Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study Clinical Trial
Comparison of valdecoxib and an oxycodone-acetaminophen combination for acute musculoskeletal pain in the emergency department: a randomized controlled trial.
Oral opioids are potent analgesics that are used to treat acute pain in the emergency department (ED). However, they are associated with adverse events such as sedation that may delay safe patient discharge. ⋯ Valdecoxib is as effective as an oxycodone-acetaminophen combination in treating ED patients with acute musculoskeletal pain at 30 minutes and less likely to cause sedation or the need for rescue analgesia over the next day.
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Mentorship has been shown to have a positive impact on academic faculty members in terms of career advancement. The guidance of a mentor has been shown to increase academic outcome measures such as peer-reviewed publications and grant support for junior academic faculty. ⋯ This group has also been reported to have a lower scholarly productivity rate than the typical research-based faculty. This article addresses the current state of mentorship as it applies specifically to clinician-educators, offers advice on how a potential protégé might seek out a potential mentor, and finally, suggests a possible mentoring system for academic emergency physicians who are focusing on careers in medical education.
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Comparative Study
An emergency department-based nurse discharge coordinator for elder patients: does it make a difference?
To evaluate the impact of an emergency department (ED)-based nurse discharge plan coordinator (NDPC) on unscheduled return visits within 14 days of discharge, satisfaction with discharge recommendations, adherence with discharge instructions, and perception of well-being of elder patients discharged from the ED. ⋯ An ED-based NDPC, dedicated specifically to the discharge planning care of elder patients, reduces the proportion of unscheduled ED return visits and facilitates the transition from ED back home and into the community health care network.
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Comparative Study
Analysis of costs, length of stay, and utilization of emergency department services by frequent users: implications for health policy.
In efforts to decrease emergency department (ED) crowding and health care costs, frequent users of ED services have been targeted for interventions to decrease their utilization. Previous studies have had different definitions for "frequent users" and have considered all frequent users as a homogeneous group. To the authors' knowledge, no study has examined visit characteristics and resource utilization of different levels of frequent use. ⋯ Frequent ED users are a heterogeneous group. Many patients previously thought to overutilize the ED for socioeconomic or insignificant medical problems are as sick as less-frequent ED users. There is a small subgroup with more than 20 visits who are less ill or injured but also incurred lower-than-average costs per visit.
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Mentoring is an important aspect of career development for medical students, residents, and junior faculty. It is vital to the professional growth and maturation of individuals early in each phase of their careers. Additionally, mentoring has a critical role throughout all career stages, because the mentor-mentee relationship provides mutual benefit to both participants. ⋯ In contrast to role models, mentors play an active part in the development of a young physician's career. This difference will be discussed. Finally, this article will describe the responsibilities of career guidance and recommendation letter authorship that mentors assume for medical students.