Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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To determine the specialty training and responsibilities of urban U.S. emergency medical service (EMS) medical directors how these factors relate to the type of service involved (fire, hospital, private, municipal). ⋯ EMS training officers believe that urban ALS medical directors in the United States primarily provide quality assurance and educational support. With the exception of fire-based EMS systems. physicians appear to have limited involvement in other EMS administrative and executive functions.
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To review all bicycle crash-related injuries reported to the Oregon Injury Registry for 1989 to compare patterns of injury and other features in adults vs children and adolescents. ⋯ Although children account for 60% of the serious bicycle injuries in Oregon, adults account for 67% of the deaths. Helmet use is rare, brain injuries are frequent, and alcohol use appears to be a contributing factor in cycling deaths among adults. Public education efforts should be directed to both adult and pediatric populations, emphasizing safe cycling practices and helmet use.
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To determine: 1) the extent of emergency physicians' (EPs') training in smoking cessation counseling; 2) their understanding of counseling and pharmacologic treatment techniques; 3) their current practices in screening, counseling, and referring patients who smoke; and 4) perceived barriers to routine smoking cessation counseling in emergency medical practice. ⋯ Emergency physicians have received little training in smoking cessation and perceive many barriers to ED-based smoking cessation interventions. Not surprisingly, they infrequently take action to encourage or assist their patients to quit smoking.