A Retrospective Comparison of Emergency Department Throughput Before and After Instituting a Waiting Room Evaluation Process.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has strained the healthcare system with emergency department (ED) boarding and workforce shortages. This prompted the need for strategies to evaluate and treat patients while they waited for an ED room.

Objectives: The objective is to describe a waiting room evaluation process and ED throughput in the setting of ED staffing shortages and boarding.

Initial Validity Evidence for the American Board of Emergency Medicine Emergency Medical Services Certification Examination.

Objectives: The American Board of Emergency Medicine (ABEM) Emergency Medical Services Medicine (EMS) subspecialty was approved by the American Board of Medical Specialties on September 23, 2010. Subspecialty certification in EMS was contingent on two key elements-completing Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)-accredited EMS training and passing the subspecialty certification examination developed by ABEM. The first EMS certification examination was offered in October 2013.

American Board of Emergency Medicine Report on Residency and Fellowship Training Information (2023-2024).

The American Board of Emergency Medicine gathers extensive background information on Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education-accredited emergency medicine residency and fellowship programs as well as the residents and fellows training in those programs. We present the 2024 annual report on the status of physicians training in ACGME-accredited emergency medicine training programs in the United States.

Life-Threatening Complications Associated with Bladder Decompression: A Case Report.

Introduction: The clinical course of patients who present to the emergency department (ED) with urinary retention is usually uneventful. In this case, we explore the life-threatening complications of urinary retention and bladder decompression.

Case Report: We report the case of a 57-year-old man who presented to the ED with difficulty voiding.

An emergency medicine based model for community-engaged learning.

Community-engaged learning (CEL) integrates community service with structured learning to strengthen the knowledge and skills of future physicians while still in medical school. A national model forCEL during medical school does not currently exist. Emergency physicians have the opportunity to play a vital role in medical student education using CEL as a platform.

Evaluation of a point-of-care ultrasound curriculum and ocular phantom in residency training.

Specialized training in ocular ultrasound is not a focus for most emergency medicine residencies, despite the fact that it allows physicians to quickly and accurately identify ocular pathology and prioritize emergency ophthalmological consultations. Therefore, we tested the value of utilizing normal and pathologic ocular ultrasound phantoms as a training tool for residents. Twenty emergency medicine residents were given a pre-test including written and practical skills diagnosis of ocular phantom pathologies, a short video on common ocular pathologies, practice time with the phantoms and a post-test including written and scanning components.

Emergency Physician-performed Transesophageal Echocardiography in Simulated Cardiac Arrest.

Introduction: Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) is a well-established method of evaluating cardiac pathology. It has many advantages over transthoracic echocardiography (TTE), including the ability to image the heart during active cardiopulmonary resuscitation. This prospective simulation study aims to evaluate the ability of emergency medicine (EM) residents to learn TEE image acquisition techniques and demonstrate those techniques to identify common pathologic causes of cardiac arrest.

Learner Improvement From a Simulation-Enhanced Ultrasonography Curriculum for First-Year Medical Students.

Objectives: We describe a simulation-enhanced ultrasonography (US) curriculum for first-year medical students as part of a comprehensive curricular integration of US skills. Our goal was to assess student knowledge and performance of US and determine their satisfaction with the integrated curriculum.

Methods: A committee of basic science, clinical, and interinstitutional faculty developed 7 educational US modules integrated into existing anatomy and physiology courses.

Handoff Practices in Emergency Medicine: Are We Making Progress?

Objectives: Transitions of care present a risk for communication error and may adversely affect patient care. This study addresses the scope of current handoff practices amongst U.S.

Framework for classifying compliance and medical immediacy among low-acuity presentations at an urban trauma center.

Background: This research offers two exploratory frameworks, one for medical regimen compliance and one for medical immediacy. The first classifies compliance awareness, compliance mitigation, and financial limitation for those patients that exhibit nonadherence with a medical regimen. The second classifies medical immediacy and characterizes avoidable utilization.

A survey of handoff practices in emergency medicine.

This study aimed to assess practices in emergency department (ED) handoffs as perceived by emergency medicine (EM) residency program directors and other senior-level faculty and to determine if there are deficits in resident handoff training. This cross-sectional survey study was guided by the Kern model for medical curriculum development. A 12-member Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Transitions in Care task force of EM physicians performed these steps and constructed a survey.

An algorithm for transition of care in the emergency department.

Objectives: The objective of this study is to present an algorithm for improving the safety and effectiveness of transitions of care (ToC) in the emergency department (ED).

Methods: This project was undertaken by the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) Transitions of Care Task Force and guided by the six-step Kern model for curriculum development. A targeted needs assessment in survey form was designed using a modified Delphi method among the CORD ToC Task Force.

Prospective evaluation of an emergency medical services-administered alternative transport protocol.

Background: The ability of emergency medical services (EMS) providers to offer an alternative means of nonemergent transport for patients with minor medical complaints is a rarely sanctioned concept in U.S. EMS systems.

EMS-initiated refusal of transport: the current state of affairs.

The objectives of this study were 1) to determine the number and characteristics of emergency medical services (EMS) agencies within the 200 largest US cities that sanction EMS-initiated refusal of transport; and 2) to determine the extent of no-cost alternative transport mechanisms among those agencies that allow EMS-initiated refusal of transport. EMS agencies located within the 200 largest US cities were contacted via telephone and surveyed as to whether their agency sanctioned EMS-initiated refusal of transport (EMS-IROT). Agencies with a policy were further questioned regarding its components and usage patterns.

The prehospital administration of intravenous methylprednisolone lowers hospital admission rates for moderate to severe asthma.

Objective: To compare hospital admission rates for patients with moderate to severe asthma who receive intravenous methylprednisolone given in the prehospital setting versus in the emergency department.

Methods: A retrospective chart review was used to identify emergency medical services (EMS) transports of patients with moderate to severe asthma when 125 mg methylprednisolone was given intravenously in the prehospital setting under existing regional protocols. Data were collected on EMS runs in an urban/suburban system from May 1, 2000, through April 30, 2001.