Emergency Medicine

The St Emlyn’s team looks back at days two and three of SMACC Chicago 2015 in this podcast round-up. The accompanying post gathers links to conference resources and fellow educators, remembers John Hinds and records the announcement of the following year’s Dublin meeting.

Could patient-controlled analgesia improve ongoing pain relief after arrival in the emergency department? This 2015 journal club examines the two PASTIES trials, comparing abdominal pain and traumatic injury, and discusses their differing results, pragmatic design and the limitations of unblinded pain assessment.

Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley use a hypothetical injured motorcyclist to explore trauma team leadership in this 2015 podcast. The discussion follows handover, task allocation, communication and preparation for CT, considering how a team can coordinate simultaneous work while keeping the patient’s priorities in view.

Liz Crowe explores the question grieving people often ask: ‘Am I normal?’ Written to accompany her podcast with Iain Beardsell, this reflection describes the varied, unpredictable experience of loss and the importance of connection, gentleness towards yourself and seeking help when needed.

Remembering John Hinds through his SMACC Chicago 2015 talk, ‘Crack the Chest. Get Crucified.’ This brief tribute shares the recording and thanks the conference team for making his teaching available to the wider FOAMed community.

After attending SMACC Chicago in 2015, Janos Baombe reflects on what an in-person conference offered beyond its online coverage. His five reasons centre on learning, meeting colleagues, reconnecting with friends, finding motivation for change and taking part in workshops, with practical reflections for first-time delegates.