#FOAMed

An archived invitation to Victoria Brazil’s Manchester talk on 14 August 2014, ‘Talking, Teaching and Technology’. The post introduces the event and reflects on her presentation skills and educational approach, with a link to her earlier SMACC talk on timing, tribes and STEMIs.

Starting work in the emergency department can require a different way of thinking. In this 2014 induction podcast, Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley discuss focused assessment, uncertainty, resuscitation and pain relief, alongside asking for help and learning from conversations with senior colleagues.

Could bedside ultrasound improve the assessment of patients with acute breathlessness? This 2014 journal club examines a randomised trial, separating improved diagnostic accuracy from evidence of better patient outcomes and considering how patient selection and reliance on a single ultrasound operator limit the findings.

An archery metaphor opens a 2014 discussion about targets in emergency medicine. The accompanying podcast asks whether targets inevitably distort care or can be used to improve services, with reflections on short-stay medicine, departmental pressures and keeping the interests of patients and staff in view.

Do emergency department targets help patients or encourage the wrong priorities? In this 2014 podcast, Iain Beardsell and Simon Carley weigh the benefits of the four-hour standard against capacity pressures, administrative work and rushed decisions, asking how clinical leaders can use targets to improve care.

Rick Body discusses a 2014 study of emergency physicians’ judgement in suspected acute coronary syndromes. He explores the limitations of clinical judgement alone, the potential contribution of ECG and troponin results, and why promising findings still required validation before being used as a discharge strategy.