Opportunities
Don't Miss This
Save on PEPID until June 30!
PEPID and EMRA have partnered to bring you
an exclusive discount on PEPID Emergency
Medicine Platinum Suite. Residents & Students
save 50% on a one-year subscription for the
month of June only! Hurry and purchase your
subscription today!
1 in 5 Non-admitted ED Patients Referred by
their PCP
The Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention's National Center for Health Statistics
surveyed non-admitted patients, ages 18-64,
between January and June, 2011 to determine
why they sought care in the ED. The study
found that 1 in 5 patients were referred to the ED
by their primary care physician (PCP). Theories
to explain this high number of referrals included
their PCP being closed on weekends and
evenings, PCP reluctance to tell their patients
not to seek medical care, and the PCP’s desire
for their patient to seek specialized care.
Additionally, the survey found that patient’s
preference played a large factor into their choice
to visit the ED, as many did not to want to wait
until their PCP was available to see them. The
survey further found that 1 in 5 patients sought
care at the ED because they have nowhere else
to go. Only 9% of patients not admitted arrived
to the ED by ambulance. Check out the recently
released CDC study results for additional
incredible findings.
EMRA/ACEP Health Policy Mini-Fellowship
The approved mini-fellowship provides a fourweek experience centered out of ACEP's
Washington, D.C. office. This is an intensive,
short-term policy curriculum that will provide
meaningful advocacy exposure. Apply online
here.
Deadline: July 15, 2012
EMRA Photo Contest!
Send us your best shots! If you've been inspired
lately to capture images from an away rotation,
the changing of the seasons, or the sights of
your city, we want to see! Visit the EMRA
Website to upload your submission.
Deadline: August 1, 2012
QIPS Resident Quality Award 2012
QIPS has established an annual QIPS Resident
Quality Award for 2012 graduating resident
emergency physicians or fellows who
demonstrate excellence in, and a passion for
quality improvement. Submitted projects will be
judged on their overall importance, innovation,
approach and applicability to the general ED
community. Award recipients will receive a free
1-year QIPS membership, be recognized at the
QIPS Annual Meeting at ACEP Scientific
Assembly, and enjoy a brief synopsis of their
work in our newsletter. A nomination form
can be found here.
Deadline: August 1, 2012
EMRA Fall Awards
Visit the EMRA Website for a complete list of
award opportunities meant to honor those who
have contributed to emergency medicine as
educators, advocates, clinicians and mentors.
Legislative Corner
Controversy over the ACA
The Supreme Court is expected to rule later this
month over the constitutionality of the Affordable
Care Act, and the decision of the highest court
will largely determine the impact of that law.
However, legislative efforts to dismantle the law
continue, with a Republican majority in the
House voting repeatedly to repeal or de-fund
various components of the law. Even if parts of
the law, such as the individual mandate, are
struck down by the Supreme Court or repealed,
there are many components of the bill which will
likely remain, and will significant impact
physician practice in the future. To learn more
about those components of the bill, and the
consequences facing physicians in the legal
realm, read the latest What’s Up article by Kael
Duprey, MD, JD, on Physicians Post-PPACA.
Deadline: August 15
Give Your Input!
In 1996 SAEM made a recommendation in
regards to the training that EM residents should
have in Emergency Medical Services.
The following short survey aims to obtain a
resident perspective on the training that we
currently receive and to identify any areas for
improvement. Thank you in advance for your
assistance in making our specialty even
stronger.
Leadership and Advocacy
This year’s Leadership and Advocacy
Conference in Washington DC was a great
success for ACEP and EMRA. Physicians from
49 states were present to lobby on the Hill,
visiting 98% of the offices in the Senate and
more than half of the offices of members of the
House of Representatives. Approximately 135
residents attended, largely funded by the Chair’s
Challenge.
