Search

Purpose: Despite the rapidly expanding knowledge in the field of Geriatric Emergency Medicine in Europe, widespread implementation of change is still lacking. Many opportunities in everyday clinical care are missed to improve care for this susceptible and growing patient group. The aim was to develop expert clinical recommendations on Geriatric Emergency Medicine to be disseminated across Europe., Methods: A group of multi-disciplinary experts in the field of Geriatric Emergency Medicine in Europe was assembled. Using a modified Delphi procedure, a prioritized list of topics related to Geriatric Emergency Medicine was created. Next, a multi-disciplinary group of nurses, geriatricians and emergency physicians performed a review of recent guidelines and literature to create recommendations. These recommendations were voted upon by a group of experts and placed on visually attractive posters. The expert group identified the following eight subject areas to develop expert recommendations on: Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment in the Emergency Department (ED), age/frailty adjusted risk stratification, delirium and cognitive impairment, medication reviews in the ED for older adults, family involvement, ED environment, silver trauma, end of life care in the acute setting., Results: Eight posters with expert clinical recommendations on the most important topics in Geriatric Emergency Medicine are now available through https://posters.geriemeurope.eu/ ., Conclusion: Expert clinical recommendations for Geriatric Emergency Medicine may help to improve care for older patients in the Emergency Department and are ready for dissemination across Europe., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to European Geriatric Medicine Society.)

Purpose: Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) focuses on delivering optimal care to (sub)acutely ill older people. This involves a multidisciplinary approach throughout the whole healthcare chain. However, the underpinning evidence base is weak and it is unclear which research questions have the highest priority. The aim of this study was to provide an inventory and prioritisation of research questions among GEM professionals throughout Europe., Methods: A two-stage modified Delphi approach was used. In stage 1, an online survey was administered to various professionals working in GEM both in the Emergency Department (ED) and other healthcare settings throughout Europe to make an inventory of potential research questions. In the processing phase, research questions were screened, categorised, and validated by an expert panel. Subsequently, in stage 2, remaining research questions were ranked based on relevance using a second online survey administered to the same target population, to identify the top 10 prioritised research questions., Results: In response to the first survey, 145 respondents submitted 233 potential research questions. A total of 61 research questions were included in the second stage, which was completed by 176 respondents. The question with the highest priority was: Is implementation of elements of CGA (comprehensive geriatric assessment), such as screening for frailty and geriatric interventions, effective in improving outcomes for older patients in the ED?, Conclusion: This study presents a top 10 of high-priority research questions for a European Research Agenda for Geriatric Emergency Medicine. The list of research questions may serve as guidance for researchers, policymakers and funding bodies in prioritising future research projects.

Background: Emergency departments (EDs) need to be prepared to manage crises and disasters in both the short term and the long term. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has necessitated a rapid overhaul of several aspects of ED operations in preparation for a sustained response., Objective: We present the management of the COVID-19 crisis in 3 EDs (1 large academic site and 2 community sites) within the same health care system., Discussion: Aspects of ED throughput, including patient screening, patient room placement, and disposition are reviewed, along with departmental communication procedures and staffing models. Visitor policies are also discussed. Special considerations are given to airway management and the care of psychiatric patients. Brief guidance around the use of personal protective equipment is also included., Conclusions: A crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic requires careful planning to facilitate urgent restructuring of many aspects of an ED. By sharing our departments' responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, we hope other departments can better prepare for this crisis and the next., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

The format of the paper is to allow three authors to discuss what they believe are the most significant political issues facing emergency medicine (EM) in their country or region. Each author writes independently and does not see any other contributing author's work, therefore potential overlap of subject matter is inevitable. However, we were soliciting their individual opinions about the serious issues confronting us today, rather than a consensus. An additional author, well familiar with the topics being discussed, wrote the Commentary from an overview perspective on the writings of the other authors. This supplemental opinion was offered as a method for enhanced cohesiveness in describing the political situations impacting the specialty of emergency medicine. The three authors for the United States are James Hoekstra, Professor and Chair, Wake Forest University Health Sciences; Robert McNamara, Professor and Chair, Temple University School of Medicine, and Robert Schafermeyer, Associate Chair, Department of Emergency Medicine, North Carolina School of Medicine. Between them, they represent more than 50 years experience in clinical and academic emergency medicine. They write from a personal perspective. Their views are their own, and do not represent any organization(s) with which they may have or had affiliations.

