Emergency medicine journal : EMJ
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Emergency doctors routinely face uncertainty-they work with limited patient information, under tight time constraints and receive minimal post-discharge feedback. While higher uncertainty tolerance (UT) among staff is linked with reduced resource use and improved well-being in various specialties, its impact in emergency settings is underexplored. We aimed to develop a UT measure and assess associations with doctor-related factors (eg, experience), patient outcomes (eg, reattendance) and resource use (eg, episode costs). ⋯ We developed a reliable UT measure for emergency medicine. While higher UT was linked to doctor well-being, its impact on resource use and patient outcomes remains unclear. Further measure validation and additional research including intervention trials are necessary to confirm these findings and explore the implications of UT in emergency practice.
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Trauma and emergency care is a national priority in Uganda due to the high burden of injury, impacting a primarily young and rural population. With a significant gap in qualified emergency medicine professionals, a need exists to rapidly upskill the current health workforce and to strengthen access to learning for non-specialist emergency care providers nationally. This review was completed in partnership with the Ugandan Ministry of Health and a consortium of UK partners to support national emergency workforce capacity building in Uganda and East Africa. ⋯ Findings included (1) the identification of local technology expertise and experience, in direct contrast to literature and global perceptions of low-resource environments, (2) high and broad levels of national engagement with digital solutions, (3) existing ambition and infrastructure available to feasibly deliver training at scale and (4) delivery implications for comparable contexts. The review concludes that these emerging technologies should be considered a practical option in the design and delivery of health workforce training at scale. A series of recommendations are proposed for the policy and practice of health professional education and training in Uganda and for comparable contexts.