Creation and implementation of a national emergency medicine fourth-year student examination.

Background: A National Board of Medical Examiners examination does not exist for Emergency Medicine (EM) students. To fill this void, the Clerkship Directors in Emergency Medicine tasked a committee with development of an examination for 4th-year (M4) EM students, based on a published syllabus, and consisting of questions written according to published question-writing guidelines.

Study Objectives: Describe examination development and statistics at 9 months.

Interpreting red blood cells in lumbar puncture: distinguishing true subarachnoid hemorrhage from traumatic tap.

Objectives: The study purpose was to determine the optimal use of lumbar puncture (LP) red blood cell (RBC) counts to identify subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) when some blood remains in the final tube.

Methods: A case series was performed at a tertiary emergency department (ED). Records of 4,496 consecutive adult patients billed for LPs between 2001 and 2009 were reviewed.

Anatomy of a clerkship test.

Written examinations are frequently used to assess medical student performance. Within emergency medicine (EM), a National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME) subject examination for EM clerkships does not exist. As a result, clerkship directors frequently generate examinations within their institution.

Amiodarone or procainamide for the termination of sustained stable ventricular tachycardia: an historical multicenter comparison.

Objectives: The objective was to compare the effectiveness of intravenous (IV) procainamide and amiodarone for the termination of spontaneous stable sustained ventricular tachycardia (VT).

Methods: A historical cohort study of consecutive adult patients with stable sustained VT treated with IV amiodarone or procainamide was performed at four urban hospitals. Patients were identified for enrollment by admissions for VT and treatment with the study agents in the emergency department (ED) from 1993 to 2008.

A four-year perspective of Society for Academic Emergency Medicine tests: an online testing tool for medical students.

Nationwide survey findings that most U.S. emergency medicine clerkship directors were interested in participating in a methodologically rigorous student testing program prompted the development of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Medical Student Online Testing Service (SAEM Tests).

Opioid analgesia and assessment of the sonographic Murphy sign.

Administration of intravenous opioid analgesia to patients with undifferentiated abdominal pain remains a controversial topic in many emergency departments. To determine whether opioid analgesia impacts assessment of the sonographic Murphy sign (SM) in evaluating acute gallbladder disease (GBD), a retrospective chart review was undertaken. The chart review encompassed 119 patients, 21% of whom, having received opioid analgesia before ultrasound, constituted the opioid group.