Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
-
Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2011
Point prevalence of access block and overcrowding in New Zealand emergency departments in 2010 and their relationship to the 'Shorter Stays in ED' target.
To document the extent of access block and ED overcrowding in New Zealand in 2010 and to determine whether these were linked to the hospital's ability to meet the Shorter Stays in ED target. ⋯ Hospital access block was seen more often in larger hospitals and significantly associated with failure to meet the 'Shorter Stays in ED' health target, whereas ED overcrowding was seen in both small and large hospitals, but not associated with failure to meet the target.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2011
International Federation for Emergency Medicine Model Curriculum for Emergency Medicine Specialists.
To meet a critical and growing need for emergency physicians and emergency medicine resources worldwide, physicians must be trained to deliver time-sensitive interventions and lifesaving emergency care. Currently, there is no globally recognized, standard curriculum that defines the basic minimum standards for specialist trainees in emergency medicine. To address this deficit, the International Federation for Emergency Medicine convened a committee of international physicians, health professionals and other experts in emergency medicine and international emergency medicine development to outline a curriculum for training of specialists in emergency medicine. ⋯ The content of this curriculum is relevant not just for communities with mature emergency medicine systems, but in particular for developing nations or for nations seeking to expand emergency medicine within the current educational structure. We anticipate that there will be wide variability in how this curriculum is implemented and taught. This variability will reflect the existing educational milieu, the resources available, and the goals of the institutions' educational leadership with regard to the training of emergency medicine specialists.
-
Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2011
Bedside review of patient care in an emergency department: The Cow Round.
Clinical handover is a critical point in medical care in the ED, which can contribute to adverse effects for patient care and staff workloads. Over a 4 and a half months in a tertiary referral hospital ED, a centralized whiteboard handover was performed followed by a multidisciplinary review of each patient. This round was referred to as the 'Cow Round'. ⋯ Review of patients led by a senior member of medical staff, at the patient bedside enables the timely identification and management of issues not communicated during the whiteboard handover process. This review is important when more patients are receiving treatment in the department.