CJEM
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The objective of this initiative was to quantify and intervene upon suspected gender disparities in CT turn-around-time and emergency department (ED) length of stay. ⋯ There is gender disparity in CT turn-around-time and ED length of stay in our ED, highlighting an important area for improvement to promote equitable care. A quality improvement initiative that aimed to protocolize pregnancy testing in triage did not show sustainable improvement in these outcomes but did result in increased pregnancy testing.
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Review
Education about sexual and gender minorities within Canadian emergency medicine residency programs.
The CAEP 2021 2SLGBTQIA +i panel sought whether a gap exists within Canadian emergency medicine training pertaining to sexual and gender minority communities. This panel aimed to generate practical recommendations on improving emergency medicine education about sexual and gender minorities, thereby improving access to equitable healthcare. ⋯ The panel outlines eight recommendations for closing the curricular gap. It identifies three perceived or real barriers to the inclusion of sexual and gender minority content in emergency medicine residency curricula. It acknowledges three enabling recommendations that are beyond the scope of individual emergency medicine programs or emergency departments (EDs), that if enacted would enable the implementation of the recommendations. Each recommendation is accompanied by two action items as a guide to implementation. Each of the three barriers is accompanied by two action items that offer specific solutions to overcome these obstacles. Each enabling recommendation suggests an action that would shift emergency medicine towards sociocultural competence nationally. These recommendations set the primary steps towards closing the educational gap.
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Progression in Anglo-American models of out-of-hospital care has resulted in the development of alternative roles for paramedics, including advanced paramedics providing teleconsultations to frontline paramedics. Traditionally provided by physicians, little is known about how paramedics perceive peer-to-peer teleconsultations. This research aimed to explore paramedic perceptions of paramedic-delivered teleconsultations. ⋯ Paramedics reported a number of areas in which paramedic-delivered teleconsultations provided benefits not seen with traditional physician-delivered teleconsultation model. Emergency health systems delivering an Anglo-American model of care should consider the possible benefits of paramedic-delivered teleconsultations.
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Experiences of healthcare providers with a novel emergency response intubation team during COVID-19.
In the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic, there were significant concerns about the infectious risks of intubation to healthcare providers. In response, a dedicated emergency response intubation team (ERIT) consisting of anesthesiologists and allied health providers was instituted for our emergency department (ED). Given the high-risk nature of intubations and the new interprofessional team dynamics, we sought to assess health-care provider experiences and potential areas of improvement. ⋯ Healthcare providers perceived that a novel interprofessional collaboration for intubations of COVID-19 patients presented both benefits and challenges. Opportunities for improvement centred around interprofessional training, shared decision making between teams, and structured handoff processes.