This study evaluated the impact of certain Emergency Physician (EP) conditions on hiring decisions by fellow EPs. An anonymous survey asked 255 Pennsylvania EPs to rate the likelihood of their voting to offer a position in each of six scenarios. Three scenarios consisted of EPs unable to work regular shifts because of periodic migraines, a sleep disorder, and periodic difficulty handling stress. The other scenarios involved an EP with a probable future pregnancy, a recovered alcoholic, and a healthy HIV-positive physician. Most respondents said they were unlikely to recommend hiring colleagues who disclose a disorder restricting their availability for regular shifts. EPs were generally tolerant of recovered alcoholics and plans for pregnancy leave, but nearly half had significant reservations regarding hiring HIV-positive peers. An understanding of which conditions negatively impact an EP's ability to obtain employment in Emergency Medicine may be useful in emergency medicine career counseling or in the process of obtaining disability coverage.

Objectives: To study the incidence and nature of injuries sustained by emergency medicine (EM) residents during EMS rotations, and steps taken at EM residency programs to increase resident safety during field activities., Methods: An eight-question survey form was mailed to all 114 U.S. EM residency directors, with a second mailing to nonresponders eight weeks after the initial mailing., Results: A total of 105 surveys were returned (92%). Six surveys were from new programs whose residents have not yet rotated on EMS. These were excluded from further analysis, leaving 99 programs. Of these, 91 (92%) reported no injuries. One EM resident died in a helicopter crash in 1985. Seven other injury events were reported: 1) facial lacerations, rib fractures, and a shoulder injury in an ambulance accident; 2) an open finger fracture (crushed by a backboard); 3) contusions and a concussion when an ambulance was struck by a fire engine; 4) a groin pull sustained while entering a helicopter; 5) bilateral metatarsal fractures in a fall; 6) rib fractures, a pneumothorax, and a concussion in an ambulance accident; and 7) "minor injuries" sustained in a crash while responding to a scene in a program-owned response vehicle. Actions taken at residency programs to reduce the risk of injury include the use of ballistic vests (four programs), requiring helmets on flights (five programs), and changing flight experience from mandatory to optional (two programs). Ten programs (10%) reported using ground scene safety lectures, and nine programs (15% of those offering flights) reported various types of flight safety instruction. Sixty-nine programs (70%) reported no formal field safety training or other active steps to increase resident safety on EMS rotations., Conclusions: Injuries sustained by EM residents during EMS rotations are uncommon but nontrivial, with several serious injuries and one fatality reported. The majority of EM residency programs have no formal safety training programs for EMS rotations.

Study Objective: To describe the geographic distribution of practice locations for 1995 emergency medicine residency graduates and factors that are important to residents in their choice of practice location., Methods: Self-administered questionnaires were distributed to Emergency medicine residents who graduated in 1995. The survey ascertained practice city and state, resident employment characteristics, and the importance of factors that influenced the residents' selection of employment., Results: Eighty-six of 87 programs and 441 (69.4%) of 635 eligible residents participated. Forty-three percent of graduates chose to practice in the city or metropolitan area in which they trained; 46% of these had no personal tie to the area before their residency training. Liking the city was cited as being more important (P<.001) than other factors in picking practice location. Group personality and coworkers' credentials were more important (P< or =.01) than contract and salary arrangement. Twenty percent of respondents were not practicing in the city or area of their first choice., Conclusion: Residency training location, regardless of prior ties to the geographical area, appears to be a major factor in the choice of practice location of emergency medicine residency graduates. Coworkers' personalities and credentials are more important factors in job selection than salary and employment arrangements.

The opinions and experiences of board-certified emergency physicians regarding employment structure and finances, professional society policies, and quality of patient care have never been formally studied. A survey questionnaire was sent to a random sample of 1,050 emergency physicians certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine. The survey contained 29 multiple choice questions. Of the 1,050, 465 (44.3%) of the surveys were returned. Respondents averaged 13.5 years of emergency medicine practice, 83% were members of the American College of Emergency Physicians, and 44% were emergency medicine residency trained. Seventy-five percent felt they had been financially exploited by the emergency department contract holder and 49% considered leaving their employer because of unfair business practices. Fifteen percent have been terminated without due process/peer review, and 11% have been forced to leave a position, move, or pay compensation because of noncompete clauses. The majority reported encountering instances of substandard emergency medical care, most commonly in settings with multihospital contract company coverage. The majority also believe their specialty societies should address issues of employment structure and quality of patient care standards.

