Posts about Emergency Medicine
If you’ve ever worked an ED at 3 AM during a holiday weekend, you know what’s coming: a patient visiting from out of town presents with a radiology report that is positive for a DVT. With no hematology or cardiology consults available, no access to the patient’s records, and the clock ticking, you’re left to manage the situation.
When I joined a Family Medicine practice in July 2004, fresh out of PA school, I was fortunate enough to share an office space with Dr. Robert Wettach, a 76-year-old GP who had spent decades caring for patients in a small town in southeast Iowa. Semi-retired, he still saw patients a few days a week, but his real passion was storytelling.
Acute low back pain is one of the most common reasons patients present to the emergency department. Yet, when it comes to evidence-based management, our approaches often feel like “dealer’s choice.” We know NSAIDs are better than muscle relaxers and opioids, but what about topical options?
At Hippo Education, our mission has always been simple:
Empower the people of medicine to learn, grow, and thrive through education and community.
Smartwatches and other wearable fitness trackers are everywhere—and they’re doing way more than counting steps. These devices now track heart rate variability (HRV), flag irregular heart rhythms, and even record single-lead ECGs. Cool, right? But what happens when a patient walks in with their wrist buzzing and a bunch of data they want us to interpret? Let’s dive into the world of wearables and what they mean for us as healthcare...
Across a wide variety of practice environments, the concept of medically screening a patient who presents with suicidal ideation is often a source of friction between the emergency department and psychiatry. In theory, a medical screening exam would help the ED team identify acute medical conditions in patients with co-existing psychiatric pathology, but in reality, local guidelines and protocols can lead to extensive and often unnecessary...
Suicide ranks as the 11th leading cause of death in the United States, claiming 48,183 lives in 2021 alone—equivalent to one life lost every 11 minutes. For us, as clinicians, suicide prevention starts in our emergency department, where at-risk individuals often seek help in the days or weeks leading up to a suicide attempt. Unfortunately, in the ED, the opportunity to screen for suicide risk can be overlooked due to high patient values,...
As healthcare professionals, our days are filled with many tasks, such as patient encounters, documentation, and administrative work, not to mention keeping track of a household or family. Time management becomes crucial in ensuring that we provide quality care while maintaining our well-being. In this blog, we'll explore some valuable pearls for efficient clinical time management, and I’ll note some tips that have worked well for me.
Selecting the ideal suture material for deeper layers involves careful consideration since specific materials offer varying absorption rates, making them suitable for different wound depths. When speaking with Dr. Christina Shenvi on an episode of ERcast, Dr. Cohen recommended the following suture material options for closing the deeper layers of the skin (buried):
Nowhere is the gap between book learning and clinical practice quite so apparent as in the world of pharmacology. The best medication for Diagnosis X is Drug Y on the boards, but what about when your real-life patient is allergic to that medication? What if they can’t afford it? What if there’s a drug shortage?
Read moreEmergency medicine often puts us face-to-face with lacerations requiring precision and care. Dr. Justin Cohen's visit to ERcast, alongside Dr. Christina Shenvi, illuminated the path to handling facial lacerations with the finesse of a plastic surgeon. Here are key takeaways to elevate your emergency room responses.
