6.26.2012

Lobar Collapse Tutorial

In the ED you see tons of chest films and you approach them with a "worst first" mentality. I recently found a tutorial on collapsed lungs and radiography. It is pretty straight forward and basic - but at times, that is just what I need - a basic knowledge base to build on. The site if definitely worth a look. You could probably go through the entire page in under an hour and learn a good deal in the process.

6.24.2012

EKG Quizzes

I am currently in emergency medicine and LOVING it. I can go from seeing a 2 yo with croup to an 85 yo with syncope. I've sutured ear lobes, faces, legs, and arms as well as seen a good amount of ortho and dermatology. It is just so diverse and exciting day in and day out. One of the most important things that I wanted to get out of this rotation of EKG interpretation. I had had a little bit in my other rotations, but not much.... I knew I would see a ton in the ED and I have. One of the docs in particular has been great about teaching me stuff and then making sure I see almost every EKG for that shift and then we discuss it. I went searching for a site to practice interpretations and came across EKG Quizzes and Lessons. It is basic but helpful. They only way to get good at them is to keep practicing!


6.08.2012

How Long Do You Boil Water to Disinfect It?

I was recently at the AAPA Annual Conference in Toronto and came across the Wilderness Medicine Institute of NOLS. I had heard of wilderness medicine before, but wasn't sure exactly what was out there for CMEs and training.... NOLS has some pretty cools stuff to offer. If you are interested in emergency medicine or if you are a frequenter of outdoor adventures - you may want to check this out. They offer regular courses as well as several day excursions with hands-on training. For example, they have a Backpacking Trip coming up in Arizona Sept 25-Oct 2, 2012.


The answer: US Environmental Protection Agency recommends boiling for 1 full minute, or 3 minutes if you are 2000 meters above ground level: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/faq/emerg.html

6.05.2012

Emergency Medicine Life Saver


I am currently on my emergency medicine rotation - and the way that it is set up, I spend about 50% of my time in Fasttrack and 50% in emergent care. I must say, I love it. I'm always busy and the variety is only matched by primary/urgent care. I had a 2pm-midnight shift recently in which I saw necrotizing fasciitis, a bowel obstruction, s/p bone marrow transplant patient with a platelet count of 11 and a fever of 103, a 1 year old that ate dog poop, a testicular torsion rule out, and a couple scalp lacerations (just to name a few).

Everyone recommended Tintinalli's Emergency Medicine which is, of course, an excellent resource - however, I also found this pdf document created by the University of Toronto called, ABCs of Emergency Medicine. It rocks. It outlines the most pertinent things of each diagnosis and also discusses in sufficient details suturing, airway protection, digital blocks, etc. The only weakness of this packet is that there are few diagrams/pictures... but for free, this packet is AMAZING.

In addition, one of the residents created an abridged version (easier to read on the your smart phone!)