Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
-
Animal research has provided important information about many aspects of the pathophysiology of human disease. Well-performed animal studies can determine the potential benefit of many proposed therapeutic interventions, and experimental results from animal studies have served as the basis for many landmark clinical trials. Many animal research models are described in the research literature, and choosing the appropriate model to answer a research question can be a daunting task. ⋯ This article was prepared by members of the SAEM Research Committee to provide an overview of animal modeling. Important considerations in choosing, applying, and developing animal research models are outlined. Practical discussions of potential problems with animal models are also provided.
-
Editorial Comment
The problem of ambulance misuse: whose problem is it, anyway?
-
To describe interobserver variability among emergency medicine (EM) faculty when using global assessment (GA) rating scales and performance-based criterion (PBC) checklists to evaluate EM residents' clinical skills during standardized patient (SP) encounters. ⋯ When EM faculty evaluate clinical performance of EM residents during videotaped SP encounters, interobserver variabilities are similar, whether a PBC checklist or a GA rating scale is used.
-
Emergency medical services (EMS) occupy a unique position in the continuum of emergency health care delivery. The role of EMS personnel is expanding beyond their traditional identity as out-of-hospital care providers, to include participation and active leadership in EMS administration, education, and research. With these roles come new challenges, as well as new responsibilities. This paper was developed by the SAEM EMS Task Force and provides a discussion of these new concepts as well as recommendations for the specialty of emergency medicine to foster the continued development of all of the potentials of EMS.