Latest posts

Revisiting his debate with Scott Weingart, Simon Carley asks whether emergency medicine can continue to be everything to everyone. This 2021 reflection considers the specialty's core work, increasing subspecialisation and the continuing need for generalists in less-supported settings.

Iain and Simon revisit October 2021 on the St Emlyn's blog and podcast. The episode notes point to CT coronary angiography, cauda equina assessment, the REST trial, paediatric conference highlights and a cardiac-output metaphor for patient flow.

Could a 14F pigtail catheter replace a larger chest drain for traumatic haemothorax? This 2021 appraisal examines a multicentre randomised trial, weighing drainage failure, patient discomfort and statistical uncertainty, with particular attention to the exclusion of patients needing immediate emergency drainage.

Dan Horner's Difficult Airway Society 2021 talk examines emergency airway management through three priorities: cardiovascular stability, oxygenation and first-pass success. The transcript connects the evidence with preparation, multidisciplinary teamwork and local systems that support safer care across departments.

Why do stories make such powerful teaching tools? Revisiting his EuSEM 2021 talk, Simon Carley explores how patient narratives engage learners and connect clinical experience with evidence, with an animation and links to his fuller discussion of storytelling.

Can cardiac output help explain patient flow? This article uses preload, contractility and afterload as a metaphor for arrivals, staff and resources, and exit block, showing why changes to one part of urgent care must account for the whole system.