While on Capitol Hill, the physicians discussed
the unstable Medicare physician payment
Sim Wars Competition
system; medical liability reform, in particular, for
The second annual Great Plains Medical
physicians providing care under the EMTALA
Student Sim Wars Competition will be held
mandate; the need to repeal the Independent
September 29, 2012 at Washington University
Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) created in the
School of Medicine in St. Louis! Applications are health reform law; budget shortfalls leading
now being accepted for teams of 4 students.
states to limit Medicaid beneficiaries access to
Contact Jonathan Heidt or Christopher Sampson the emergency department and possible
to apply or for more information.
violations of the prudent layperson standard; and
legislation to prohibit the sale of synthetic drugs
Section Connection - Air Medical Transport
and proposals to help ameliorate drug
Have you had the opportunity to participate in air shortages.
medicine? Perhaps your residency includes
flight time, or maybe you’ve sought out
The background materials and handouts which
opportunities on your own. Either way, air
helped to prepare the physicians for the visits
medicine is an integral part of the health care
are available to you on the ACEP Website, if you
system, and ACEP’s Air Medical Transport
would like to learn more about these important
Section focuses on the safe administration of
legislative priorities. Ask your Program Director
high quality medical care throughout the
today if your program participated in the Chair’s
transport of the patient.
Challenge, and if you could attend next year as
a part of this valuable program!
If you have already dedicated yourself to air
medicine, if you’re looking to connect with others SPONSORED MESSAGE:
in the field, or if you’re just interested in getting
more information, check out the ACEP Air
Medical Transport Section. To explore all of the
ACEP Sections, please visit the section catalog.
Remember, your first ACEP Section
membership is FREE, and additional ones are
only $20.
Upcoming Events
ACEP Teaching Fellowship
Dallas, TX
August 13 - 19, 2012
EMRA Fall Awards Deadline
August 15, 2012
EMRA Fall Representative Council
Resolutions Deadline
August 24, 2012
Residency News
The Patient Care Chart: Your Greatest
Defense in Courtroom
Emergency medicine as a field is no stranger to
legal issues, and those that have practiced the
craft for a significant length of time can probably
share some frightening legal stories. Defending
your decisions during medicolegal scrutiny
EMRA Board of Directors Application
Deadline
September 10, 2012
RRC-EM Meeting
Chicago, IL
September 21 - 22, 2012
EMRA Medical Student Forum
Denver, CO
October 7, 2012
EMRA Residency Fair
Denver, CO
October 7, 2012
EMRA Resident Forum
Denver, CO
October 8, 2012
EMRA Job Fair
Denver, CO
October 8, 2012
ACEP's Scientific Assembly
Denver, CO
October 8 - 11, 2012
EMRA Rep Council Meeting
Denver, CO
October 9, 2012
ABEM Fall Oral Certification Exams
October 27 - 29, 2012
EMBRS Workshop
Dallas, TX
November 5 - 12, 2012
AMA House of Delegates Interim Meeting
Honolulu, HI
November 10 - 13, 2012
ABEM Qualifying Exams
November 12 - 18, 2012
however is a not simply a post-incident task.
Andrew Koslow, MD, JD, and Diana Nordlund,
DO relate that presenting the clinical encounter
in the patient's chart in a manner that even those
not involved in your specialty can come to the
same reasonable conclusions is key for risk
management. The authors argue that a few
simple lines using a storytelling approach can
help readers of any medical literacy level
understand your thought process. For example,
a line or two noting how the ready-for-discharge
pediatric patient behaves as a normal child can
bolster the care report. The authors give several
concrete examples of important elaborations to
care reports that further allow layperson readers
to understand a physician's thought process in
management. Check out the article here for
more examples and continue to watch for more
articles from ACEP’s Medical-Legal Committee
called “LegalEase.”
Workplace Violence: Common But Not
Acceptable in the ED
The environment of emergency medicine can
rapidly become hostile for healthcare providers
as patients of unknown intention and capacity
are brought into the emergency department
each day. According to the Bureau of Labor
Statistics, 60% of all nonfatal assaults and
violent acts by persons in 2007 were in
healthcare/social services sectors with an
estimated 900 deaths and 1.7 million nonfatal
assaults annually. These statistics are also said
to be underreported due to a perception that
employment in the ED entails assaults, that
reporting assaults will not result in any action,
and that a lack of institutional policy exists.
Overcrowding and long wait times are also
reported to be contributors to increased risk of
workplace violence in the ED. Our EMRA
Representative to the ACEP Public Health and
Injury Prevention Committee, James Dazhe
Cao, MD, et al. stress the importance for EM
departments to affirm their commitment to
workplace safety in this article. Emergency
departments need to emphasize de-escalation
training, environmental changes, and a zerotolerance policy toward workplace violence that
can help resolve conflict and reduce injuries.
