Developing the Physician Advocate
While most of you will have graduated and moved into practice by the time all these changes take place, it is important to remain informed about the current challeng
A Solution to the SGR: Value-Based Medicare Payments
You have probably heard of the SGR, or Sustainable Growth Rate. It is a formula that was put in place in 1997 as part of the Balanced Budget Act t
A Different Perspective
Ian and I found out we were pregnant on the Sunday after Thanksgiving – one month along; everything seemed to be going right in life, and this just felt like it was meant to b
A Temporal Problem: Diagnosing and Treating Viral Encephalitis in the ED
Case Report A 49-year-old male presents to the emergency department with two days of confusion, agitation, and speech abnormal
A Reflection on Mental Health and Emergency Medicine
After a knock on the door, I entered the hospital room to find Lisa, a 12-year-old patient who was seated on the exam table, eyes fixed on her sho
Outside the ED: How EMS can Improve Your Emergency Medicine Residency
Pre-hospital medicine offers unique opportunities to an EM physician, and EMS training complements the emergency medicine curric
Practical Tips: When and How to Use a Femoral Nerve Block
An 82-year-old female shows up in your ED with severe hip pain after a fall at home. You already know what the x-ray is before you see it
Backboards: Do They Really Have Your Back?
Spinal immobilization has long been considered standard practice for pre-hospital trauma patients. Placing patients on long spinal boards is one of the most
What EMS Teaches Us
“I'm scared.” The young woman was tearful. These were the words of a patient from our first call of the day, a woman from the local jail with a possible miscarriage. She had had
Understanding Alcoholic Ketoacidosis
A 49-year-old male with a history of alcohol abuse presents to the ED with complaints of generalized abdominal pain and vomiting for the last 36 hours. The patien