Latest posts

Why do unfinished jobs keep occupying our attention during a busy shift? This introduction to cognitive ‘bandwidth’ explores working memory, interruptions and the Zeigarnik effect, considering how unresolved tasks and growing expertise can influence the mental resources available for emergency care.

Can website traffic and social-media popularity tell us how useful FOAMed is? This critique examines the Social Media Index’s measures and their limitations. A 2017 update softens the original criticism, recognising the index’s contribution to developing academic approaches to online education.

A January 2016 introduction to the emerging Zika outbreak for UK emergency clinicians. The post discusses travel history, symptoms, alternative diagnoses and public-health support, alongside the concerns then developing around pregnancy and neurological complications. It records the outbreak’s early context rather than current travel advice.

Vic Brazil and Sandra Viggers join St.Emlyn's for a review of the international medical simulation conference in San Diego, California.

This 2016 teaching update explores fascia iliaca blocks for hip-fracture pain, combining anatomy, landmark and ultrasound approaches with discussion of local-anaesthetic safety and the supporting evidence. Videos and an infographic accompany the authors’ reflections on introducing regional analgesia into emergency department practice.

Why might the immediate fear of a missed diagnosis outweigh the less visible harms of unnecessary testing? Simon Carley explores ‘risk proximity’, distinguishing risks to patients from risks to clinicians and asking how their timing can distort decisions in the emergency department.