CJEM
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The purpose of this study was to identify the learning needs of emergency physicians returning to Emergency Medicine (EM) practice after clinical leaves of less than 2 years, summarize existing return to practice programs, and propose recommendations regarding ideal educational and support structures for these physicians both during their practice gaps and upon return to EM. ⋯ We have developed a set of recommendations regarding ideal educational and support structures for physicians experiencing gaps in practice of less than 2 years. This set of recommendations was informed by review of existing and exemplar programs, policies and experience of regulatory bodies, interviews with EM Department Heads across Canada, and a subsequent process of consensus at the 2022 CAEP conference academic symposium. It is hoped that this set of recommendations will inform discussions and potential strategies employed by departments to facilitate the smooth and effective return to EM practice for individuals experiencing gaps.
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Transition from residency to unsupervised practice represents a critical stage in learning and professional identity formation, yet there is a paucity of literature to inform residency curricula and emergency department transition programming for new faculty. ⋯ The Canadian EM community used a structured process to develop 14 best practice recommendations to enhance the transition to practice phase of residency training as well as the transition period in the career of junior attending physicians.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Health care impact of implementing a clinical pathway for acute care of pediatric concussion: a stepped wedge, cluster randomised trial.
To test the effects of actively implementing a clinical pathway for acute care of pediatric concussion on health care utilization and costs. ⋯ Implementation of a clinical pathway in the ED increased outpatient follow-up and reduced the time from physician initial assessment to disposition, without increasing physician costs. Implementation of a clinical pathway can align acute care of pediatric concussion more closely with existing clinical practice guidelines while making care more efficient.
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Opioid use disorder is a major public health concern that accounts for a high number of potential years of life lost. Buprenorphine/naloxone is a recommended treatment for opioid use disorder that can be started in the emergency department (ED). We developed an ED-based program to initiate buprenorphine/naloxone for eligible patients who live with opioid use disorder, and to provide unscheduled, next-day follow-up referrals to an opioid use disorder treatment clinic (in person or virtual) for continuing patient care throughout Alberta. ⋯ A standardized provincial approach to initiating buprenorphine/naloxone in the ED for patients living with opioid use disorder was spread to 107 sites with dedicated program support staff and adjustment to local contexts. Similar quality improvement approaches may benefit other jurisdictions.
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Review
Call to action: equity, diversity, and inclusion in emergency medicine resident physician selection.
This call to action seeks to improve emergency care in Canada for equity-deserving communities, enabled by equitable representation among emergency physicians nationally. Specifically, this work describes current resident selection processes and makes recommendations to enhance the equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) of resident physician selection in Canadian emergency medicine (EM) residency programs. ⋯ We call on Canadian EM training programs to implement these eight recommendations to strengthen EDI practices in EM resident physician selection and, in doing so, help to improve the care that patients from equity-deserving groups receive in Canada's emergency departments (EDs).