Thank you to Reuben Strayer for allowing me to reproduce his awesome content here. Check out his website at emupdates – return if worse for more emergency medicine content. Email me with comments or questions at Aaron@PracticalEMS.com
In emergency medicine we use a top-down approach. What does the patient need? Not, what does the patient have? 4 Responsibilities of the Emergency Physician: Resource stewardship – Not a lot of control over this variable Customer service – Evidence based medicine doesn’t equal good customer service. You must be able to communicate well with your patients and manage expectations appropriately. Symptom relief – Don’t forget to address the pain or symptom that the patient came in for while thinking through DDX and orders. Patient safety – Most of our time is spent here. Patient safety is resuscitation and identifying dangerous conditions Dr. Strayers system: Identify patients needing resuscitation and triage appropriately Identify dangerous conditions using HPI, physical exam, testing. This list is narrowed down by each step in the process. Have a plan for a negative workup as a positive work up will usually dictate a plan on its own. Run the board frequently and after seeing new patients. Place orders before charting Manage interruptions with a method that works for you. Multitasking isn’t possible. Expand work up if the HPI and physical exam are limited. Huge thanks to Reuben Strayer! Check out his website EMUpdates.com
