In the UK, junior doctors will rotate through emergency medicine in their second year post-graduation (Foundation Year 2). They’re granted autonomy to make independent decisions and ‘own’ patients for the first time. Elsewhere in the hospital, a junior’s role is largely secretarial, and generally within the confines of ‘normal working hours’. In the ED, the hours are brutal, the […]
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Why Are Wee Waiting?!
As anyone who has worked in an emergency department that caters for our younger patients knows, at any point during the day you can almost guarantee that there’s a parent somewhere, clasping a bowl to their child, waiting for them to wee. The clock is ticking, the managers are on your back, and all the […]
Extending primary care reduces attendance – or does it?
The debates around 7-day services, job contracts, scope of practice and emergency medicine overcrowding can sometimes feel like a maelstrom of fact, figures, spin and deceit. Even those of us working in emergency medicine find it difficult to determine the quality of what we hear through news channels and so it’s always good to read […]
Dispatching stress in the EOC #IAM999
In this month’s EMJ, Astrid Coxon and team have published a study looking at the experiences of staff working in local Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs). Broadly, staff who work there are in two groups. There are call takers who answer 999 calls from members of the public, process the information they receive, triage it, and […]
What’s the point of a log roll? EMJ
A very interesting paper in this month’s EMJ on the utility of log rolling trauma patients. Why interesting? Well, because I think the evidence for the lack of utility in log rolling has been around for some time and yet it persists in practice. It’s unclear why, perhaps it’s the big scary guidelines that still […]
Primary Survey September 2016: EMJ
This month’s primary survey from the EMJ. Emergency Triage and Treatment Course in primary care health centres in Guatamala Emergency triage Assessment and treatment (ETAT) course was developed by WHO in 1999 as part of its Integrated Management of Childhood Illnesses program for improving outcomes for children. It has been devised as a hospital based […]
The other side of the ECG. EMJ
Last week I was wandering through Amsterdam when I came across a tweet which stopped me in my tracks. A real game changer, a shock, a wake up call and a surprise. Rob Rogers (aka @EM_Educator) tweeted a really interesting ECG. Take a moment to have a look and consider the diagnosis. Usually don't get […]
Learning from Major Incidents
In this month’s EMJ, David Lowe, Jonathan Millar and colleagues from Glasgow Royal Infirmary (GRI) and the University of Glasgow share their experience gained from the tragic events that unfolded in their city in 2013 and 2014. The first – where a police helicopter crashed into the Clutha Vaults pub due to a fuel management […]
4-hour standards and staffing. Can we square the circle?
It’s been a turbulent and highly unpredictable few weeks in the UK. The Brexit vote to leave the EU, a new Prime Minister and the main opposition Labour party seemingly at war with itself have dominated the headlines. In amongst this we have seen the retention of Jeremy Hunt as Secretary of State for health […]
What’s the future of medical journals?
I had the pleasure of joining a panel discussion at the recent SMACC conference on the future of medical journals. I was delighted to share the stage with some real big hitters such as Richard Smith (ex editor of the BMJ) and Jeff Drazen (current editor in chief of the NEJM), together with some amazing […]