Emergency Medicine

Ahead of SMACC Sydney in March 2019, Simon Carley reflects on the conference’s influence on medical education and the St Emlyn’s team. This archived preview looks at the programme, workshops and community built around FOAMed as SMACC prepared to return to where it began.

Natalie May rounds up apps discussed in the technology session at EMSA 2018. The selection spans clinical reference, simulation, ultrasound, professional learning and everyday organisation, with examples of how speakers used these tools in practice. It offers a snapshot of their digital toolkit at the time.

The July 2018 podcast roundup brings together journal club reviews of adrenaline in cardiac arrest and tamsulosin for renal colic with a guide to paronychia. Its written reading list also includes infinite game theory, a personal account of PTSD and an update on St Emlyn’s teaching events.

Could a supplement explain a troponin result that does not fit the clinical picture? Rick Body’s 2018 review explores biotin interference with some troponin assays, the importance of knowing the local test and why supplement histories and discussion with the laboratory can matter.

What stays with clinicians after a lesson learned the hard way? Natalie May reflects on an EMSA 2018 session covering handover, prehospital priorities, career values and preparation. Her own contribution examines implicit bias, privilege and the need to understand a patient’s perspective rather than assume it matches our own.

Natalie May revisits paronychia in the emergency department, from nail-fold anatomy and acute infection to drainage, antibiotics and follow-up. This 2018 review also distinguishes chronic paronychia, herpetic whitlow and more serious mimics, while acknowledging the limited evidence behind some familiar management approaches.