raj is a first year resident who overhears that a trauma patient is being brought into the resuscitation bay. He races over and sees several people moving urgently to set up the room. The paramedics bring the patient into the room and quickly start telling him the history. Raj can feel the stress building within him and feels paralyzed and indecisive. After the shift, he wonders if there is a way for his training …