The western journal of emergency medicine
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While treating potentially violent patients in the emergency department (ED), both patients and staff may be subject to unintentional injury. Emergency healthcare providers are at the greatest risk of experiencing physical and verbal assault from patients. Preliminary studies have shown that a team-based approach with targeted staff training has significant positive outcomes in mitigating violence in healthcare settings. Staff attitudes toward patient aggression have also been linked to workplace safety, but current literature suggests that providers experience fear and anxiety while caring for potentially violent patients. The objectives of the study were (1) to develop an interprofessional curriculum focusing on improving teamwork and staff attitudes toward patient violence using simulation-enhanced education for ED staff, and (2) to assess attitudes towards patient aggression both at pre- and post-curriculum implementation stages using a survey-based study design. ⋯ A structured simulation-enhanced interprofessional intervention was successful in improving multiple facets of ED staff attitudes toward behavioral emergency care.
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An important area of communication in healthcare is the consultation. Existing literature suggests that formal training in consultation communication is lacking. We aimed to conduct a targeted needs assessment of third-year students on their experience calling consultations, and based on these results, develop, pilot, and evaluate the effectiveness of a consultation curriculum for different learner levels that can be implemented as a longitudinal curriculum. ⋯ While third-year medical students reported calling consultations, few felt comfortable and formal training was lacking. A curriculum in consult communication for different levels of learners can improve knowledge and comfort prior to clinical clerkships and improve consultation skills prior to residency training.
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This study aimed to assess current education and practices of emergency medicine (EM) residents as perceived by EM program directors to determine if there are deficits in resident discharge handoff training. This survey study was guided by the Kern model for medical curriculum development. A six-member Council of EM Residency Directors (CORD) Transitions of Care task force of EM physicians performed these steps and constructed a survey. ⋯ Of those responding, 42.9% of programs reported formal training regarding discharges during initial orientation and 5.9% reported structured curriculum outside of orientation. A majority (73.9%) of programs reported that EM residents were not routinely evaluated on their discharge proficiency. Despite the ACGME requirements requiring formal handoff curriculum and evaluation, many programs do not provide formal curriculum on the discharge transition of care or evaluate EM residents on their discharge proficiency.
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Education research and scholarship are essential for promotion of faculty as well as dissemination of new educational practices. Educational faculty frequently spend the majority of their time on administrative and educational commitments and as a result educators often fall behind on scholarship and research. The objective of this educational advance is to promote scholarly productivity as a template for others to follow. ⋯ An intentional focus on scholarship has led to a collaborative group of educators successfully improving their scholarship through team productivity, which ultimately leads to faculty promotions and dissemination of innovations in education.
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How Does Emergency Department Crowding Affect Medical Student Test Scores and Clerkship Evaluations?
The effect of emergency department (ED) crowding has been recognized as a concern for more than 20 years; its effect on productivity, medical errors, and patient satisfaction has been studied extensively. Little research has reviewed the effect of ED crowding on medical education. Prior studies that have considered this effect have shown no correlation between ED crowding and resident perception of quality of medical education. ⋯ ED overcrowding does demonstrate a small but negative association with medical student performance on end-of-rotation examinations. Additional studies are recommended to further evaluate this effect.