Telephone referrals by junior doctors: a randomised controlled trial assessing the impact of SBAR in a simulated setting.

Objective: To determine whether exposing junior doctors to Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation (SBAR) improves their telephone referrals. SBAR is a standardised minimum information communication tool.

Methods: A randomised controlled trial with participants and rating clinicians both blinded to group allocation.

Emergency physicians as expert witnesses: 'from frontline wise to courtroom woes'.

A 'Medical Expert' witness is one who has been accepted by the court as having special knowledge of the subject about which they are testifying and as a result is allowed to give evidence of their medical opinion. In contrast, ordinary witnesses can only give evidence regarding facts that they have observed. Emergency medicine is one of a few speciality areas of medicine more likely to be involved in legal proceedings.

Current level of training, experience and perceptions of emergency physicians as expert witnesses: a pilot study.

The objective of the present study was to determine emergency physicians' training, experience and perceptions as expert witnesses. Emergency physicians of an adult tertiary referral and teaching hospital participated in a pilot survey regarding their experiences in report writing and in court as expert witnesses. The 28-item survey also examined the amount of formalized forensic medical teaching that emergency physicians had received during their training.

The impact of a clinical team assisting the Coroner's investigation of healthcare-related deaths: reflections on six-years of service.

Aim: This study describes the short-term impacts of an on-site team of practising clinicians (Clinical Liaison Service, CLS), in enhancing the Coroner's investigation for the prevention of healthcare-related deaths.

Methods: An internal observational program evaluation was conducted where objective and externally verifiable achievements of CLS over a six-year period were provided in relation to definable program components.

Results: From 2003-2008, the same conceptual model for CLS was in place.