Objective: To determine the morningness-eveningness (ME) distribution of emergency medicine (EM) residents., Method: A voluntary, modified ME questionnaire was administered to all EM residents in the United States at the time of the 1995 American Board of Emergency Medicine's annual In-Training Examination., Results: Seventy-eight percent (2,047/2,614) of the surveys were returned. ME scores ranged from 24 to 76, with a median score of 49 (interquartile range 44, 56). The scores were distributed differently from those of the normal population (p < 0.001), being skewed toward eveningness. There was a correlation (r = 0.13, p < 0.0001) between resident age and ME score, with older residents being more morning-oriented. Males were more morning-oriented than females (p = 0.005), and respondents with children living at home also were significantly more morning-oriented (p < 0.001). Stepwise logistic regression showed that the influence of age, gender, and children was cumulative (r = 0.19) but accounted for only 4% of the observed variability., Conclusion: EM residents are distributed differently from the normal population in terms of their ME preferences, tending slightly toward eveningness. The importance of this distribution in EM residents in unknown. A longitudinal follow-up of this cohort may help to determine the association of ME preference with overall practice satisfaction, tolerance of shift work, and career longevity.

Objective: To test the overall reliability of a performance-based clinical skill assessment for entering emergency medicine (EM) residents. Also, to investigate the reliability of separate reporting of diagnostic and management scores for a standardized patient case, subjective scoring of patient notes, and interstation exercise scores., Methods: Thirty-four first-year EM residents were tested using a 10-station standardized patient (SP) examination. Following each 10-minute encounter, the residents completed a patient note that included differential diagnosis and management. The residents also were asked to read an ECG or chest x-ray (CXR) associated with each case. History, physical examination, and interpersonal skills were scored by the SPs. The patient note, CXR, and ECG readings were scored by faculty emergency physicians. Intercase reliability was determined for the residents., Results: Global score reliability, Cronbach's alpha = 0.85. Reliabilities for the other components were: history, 0.77; physical examination, 0.83; and interpersonal skills, 0.80. Differential diagnosis and management reliabilities were 0.61 and 0.66, respectively. Subjective scoring of the patient note resulted in acceptable reliability for legibility (0.80), history completeness (0.80), and history organization (0.81). Physical examination completeness and organization reliabilities were 0.74 and 0.73. For ECG and CXR readings, alpha = 0.74 and 0.34, respectively., Conclusions: SPs can be used to reliably assess bedside clinical skills of EM residents. While component reliability levels are slightly lower than the global clinical skill reliability coefficient, they are still high enough to use for identification of individual strengths and weaknesses.

Study Objective: To evaluate the educational background, knowledge, and experiences regarding chemical dependency among emergency medicine program directors. The program directors' awareness of substance use and alcohol abuse among emergency medicine residents was examined by comparing their estimates with the actual rates reported by the residents., Design: An anonymous survey mailed in March 1992., Type of Participants: The program directors of all 86 Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education-approved emergency medicine residencies., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: The 67 responding program directors represented 1,637 (77%) of the 2,130 emergency medicine residents on duty at the time of the survey. Thirty-three (49%) had suspected chemical dependency in a resident at least once, 22 (33%) had identified a chemically dependent resident, and nine (13%) hired a resident known to be in recovery. Substantial percentages reported no or slight knowledge regarding physician impairment issues. Twenty program directors (30%) received no education or only informal education regarding physician impairment. Compared to a February 1992 survey of emergency medicine residents, the program directors' estimates of resident use rates in the past year for seven substances were fairly accurate. However, the program directors estimated that only 16 (1.0%) of their current residents were impaired by alcohol; the resident survey yielded CAGE scores consistent with presumed or suspected alcoholism in 12.5% of emergency medicine residents., Conclusion: Emergency medicine program directors must be more attentive to potential alcohol abuse among emergency medicine residents and should receive additional education regarding chemical dependency.

Objective: To determine the prevalence of substance use and alcohol abuse among emergency medicine residents., Method: The study instrument was an anonymous, self-report survey that assessed the use of 13 substances and included the CAGE questions for measuring alcohol abuse. The survey was administered to emergency medicine residents at the time of the American Board of Emergency Medicine's annual In-Service Examination., Results: Alcohol was the substance most commonly used by emergency medicine residents for nonmedical reasons. Using the CAGE score, 4.9% of residents were classified as alcoholic and another 7.6% as suspect for alcoholism, rates similar to those for housestaff of all specialties as reported in earlier studies. Instruction related to physician impairment during training in their emergency medicine residency was reported by only 36% of the respondents., Conclusions: Emergency medicine residents report a low rate of illicit substance use and do not appear to misuse alcohol differently than other housestaff. Interpretation of these results must be tempered with the potential for underreporting that may occur with a voluntary self-report survey of a sensitive nature.