The ACEP Public Health and Injury Prevention
Committee recently published a compilation of
resources and information on emergency
department violence. Additionally, you can
contribute to the study of ED violence by
completing their survey.
Small, Colorful, Bite-sized Detergent Packets
Attract Children
Emergency departments and toxicology
specialists are dealing with a new phenomenon
in the ED involving the colorful bite-sized tablets
filled with detergent. In the last few months, over
250 people called poison control for the
ingestion of detergent packets. The bright,
candy-colored detergent packets combine
laundry detergent and other robust cleaning
agents and dissolve quickly in liquid, so that
even if a child takes a small bite of the packet,
they risk ingesting some of the contents. While
the symptoms may only be mild, the American
Association of Poison Centers reported that
multiple children have presented with severe
vomiting and had to be managed with
ventilators. EM doctors should have high level of
suspicion for serious ingestion and keep
detergent packets on their list of toxicology
differential with the pediatric population. Check
out the article by the AAPC here.
Rep Council Corner
New Academic Year, New Program
Representative?
As we start another academic year and say
goodbye to senior residents as they become
fellows/attendings and welcome a new class of
EM interns. We realize many EMRA Program
Reps might be graduating or passing their
responsibilities onto other residents. If your
program has a new program rep, please email
us at vicespeaker@emra.org so that we can be
sure to keep you in the loop and help you
effectively represent your program!
Gearing up for Denver
EMRA will be meeting in conjunction with ACEP
Scientific Assembly in Denver, CO October 6-11,
2012. Check out www.emra.org for a complete
schedule of EMRA events including our Job Fair,
Representative Council meeting, and Fall Award
Reception among others! Now is a great time to
think about writing a resolution to be submitted
for the Rep Council Meeting. The resolution
deadline will be in late August. If you have
questions about writing a resolution, email
vicespeaker@emra.org - this is your chance to
shape EMRA Policy and help our organization
better serve its members!
Medical Student News
Tis the Season
It’s June. For many of us, this means one thing:
boards. While these standardized exams are
extremely important, there will come a time
when we close the review books, eat our sack
lunch and make the final click on our 9-hour
electronic masterpiece. Then what? In case
you’ve accidentally lost motivation this month,
we are here to remind you: emergency medicine
is pretty fantastic! So take a 10 min study break
and click here to read about how awesome your
EM clerkship can be.
All You Need, In Your Pocket
EMRA’s new Basics of Emergency Medicine is
concise, 23-page, chief-complaint guide that will
have you prepped for your EM clerkship in no
time! Designed to throw in your pocket, flip
through this summary of common EM chief
complaints just moments before seeing or
presenting your patient! All at a discount for
EMRA members. Click here to learn more.
What’s In a SLOR?
Missed the SAEM Conference in Chicago this
year? Feeling left out? We’re here to help.
While a variety of topics were covered during
this year’s Medical Student Symposium, one in
particular seemed to stand out: the SLOR. Also
known as a “Standardize Letter of
Recommendation," the SLOR is a vital
component to your residency application.
Click here to see a SLOR form and read more
about the role of SLORs in your residency
applications.
Submit to EM Resident
We want to hear your voice…on paper. EM
Resident is EMRA’s award-winning, bi-monthly
magazine publication. Every issue proudly
contains 4-5 medical student articles, and
yours should be one of them! Opinions to voice
or observations to make? Life lessons or advice
to share? Let EM Resident be your podium. No
word length minimum or topic limitations; just
your voice on paper! Click here to view
previously published issues. We accept articles
all year round, so send your writings and a photo
of yourself to the EMRA Student Editor.
Chief Editors:
Cameron Decker, MD
Suzanne Bryce, MD
President-Elect
Co-Chief Editor
Baylor College of Medicine
Vanderbilt University
Rep Council Corner Editor:
Legislative Corner Editor:
Matt Rudy, MD
Alison Haddock, MD
Vice Speaker of the Council
Legislative Advisor
Washington Univ. in St. Louis
Tacoma Emergency Care Physicians
Contributing Authors
Revathi Jyothindran, Student Editor
Donald Stader, MD
Regina Bailey, MD
Rachel Inbanathan
Sam Carli
Reid Orth, MD
Erin Drasler, MD
Nilesh Patel, DO
James Hartline
Theresa Tran
Hashim Zaidi
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