Articles: emergency-medicine.
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Emergency medical services (EMS) occupy a unique position in the continuum of emergency health care delivery. The role of EMS personnel is expanding beyond their traditional identity as out-of-hospital care providers, to include participation and active leadership in EMS administration, education, and research. With these roles come new challenges, as well as new responsibilities. This paper was developed by the SAEM EMS Task Force and provides a discussion of these new concepts as well as recommendations for the specialty of emergency medicine to foster the continued development of all of the potentials of EMS.
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Training programs in bedside ultrasound for emergency physicians often encounter considerable resistance, partly because of concern that the number of radiology-interpreted studies ordered from the ED may decrease. This study attempted to determine the effect of instituting an ED training program in ultrasound on the ordering of formal studies from a department of radiology. ⋯ The number of formal studies significantly increased after institution of the training program, both in terms of absolute numbers (annual mean 181 v 95, P < .001) and as a percentage of all outpatient sonograms ordered at the institution (9.8% v 5.1%, P < .001). Introduction of a teaching program in emergency ultrasound appears to increase utilization of formal ultrasound services, at least during the training period.
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The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Longitudinal Study of Emergency Physicians (LSEP) was initiated to describe the development of a new medical specialty through the continuing study of the lives of representative emergency physicians. The study is designed to gather data periodically over many years to come. The primary purpose of this article is to provide a baseline for the information obtained and the methods used to develop the ABEM LSEP. ⋯ The LSEP is a broad-reaching investigation of emergency physicians. Over time the study will describe (1) the individuals who move the specialty forward at different stages in the growth of the specialty, (2) the realities of practice in the specialty, (3) the relationship of the specialty to the personal lives and well-being of the specialty physicians, and (4) the changes seen in these factors over time.
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Concern exists about the ability of Emergency Physicians (EPs) to maintain a career in Emergency Medicine (EM) over a professional lifetime. The objectives of this study were to assess the practice characteristics of residency trained EPs, to document how the EP's responsibilities evolve throughout a career, and to assess career longevity. A retrospective cohort study using a mailed questionnaire was used to document practice characteristics, evolution of responsibility, and career longevity from all physicians who graduated from allopathic EM residencies between 1978-1988 (inclusive). ⋯ Responders who were more likely to remain in EM included those who had higher reimbursement, were board certified in EM, or did not train in another specialty or do a fellowship outside of EM. Throughout the 15-year careers studied, EPs noted a significant shift in the time spent doing clinical work (decreased) and the time doing administrative work (increase). The attrition from EM practice for this cohort was < 1% per year.
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Drug dosage and appropriate size of medical equipment for emergency pediatric patients are determined by age, body weight and/or height. In an emergency situation, however, such information about the patients is not always clear. Body height is easily measured when the patient lies down supine. ⋯ We studied the reliability of this tape in pediatric anesthesia. Body weight estimated from the tape was accurate, and predicted size of ETT and LTD was appropriate. PES Tape is a reliable tool in pediatric emergency.