Better together: A multistakeholder approach to developing specialty-wide entrustable professional activities in emergency medicine.

Purpose: Entrustable professional activities (EPAs) are a widely used framework for curriculum and assessment, yet the variability in emergency medicine (EM) training programs mandates the development of EPAs that meet the needs of the specialty as a whole. This requires eliciting and incorporating the perspectives of multiple stakeholders (i.e.

Help Me Help You: How to Request a Letter of Recommendation.

Letters of recommendation (LORs) are an essential component of a career in medicine. The process for obtaining certain letters, particularly those associated with scheduled periods of professional transition, often is governed by established institutional or specialty norms. The process of requesting LORs in more common scenarios-local or national awards, committee assignments, and leadership positions-many times is less clearly defined, however.

Clinicians' Insights on Emergency Department Boarding: An Explanatory Mixed Methods Study Evaluating Patient Care and Clinician Well-Being.

Background: The aim of this study was to describe clinicians' insights into the quality and safety of patient care delivered to emergency department (ED) boarding patients, as well as clinician safety and satisfaction related to ED boarding.

Methods: This was a single-site, mixed methods sequential explanatory study. Quantitative data were obtained from a cross-sectional survey sent to ED attending physicians, resident physicians, advanced practice providers, and nurses.

Curated collections for educators: Nine key articles and article series for teaching qualitative research methods.

Background: Qualitative research explains observations, focusing on how and why phenomena and experiences occur. Qualitative methods go beyond quantitative data and provide critical information inaccessible through quantitative methods. However, at all levels of medical education, there is insufficient exposure to qualitative research.

Education Theory Made Practical: Creating open educational resources via an apprenticeship model.

Introduction: Clinical faculty may have limited knowledge of education theories and best practices in health professions education. Many faculty development programs focus on passive learning with limited application to practice. There is a need for more active engagement for early career educators.

Teaching Quality Improvement: The Use of Education Theories Across the Medical Education Spectrum.

It is well recognized that the principles and practices of patient safety and quality improvement (QI) need to be included in medical education. The implementation of patient safety and QI learning experiences at the undergraduate medical education (UME) and graduate medical education (GME) levels has been variable. Consistent teaching of QI across the UME-GME-continuing medical education (CME) spectrum may result in a systemic change of improved patient care and patient safety in clinical practice.

Implementation of a standardized pregnancy screening process to address gender disparities in radiology turn-around-time and ED length of stay.

Objective: The objective of this initiative was to quantify and intervene upon suspected gender disparities in CT turn-around-time and emergency department (ED) length of stay.

Methods: This was a single-site before-after quality improvement initiative including patients aged 12-50 who underwent CT chest and/or abdomen/pelvis. The intervention included protocolization of the pregnancy screening process in triage.

Implementation and Effects of a Team-Based Quality Improvement Training Program Across a Health System: The Northwestern Medicine Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement.

Background: Professional organizations emphasize the need to train health care professionals in quality improvement (QI). Many reports of QI education programs involve small numbers of participants. Little is known about QI education programs on a larger scale and whether participants subsequently engage in QI activities.

Creation and Implementation of a Mastery Learning Curriculum for Emergency Department Thoracotomy.

Introduction: Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) is a lifesaving procedure within the scope of practice of emergency physicians. Because EDT is infrequently performed, emergency medicine (EM) residents lack opportunities to develop procedural competency. There is no current mastery learning curriculum for residents to learn EDT.

Emergency Department Thoracotomy: Development of a Reliable, Validated Checklist for Procedural Training.

Objectives: Emergency department thoracotomy (EDT) is a rare and challenging procedure. Emergency medicine (EM) residents have limited opportunities to perform the procedure in clinical or educational settings. Standardized, reliable, validated checklists do not exist to evaluate procedural competency.

Women's Night in Emergency Medicine Mentorship Program: A SWOT Analysis.

Introduction: Women in emergency medicine (EM) at all career stages report gender-specific obstacles to satisfaction and advancement. Programs that facilitate longitudinal mentoring, professional development, and networking may ameliorate these barriers.

Methods: We designed and implemented a program for female residents, faculty, and alumnae from our EM training program to enhance social support, leadership training and professional mentorship opportunities.

The Standardized Letter of Evaluation Narrative: Differences in Language Use by Gender.

Introduction: Prior research demonstrates gender differences in language used in letters of recommendation. The emergency medicine (EM) Standardized Letter of Evaluation (SLOE) format limits word count and provides detailed instructions for writers. The objective of this study is to examine differences in language used to describe men and women applicants within the SLOE narrative.

Gender Differences in Language of Standardized Letter of Evaluation Narratives for Emergency Medicine Residency Applicants.

Objective: While gender differences in language for letters of recommendation have been identified in other fields, no prior studies have evaluated the narrative portion of the emergency medicine (EM) standardized letter of evaluation (SLOE). We aim to examine the differences in language used to describe male and female applicants within the SLOE narrative.

Methods: Invited applicants to a 4-year academic EM residency program within a single application year with a SLOE were included in the sample.

Immediate and long-term effects of a team-based quality improvement training programme.

Background: Although many studies of quality improvement (QI) education programmes report improvement in learners' knowledge and confidence, the impact on learners' future engagement in QI activities is largely unknown and few studies report project measures beyond completion of the programme.

Method: We developed the Academy for Quality and Safety Improvement (AQSI) to prepare individuals, across multiple departments and professions, to lead QI. The 7-month programme consisted of class work and team-based project work.

One Click Away: Digital Mentorship in the Modern Era.

Mentorship is a valuable component of the career development of junior faculty. The digital era has allowed for greater access to mentors spanning geographic barriers and time zones. This article discusses the concept of digital mentorship, as well as strategies and techniques for developing and supporting a digital mentoring relationship in the modern era.

A User's Guide to the Web Series.

is a web series hosted on the Academic Life in Emergency Medicine website. The intended audience includes senior medical students seeking a residency in emergency medicine (EM) and the faculty members who advise them. Each episode features a panel of three EM program directors who discuss a critical step in the residency application process.

A Ten-year Program Evaluation of an Emergency Medicine Scholarly Track in Education Using a Qualitative Approach.

Background: Residency scholarly tracks have allowed training programs to better prepare residents for a future in academia. Despite their success, however, few evaluations of these scholarly tracks have been completed to ensure they are meeting the goals of their stakeholders.

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the education scholarly track at Northwestern University Emergency Medicine by querying key stakeholders on the current state of the track and its ideal state.

A Novel Collaboration to Reduce the Travel-Related Cost of Residency Interviewing.

Introduction: Interviewing for residency is a complicated and often expensive endeavor. Literature has estimated interview costs of $4,000 to $15,000 per applicant, mostly attributable to travel and lodging. The authors sought to reduce these costs and improve the applicant interview experience by coordinating interview dates between two residency programs in Chicago, Illinois.

TRIAD VIII: Nationwide Multicenter Evaluation to Determine Whether Patient Video Testimonials Can Safely Help Ensure Appropriate Critical Versus End-of-Life Care.

Objective: End-of-life interventions should be predicated on consensus understanding of patient wishes. Written documents are not always understood; adding a video testimonial/message (VM) might improve clarity. Goals of this study were to (1) determine baseline rates of consensus in assigning code status and resuscitation decisions in critically ill scenarios and (2) determine whether adding a VM increases consensus.