Study Objective: To evaluate the impact of an emergency medicine residency training program on the cost of care in the emergency department., Design: A retrospective chart review was conducted of all ED encounters for a three-month period, six months before and six months after the introduction of an emergency medicine residency program into an urban community hospital. Physician staffing of this ED before the residency period was by nonemergency medicine residency-trained emergency physicians., Setting: A 27,000-visit-per-year urban community hospital ED. TYPE OF PATIENTS: A consecutive sample of all patients discharged home from the emergency center with one of six diagnoses. The diagnoses studied were viral upper respiratory infection, pharyngitis, acute asthma, seizure, lumbosacral strain, and cervical strain., Main Outcome Measures: Frequency of laboratory test and radiograph ordering pertinent to the evaluation of each diagnostic category were used as a marker of cost of care., Results: The presence of the residency training program did not increase the cost of care as measured by test use and, for three of the six diagnoses, actually lowered the cost of care. This effect was most prominent in the evaluation of lumbosacral and cervical strain when the residency physicians ordered radiographs at a rate five and 2.3 times lower, respectively, than the previous group and in the approach to pharyngitis when they ordered throat cultures 2.8 times less frequently., Conclusion: As measured by selected test use for six common discharge diagnoses, the introduction of an emergency medicine residency program did not increase the cost of care in this urban community hospital ED.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the current status of clinical, educational, social, ethical, and resource issues related to the care of the elderly among practitioners of emergency medicine., Design: A mailed survey instrument., Setting: None., Type of Participants: Practicing emergency physicians randomly drawn from the membership list of the American College of Emergency Physicians., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: A total of 971 surveys were mailed, with 433 usable surveys among the 485 (50%) respondents. The surveyed emergency physicians anticipated a major impact on emergency department patient flow and bed availability in the hospital and ICU as the population ages. For each of seven clinical presentations (abdominal pain, altered mental status, chest pain, dizziness/vertigo, fever without a source, headache, multisystem trauma), 45% or more of the emergency physicians have more difficulty in the management of older compared with younger patients. Most respondents reported that each of these presentations required more time and resources for older patients. The majority believed research, the availability of continuing medical education, and time spent during residency training regarding geriatric emergency medicine was inadequate., Conclusion: Practicing emergency physicians are uncomfortable with elderly patients, and this may reflect the inadequacies of training, research, and continuing education in geriatric emergency medicine.

Study Objectives: To assess the impact of the introduction of an emergency medicine residency program on the quality of care in an urban community hospital emergency department., Design: A retrospective chart review of all ED encounters for a three-month period beginning six months before and six months after the introduction of an emergency medicine residency., Setting: A 27,000-visit-per-year urban community hospital ED., Type of Participants: All patients who presented to the ED with one of five complaints and subsequently were discharged home. The five presenting categories examined were nontraumatic chest pain when age 30 years or more, lower abdominal pain in women aged 15 to 40 years, recent head trauma, headache of nontraumatic origin, and extremity laceration., Interventions: None., Measurements and Main Results: The frequency of physician documentation on the ED record of explicit criteria related to the five presenting complaints was used as a measure of the quality of care. Items sought for documentation included elements of the history and physical examination and diagnostic evaluations. The explicit criteria lists were drawn from the literature, including clinical policy guidelines. For each of the presenting complaints evaluated, documentation of the majority of items reflecting the quality of care was higher during the residency period. In no instance did the level of documentation decrease., Conclusion: As measured by a process evaluation, documentation of the medical record, the introduction of an emergency medicine residency significantly improved the quality of care in this urban community hospital ED.

As part of an effort to reduce patient waiting time for laboratory results, the QBCII desktop CBC analyzer was evaluated in an emergency department. CBCs were performed by the emergency department staff (multiple observers) on 498 patients and by a single observer on 250 patients. Time required by the emergency department staff to obtain a CBC was 10.1 minutes compared with 47.8 minutes for the hospital laboratory. Correlation coefficients between hospital laboratory and QBCII were WBC 0.94, hematocrit 0.92, platelets 0.88, lymphocytes/monocytes 0.92, and granulocytes 0.90.