Medical Student Council President’s Message Spotlight On Leaders in Emergency Medicine: Tom Scaletta, MD FAAEM

Tom Scaletta, MD FAAEM

Originally Published: Common Sense, November/December 2012
Original Author: Mary Calderone, MS3
AAEM/RSA Medical Student Council President

The “Spotlight On” Series re-started by Dr. Leana S. Wen, AAEM/RSA President, will be continued this year by Mary Calderone, AAEM/RSA medical student council president. The “Spotlight On” Series features interviews with leaders in emergency medicine. The seventh installment is a conversation with a leader in EM and AAEM: Dr. Tom Scaletta. Dr. Scaletta is chair and medical director for Edward Hospital ED in Naperville, IL, and served as AAEM’s president from 2006-2008.


MC: What is your current position, and how did you get to it?
Dr. Scaletta: My first job was at San Francisco General (a county hospital/trauma center). We were a division of surgery and without our own EM residency program. I did work with many brilliant UCSF

Resident Journal Review: An Update on Airway Management in Emergency Medicine

Originally Published: Common Sense, Nov/Dec 2012

Original Authors: Authors: Michael Allison, MD; Michael Scott, MD; Kami Hu, MD; David Bostick, MD; Daniel Boutsikaris, MD

Edited by: Michael C. Bond, MD FAAEM; Jay Khapde, MD FAAEM

 There are few clinical skills as important to the emergency physician as emergency airway management. The field of airway management is constantly changing, and the practicing physician must keep abreast of the current trends in laryngoscopy, medication management, prehospital intubation, and the potential complications of intubation. Reviewed here are some of the key airway-related articles published over the past two years.

Direct Laryngoscopy Compared to Video Laryngoscopy

A Young Emergency Physician Appreciates the History of US Emergency Medicine Through the Lens of China's Emergency Departments

Originally Published: Common Sense, November/December 2012 
Original Author: Leana Wen, MD MSc, AAEM/RSA President

I’m a senior EM resident — a young emergency physician, part of the “new breed” that’s always known emergency physicians to be residency trained, and EM as a well-respected field. Being part of AAEM, I’ve heard our leaders talk about the struggles they had in establishing our specialty, but I didn’t have a sense of what they actually went through. Why is it that they so dislike the term “emergency room” and cringe at references to “ER doctors?”

The Value of Emergency Medicine - How an Emergency Medicine Resident Needed the ED

Originally Published: Common Sense, September/October 2012
Original Author: Leana Wen, MD MSc, AAEM/RSA President

As emergency physicians who are trained in acute resuscitation and thrive in high-stress situations, we tend to roll our eyes at the less acute complaints our patients come in with. “Back pain for three months? Headache for a week? Why are they here now?” I admit that I’ve grumbled about the so-called “inappropriate use of the ED,” especially in the wee hours of the morning.

Resident Journal Review: Pulmonary Embolism

Originally Published: Common Sense Sep/Oct 2012

Original Authors: Susan Cheng, MD MPH; Jonathan Yeo, MD; Eli Brown, MD; Allison Regan, MD

Edited by: Michael C. Bond, MD FAAEM; Jay Khadpe, MD FAAEM

This Resident Journal Review focuses on pulmonary embolism (PE), a disease that remains a considerable diagnostic challenge for the emergency physician given its high risk for significant morbidity and mortality.

Medical Student Council President’s Message Spotlight On Leaders in Emergency Medicine: Gus Garmel, MD FAAEM

Gus Garmel, MD FAAEM

Originally Published: Common Sense, September/October 2012
Original Author: Mary Calderone, MS3
AAEM/RSA Medical Student Council President

The “Spotlight On” series re-started by Dr. Leana S. Wen, AAEM/RSA president, will be continued this year by Mary Calderone, AAEM/RSA Medical Student Council President. The “Spotlight On” series highlights interviews with leaders in emergency medicine about their experiences, perspectives, and insights. The sixth installment is a conversation with a leader in EM and AAEM, Dr. Gus Garmel. Dr. Garmel is Co-Program Director of the Stanford/Kaiser EM residency program, Medical Student Clerkship Director (Surg 313D, Stanford University School of Medicine), and senior emergency physician at Kaiser Santa Clara. Dr. Garmel has received numerous teaching awards, including both the Peter Rosen Award from AAEM and the Program Director of the Year Award from AAEM/RSA.

A Senior Resident's Perspective on International Emergency Medicine

Originally Published: Common Sense, July/August 2012
Original Author: Leana Wen, MD MSc, AAEM/RSA President

International emergency medicine (IEM) is one of the most popular subspecialties in our field. As a senior resident, I have seen many a trainee light up when I discuss IEM. But even though IEM is a great buzzword, it can mean different things to different people. Does it refer to a clinical rotation to see how EM is practiced in other parts of the world? How about developing emergency systems or providing humanitarian relief? Where does research or teaching fit in? In my first president’s column, I want to share my passion for IEM with you by providing some guidance and advice that I wish I had received when I was first drawn into IEM.

The Advancing Role of Technology in Emergency Medicine Education and Training; An Interview with Mel Herbert, MD FAAEM

Originally Published: Common Sense, July/August 2012
Original Author: Ali Farzad, MD

Mel Herbert, MD FAAEM

We are in an age of information explosion, overloaded by an expanding knowledge base that is accelerating at an unprecedented rate. It has been estimated that the world’s body of knowledge will double every 35 days by 2015. (1,2) Physicians in particular must be able to process this ongoing onslaught of newly discovered information throughout their careers. As new information arrives and replaces the old, the knowledge base of physicians must be supplemented with new training and opportunities for continued learning. Discovering how to obtain and sustain lifelong learning will be critically important to modern physicians.

The Advancing Role of Technology in Emergency Medicine Education and Training: Interview with Scott Weingart, MD

Originally Published: Common Sense, July/August 2012
Original Author: Ali Farzad, MD
AAEM/RSA Publications Committee Chair
Linda J. Kesselring, MS ELS, Copyeditor

      

Scott Weingart, MD

This article marks the third in a series that highlights the use of technology in emergency medicine (EM) education and the resources that will make your learning more efficient and effective. In previous interviews with other leaders in EM education — Dr. Mel Herbert and Dr. Amal Mattu — we learned how to incorporate the use of websites, podcasts, and EKG videos to stay current with medical information and save more lives. Continuing that theme, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Scott Weingart, an ED intensivist and host of one of the hottest EM blogs and podcasts, EMCrit (www.emcrit.org).