Can J Emerg Med
-
Emergency medicine point-of-care ultrasonography (EM-PoCUS) is a core competency for residents in the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada and College of Family Physicians of Canada emergency medicine (EM) training programs. Although EM-PoCUS fellowships are currently offered in Canada, there is little consensus regarding what training should be included in a Canadian EM-PoCUS fellowship curriculum or how this contrasts with the training received in an EM residency.Objectives To conduct a systematic needs assessment of major stakeholders to define the essential elements necessary for a Canadian EM-PoCUS fellowship training curriculum. ⋯ This is the first needs assessment of major stakeholders in Canada to identify competencies for expert training in EM-PoCUS. The competencies should form the basis for EM-PoCUS fellowship programs in Canada.
-
Although penetrating neck injuries (PNIs) represent a small subset of patients presenting to the emergency department (ED), they can result in significant morbidity and mortality. The approach to airway management in PNI varies widely according to clinical presentation and local practice, such that global management statements are lacking. Although rapid sequence intubation (RSI) may be safe in most patients with PNI, the high-risk subset (10%) of patients with laryngotracheal injury require particularly judicious airway management. ⋯ Established principles of airway management in patients with an open airway injury include the avoidance of both positive pressure bag-mask ventilation and blind tube passage and the early consideration of a surgical airway. Because this high-risk subset may not be clinically apparent on initial presentation in the ED, such guiding principles apply to all patients with PNI until the nature of the injury is more accurately defined. In this report, we present the case of a patient who presented to the ED with a zone II open PNI, which occurred as a result of a stab wound.
-
1) To assess temporal patterns in historical patient arrival rates in an emergency department (ED) to determine the appropriate number of shift schedules in an acute care area and a fast-track clinic and 2) to determine whether physician scheduling can be improved by aligning physician productivity with patient arrivals using an optimization planning model. ⋯ The planning model improved the shift schedules by aligning physician productivity with patient arrivals at the ED.