#FOAMed

Heidi Edmundson describes bringing Forum Theatre into the emergency department to explore communication, power and staff wellbeing. By replaying difficult situations with audience members trying alternative responses, the project gave colleagues a way to examine everyday tensions together and consider how interactions might change.

Simon Carley shares highlights from the 2018 BASICS North West conference, spanning prehospital care, sepsis, stroke research and support for clinicians. The report ends with his torso trauma discussion, covering changing interventions, paediatric injuries, assessment of shock and the challenges of care across the patient journey.

Does the speed or composition of intravenous rehydration affect neurological outcomes in children with DKA? This review examines the 2018 PECARN trial, its four fluid regimens and the limits of its findings. Simon Carley explains why challenging established assumptions does not remove the need for careful fluid management.

The final report from badEMfest 2018 brings together workshops on simulation, major incidents and venomous plants and animals, followed by talks on organ donation, cruise ship medicine and patient safety. Simon Carley and Natalie May reflect on the shared learning and connections that made the gathering memorable.

Preparing for Manchester’s 2018 festival season, this article explores the emergency consequences of MDMA and other recreational drugs, including hyperthermia and hyponatraemia. It connects clinical preparedness with harm reduction and the importance of responding to patients without judgement, rather than focusing only on the substances involved.

This 2018 announcement welcomes Salim Rezaie to the inaugural St Emlyn’s Live conference and the Teaching CoOp course in Manchester. It introduces his work with REBEL EM and previews his planned contribution on resuscitation beyond standard algorithms, alongside the event’s wider teaching programme.