Gloria J. Kuhn

Peripheral vs central circulation times during CPR: A pilot study

The circulation time during closed chest cardiac compression was studied using Cardio-Green injected in either the right antecubital vein or right subclavian vein during CPR. Arterial blood was obtained from a right femoral arterial catheter at 30-second intervals for five minutes following injection. Six patients, in two groups, comprised the study population. The arterial sample for Cardio-Green after central venous injection revealed a high concentration of the dye at 30 seconds and an emerging second peak at five minutes. After peripheral injection, no peak concentration of the dye was achieved during the five-minute sampling method. Our preliminary study indicates reduced concentrations and significant delay in arrival of injected agents that are introduced at a peripheral intravenous site during closed chest compression.

Tolerance for Uncertainty, Burnout, and Satisfaction With the Career of Emergency Medicine

STUDY OBJECTIVE Questions about burnout, career satisfaction, and longevity of emergency physicians have been raised but no studies have examined tolerance for uncertainty as a risk factor for burnout. Primary objectives of this study are to assess the role of uncertainty tolerance in predicting career burnout and to estimate the proportion of emergency physicians who exhibit high levels of career burnout. METHODS A mail survey incorporating validated measures of career satisfaction, tolerance for uncertainty, and burnout was sent to a random sample of members of the American College of Emergency Physicians. Best- and worst-case scenarios of point estimates are provided to assess for the effect of nonresponse bias, and multivariable logistic regression was used to predict evidence of career burnout. RESULTS One hundred ninety-three surveys were returned (response rate 43.1%). A high level of career burnout was exhibited in 62 (32.1%; best-worst case 13.8% to 64.1%) respondents. No demographic variables were associated with burnout status. The final model identified that high anxiety caused by concern for bad outcomes (odds ratio=6.35) was the strongest predictor of career burnout, controlling for all other variables. CONCLUSION A large percentage of emergency physicians in this study, 32.1%, exhibited emotional exhaustion, which is the core symptom of burnout. Emotional exhaustion was not related to age or type of practice and was not mitigated by training in emergency medicine. Physicians studied did not feel anxiety because of general uncertainty, difficulty in disclosing uncertainty to patients, or admitting errors to other physicians. High anxiety caused by concern for bad outcomes was the strongest predictor of burnout. Despite exhibiting emotional exhaustion, the majority of respondents are satisfied with the career of emergency medicine.

Faculty development: the educator's portfolio: its preparation, uses, and value in academic medicine.

The educators portfolio is of value for both university and community-based academic faculty. It can be used to document scholarly activity and teaching and to prepare for periodic evaluations. Many faculty members use it to assist them in managing their careers and to reflect on activities and teaching efforts to ensure continued growth in competency as teachers. Promotion and tenure committees of many institutions now use this document to aid them in making promotion decisions.

Strategies for coping with stress in emergency medicine: Early education is vital

Introduction: Physician burnout has received considerable attention in the literature and impacts a large number of emergency medicine physicians, but there is no standardized curriculum for wellness in resident education. A culture change is needed to educate about wellness, adopt a preventative and proactive approach, and focus on resiliency. Discussion: We describe a novel approach to wellness education by focusing on resiliency rather than the unintended endpoint of physician burnout. One barrier to adoption of wellness education has been establishing legitimacy among emergency medicine (EM) residents and educators. We discuss a change in the language of wellness education and provide several specific topics to facilitate the incorporation of these topics in resident education. Conclusion: Wellness education and a culture of training that promotes well-being will benefit EM residents. Demonstrating the impact of several factors that positively affect emergency physicians may help to facilitate alert residents to the importance of practicing activities that will result in wellness. A change in culture and focus on resiliency is needed to adequately address and optimize physician self-care.

Diagnosis and follow-up of Chlamydia trachomatis infections in the ED

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact on patient care and the cost effectiveness of testing for chlamydial infection in the emergency department. All patients tested for chlamydial infection in three emergency departments between October 1, 1993 and January 31, 1994 were retrospectively reviewed for charges and adequacy of therapy. In one hospital, the effectiveness of a call-back system to enhance proper therapy of inadequately treated patients was evaluated. Of 2,416 test results, 249 were positive, and 197 of these charts were available for review. All 16 male patients were treated appropriately at the initial visit; 105 of 181 female patients were inadequately treated at the initial visit. The charge to identify each patient inadequately treated was

Critical appraisal of emergency medicine educational research: the best publications of 2009.

