Articles: emergency-medicine.
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To describe Ontario emergency physicians' knowledge of colleagues' sexual involvement with patients and former patients, their own personal experience of such involvement, and their attitudes toward postvisit relationships. ⋯ Vague regulatory guidelines currently in place have failed to dispel confusion regarding what is acceptable social behaviour for physicians providing emergency care. Our results support the need for clarification, and suggest a basis for guidelines that would be acceptable to the emergency medical community: that an emergency visit should not form the basis for the initiation of personal or sexual relationships, yet neither should it preclude their development in nonmedical settings.
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To determine current practice and attitudes among emergency physicians (EPs) regarding the initiation and termination of CPR. ⋯ Most EPs attempt to resuscitate patients in cardiopulmonary arrest, regardless of futility, except in cases where a legal advance directive is available. Many EPs' decisions regarding resuscitation are based on concerns of litigation and criticism, rather than their professional judgment of medical benefit or futility. Compliance with patients' wishes regarding resuscitation is low unless a legal advance directive is present. Possible solutions to these problems may include standardized guidelines for the initiation and termination of CPR, tort reform, and additional public education regarding resuscitation and advance directives.
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Proposals for specialist registrar training in accident and emergency medicine in Mid-Trent Region are outlined. These may provide a framework for other schemes as well as stimulating further ideas.