Simulation-based training of junior doctors in handling critically ill patients facilitates the transition to clinical practice: an interview study.

Background: Junior doctors lack confidence and competence in handling the critically ill patient including diagnostic skills, decision-making and team working with other health care professionals. Simulation-based training on managing emergency situations can have substantial effects on satisfaction and learning. However, there are indications of problems when applying learned skills to practice.

Why and when citizens call for emergency help: an observational study of 211,193 medical emergency calls.

Background: A medical emergency call is citizens' access to pre-hospital emergency care and ambulance services. Emergency medical dispatchers are gatekeepers to provision of pre-hospital resources and possibly hospital admissions. We explored causes for access, emergency priority levels, and temporal variation within seasons, weekdays, and time of day for emergency calls to the emergency medical dispatch center in Copenhagen in a two-year study period (December 1(st), 2011 to November 30(th), 2013).

Handover of patients: a topical review of ambulance crew to emergency department handover.

Handover has major implications for patient care. The handover process between ambulance and emergency department (ED) staff has been sparsely investigated. The purpose of this paper is, based on a literature review, to identify and elaborate on the major factors influencing the ambulance to ED handover, and to bring suggestions on how to optimize this process.