Emergency medicine Australasia : EMA
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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.
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Debate around medical futility has produced a vast literature that continues to grow. Largely absent from the broader literature is the role of emergency medicine in either starting measures that prove to be futile, withholding treatment or starting the end of life communication process with patients and families. ⋯ We conclude that emergency physicians have the clinical ability and the legal and moral standing to resist providing futile treatment. In these situations they can take a different path that focuses on comfort care thereby initiating the process of the much sought after 'good death'.
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To describe in-hospital resuscitation outcomes and factors associated with survival at Auckland City Hospital, New Zealand. ⋯ Survival from cardiac arrest in our hospital compared well to similar centres and good neurological outcome was higher than reported previously. Reduced survival during the 'After-Hours' period is cause for concern, and further research into the factors underlying this is required.
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Emerg Med Australas · Oct 2011
Australasian College for Emergency Medicine examiner peer review process: Development and implementation.
In 2005, the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine set out to refine the selection, training and development of examiners. Part of this included development of an examiner peer review process. ⋯ The present article describes the development of a list of optimal examiner attributes, followed by implementation of an examiner peer review process. The authors recommend examiner peer review for high-stakes examinations.
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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.