981.22 (

The CORD Academy for Scholarship in Education in Emergency Medicine

103,000 for 105). Of the 28 inadequately treated patients receiving a follow-up call, 20 sought treatment. The high cost of testing patients cannot be justified without an adequate surveillance system to enhance proper follow-up treatment.

Critical Appraisal of Emergency Medicine Educational Research: The Best Publications of 2009: EM EDUCATION RESEARCH 2009

OBJECTIVES The objective was to critically appraise and highlight medical education research published in 2012 that was methodologically superior and whose outcomes were pertinent to teaching and education in emergency medicine (EM). METHODS A search of the English language literature in 2012 querying Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), PsychInfo, PubMed, and Scopus identified EM studies using hypothesis-testing or observational investigations of educational interventions. Two reviewers independently screened all of the publications and removed articles using established exclusion criteria. This year, publications limited to a single-site survey design that measured satisfaction or self-assessment on unvalidated instruments were not formally reviewed. Six reviewers then independently ranked all remaining publications using one of two scoring systems depending on whether the study methodology was primarily qualitative or quantitative. Each scoring system had nine criteria, including four related to methodology, that were chosen a priori, to standardize evaluation by reviewers. The quantitative study scoring system was used previously to appraise medical education published annually in 2008 through 2011, while a separate, new qualitative study scoring system was derived and implemented consisting of parallel metrics. RESULTS Forty-eight medical education research papers met the a priori criteria for inclusion, and 33 (30 quantitative and three qualitative studies) were reviewed. Seven quantitative and two qualitative studies met the criteria for inclusion as exemplary and are summarized in this article. CONCLUSIONS This critical appraisal series aims to promote superior education research by reviewing and highlighting nine of the 48 major education research studies with relevance to EM published in 2012. Current trends and common methodologic pitfalls in the 2012 papers are noted.

A Novel Specialty-Specific, Collaborative Faculty Development Opportunity in Education Research: Program Evaluation at Five Years.

In 2010 the Council of Emergency Medicine Residency Directors (CORD) established an Academy for Scholarship in Education in Emergency Medicine to define, promote, recognize, and reward excellence in education, education research, and education leadership in emergency medicine. In this article we describe the mission and aims of the Academy. Academies for medical educators are widespread in medical schools today and have produced many benefits both for faculty and for educational programs. Little effort, however, has been devoted to such a model in graduate medical education specialty societies. While CORD and other emergency medicine organizations have developed numerous initiatives to advance excellence in education, we believe that this effort will be accelerated if housed in the form of an Academy that emphasizes scholarship in teaching and other education activities. The CORD Academy for Scholarship in Education in Emergency Medicine is a new model for promoting excellence in education in graduate medical education specialty societies.

Optimizing Resident Training: Results and Recommendations of the 2009 Council of Residency Directors Consensus Conference

OBJECTIVES The objective was to critically appraise and highlight methodologically superior medical education research specific to emergency medicine (EM) published in 2009. METHODS A search of the English language literature in 2009 querying Ovid MEDLINE In-Process & Other Non-Indexed Citations, Ovid MEDLINE 1950 to Present, Web of Science, Education Resources Information Center (ERIC), and PsychInfo identified 36 EM studies that used hypothesis-testing or observational investigations of educational interventions. Six reviewers independently ranked all publications based on 10 criteria, including four related to methodology, that were chosen a priori to standardize evaluation by reviewers. This was a refinement of the methods used to appraise medical education published in 2008. RESULTS Seven studies met the standards as determined by the averaged rankings and are highlighted and summarized here. This year, 16 of 36 (44%) identified studies had funding, compared to 11 of 30 (36%) identified last year; five of seven (71%) highlighted publications were funded in 2009 compared to three of five (60%) highlighted in 2008. Use of technology in medical education was reported in 14 identified and four highlighted publications, with simulation being the most common technology studied. Five of the seven (71%) featured publications used a quasi-experimental or experimental design, one was observational, and one was qualitative. Practice management topics, including patient safety, efficiency, and revenue generation, were examined in seven reviewed studies. CONCLUSIONS Thirty-six medical education publications published in 2009 focusing on EM were identified. This critical appraisal reviews and highlights seven studies that met a priori quality indicators. Current trends are noted.