Ep 201 How EM Experts Think Part 2: Data Gathering, Diagnostic and Treatment Decision Making, Test Ordering and Interpretation, Documentation, Emotional Resilience
In this Part 2 of our 2-part podcast series on How EM Experts Think with Dr. Reuben Strayer, Dr. Mike Betzner and Dr. Scott Weingart we dive deep into the nuances of practicing smarter, faster, and better in the ED. We answer questions like: How should we employ hypothetico-deductive reasoning in our daily practice of Emergency Medicine? How can we best streamline thorough data gathering for each case so that we don't miss key data points? How do the master EM clinicians perform an efficient and targeted history and physical exam? How can the concept of heuristic cycling help you avoid outdated or faulty thinking? How can we document our clinical encounter in a way that considers a differential diagnosis that prioritizes dangerous conditions and improve our thinking around cases? How can we use the 2-10% rule for pre-test probabilities and the concept of preferred error to guide our decision making for tests and treatments in the ED? What strategies can we use to avoid anchoring bias and keep your mind open to all possibilities? What’s the role of shared decision-making when navigating diagnostic uncertainty? How does understanding the vigilance pendulum help us assess our risk tolerance better? How can post-shift decision journaling, conducting pre-mortems and meditation improve our decision making and boost our emotional resilience on shift? and many more... Please consider a small donation to EM Cases to ensure ongoing high quality FOAMed: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
Ep 200 How EM Experts Think: Strategies for Pre-Shift, Arrival Ritual, Staying Focused, Managing Interruptions, Cognitive Load & Negative Emotions, Resuscitation Mindset, Post-Resuscitation Recovery
Which elements of your current pre-shift preparation contribute most to your mental clarity and performance, and what new practices might further optimize your readiness? With interruptions shown to increase task errors and decision fatigue, how can you strike a balance between being approachable to colleagues and safeguarding your focus for patient care? When confronted with a particularly challenging or emotionally charged case, what strategies have you found most effective for maintaining professionalism and clear decision-making under pressure? How often do you debrief after high-stakes scenarios, and what impact has debriefing—whether formal or informal—had on your team’s learning, emotional recovery, and future preparedness? What strategies do you use to foster open communication and ensure all team members feel empowered to provide input during high-stakes situations? How do you mentally and emotionally shift from managing a critical resuscitation to treating lower-acuity patients without compromising your focus or energy? When faced with a complex case where diagnostic clarity is elusive, how do you prioritize your next steps while maintaining confidence in your decision-making process? How can apps, personalized workflows, or EMR tools be better utilized to minimize cognitive load and enhance clinical decision-making during shifts? These are just some of the questions we pose in this 2-part podcast series on How the Experts Think with Dr. Reuben Strayer, Dr. Scott Weingart and Dr. Mike Betzner... Please consider a donation to ensure EM Cases continues to provide you high quality Free Open Access Medical Education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
Ep 199 Trauma Airway and Airway Trauma
In this EM Cases main episode podcast, we tackle the complexities of trauma airway management, including direct trauma to the airway. We discuss indications and timing of intubation, penetrating neck trauma, the head injured patient, the agitated patients and the soiled airway. The critical question is: when should we deviate from, delay or modify RSI, and how do we navigate the unique challenges presented by trauma airways and airway trauma? Dr. George Kovacs and Dr. Andrew Petroniak answer this and other questions such as: how should we re-sequence the trauma resuscitation depending on immediate life-threats? When is immediate vs delayed intubation recommended? How useful are the Zones of the neck in penetrating neck trauma? What is the optimal dosing of airway medications in the sick trauma patient? How should we modify our airway strategy for the severely head injured patient and/or agitated patient? When should we consider ketamine facilitated fiberoptic intubation in the trauma patient? and many more... Please consider a donation to EM Cases to ensure ongoing Free Open Access Medical Education here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
Ep 198 Understanding and Improving Culture in Emergency Medicine: Key Insights
In this EM Cases podcast Anton chats with Dr. Peter Brindley and Dr. Leon Byker who have a deep interest in the Culture of Medicine to explore what culture in medicine is, why culture is so important, and then drive home 10 strategies to improving the culture in our departments emphasizing the importance of human connection, empathy, open communication, and a willingness to learn from mistakes in creating a positive and fulfilling work environment, so that we love our work, we love our department, we love taking care of our patients and our patients have better outcomes... Support EM Cases and Free Open Access Medical Education by making a donation now: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
Ep 197 Acute Heart Failure Risk Stratification and Disposition
We over-admit low risk acute heart failure patients and under-admit high risk heart failure patients. In this podcast we discuss the diagnostic accuracy of various clinical features, lab tests and imaging modalities for acute heart failure, the 3 validated risk stratification tools and a simple approach to PoCUS for the diagnosis and prognostication of acute heart failure in the ED to improve our diagnostic accuracy and disposition decisions for patients with acute heart failure... Help Support EM Cases by Giving a Donation here: https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
Ep 196 Pediatric Meningitis Recognition, Workup and Management
In this episode: recognition, risk stratification, decision tools, indications for lumbar puncture in the febrile pediatric patient, tips and trick on performing LPs in children, and ED management of pediatric meningitis. We answer such questions as: what are the test characteristics of the various clinical features of meningitis across various ages? How does one differentiate between meningitis and retropharyngeal abscess on physical exam? How do the Canadian and American guidelines on work up of well-appearing febrile infants compare when to it comes to indications for lumbar puncture? Which patients with suspected meningitis require imaging prior to lumbar puncture? How do we best interpret the various CSF tests to help distinguish between viral and bacterial meningitis? What are the indications and timing of administering dexamethasone in the pediatric patient with suspected meningitis? and many more.... EM Cases is Free Open Access; please consider a donation to help ensure that EM Cases remains Free Open Access on our donation page https://emergencymedicinecases.com/donation/
