Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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In 1998 'Dubdoc', Ireland's first out-of-hours general practice emergency service, opened in an outpatient suite in St James's Hospital with a separate entrance 300 m from the emergency department (ED). Dubdoc was established with the aim of providing an easy access out-of-hours service for ambulatory patients of those doctors supplying the service. ⋯ Although the presence of the 'Dubdoc' service has resulted in a decrease in ED attendances for triage categories 4 and 5, this is a minor proportion of the overall decrease in attendances in this group of patients.
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Paediatric head injury is a common presentation to emergency departments (ED), and the 2007 National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence head injury guidelines included a paediatric section to deal with this. This is based on the Children's Head Injury Algorithm for the Prediction of Important Clinical Events (CHALICE) head injury rule. To date, no studies have examined the impact of the guideline on ED resources. ⋯ The cost effect of an extra 21 CT scans per annum is estimated at £3570. This is offset against a potential cost saving on admissions of £10 450. The neoplasia risks of increased scanning are also discussed. Problems in this study were the preference for admission over scanning in children who qualified for scan under both guidelines and absent data from clinical records. Further work could include a prospective study of the guideline.
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Comparative Study
Basic life support skill retention by medical students: a comparison of two teaching curricula.
In December 2005 the new guidelines for resuscitation were released and a new curriculum for the teaching of basic life support (BLS) was adopted. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of the new guidelines and teaching curriculum on the BLS skill retention of medical students 1 year following their initial training. ⋯ The most important BLS skill, good quality chest compressions, was retained by significantly more students who were taught the new resuscitation guidelines according to the new curriculum.
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In the case of an emergency, fast and structured patient management is crucial for a patient's outcome. Every physician and graduate medical student should possess basic knowledge of emergency care and the skills to manage common emergencies. This study determines the effect of a simulation-based curriculum in emergency medicine on students' abilities to manage emergency situations. ⋯ The simulation-based intervention offers a positively evaluated possibility to enhance students' skills in recognising and handling emergencies. Additional studies are required to measure the long-term retention of the acquired skills, as well as the effect of training in healthcare professionals.