From: EMRA <EMRA@...>

Date: November 11, 2008 4:28:50 PM EST

To: Glenn Skow <glennskow@...>

Subject: What's Up In Emergency Medicine

Reply-To: emra@...

Emergency Medicine Foundation Awards – Deadline Dec 22, 2008 & Jan 5, 2009 The Emergency Medicine Foundation is excited to announce their 2009 – 2010 call for proposals. Awards available include EMF/SAEM Medical Student Research Grant, the EMF Research Fellow Grant, and the EMF/EMRA Resident Research Grant.   Morris Fishbein Fellowship in Medical Editing – Deadline January 2, 2009. Physicians interested in making a substantial commitment to medical editing are invited to apply for this full-time, one-year fellowship program on-site at the JAMA editorial offices in Chicago. A stipend of $51,500 will be provided. For an application form write to Richard M. Glass, MD; Morris Fishbein Fellowship in Medical Editing; The Journal of the American Medical Association; 515 N State St; Chicago, IL 60610 or email richard.glass@... NAEMSP Annual Meeting Jacksonville, FL January 22-24, 2009   CORD Conference Las Vegas, NV March 5-7, 2009   EMF/ACEP Teaching Fellowship: Session II Dallas, TX March 12-17, 2009   Leadership & Advocacy Conference Washington, D.C. April 19-22, 2009   SAEM Conference New Orleans, LA May 14-17, 2009   AMA Resident-Fellow-Student Annual Meeting Chicago, IL June 11-13, 2009   ACEP Scientific Assembly Boston, MA October 5-8, 2009   AMA Resident-Fellow-Student Interim Meeting Houston, TX November 5-7, 2009	EMRA Events at Scientific Assembly EMRA would like to thank all the residents and medical students that participated in events at Scientific Assembly, as well as the faculty that donated their time to improving residency education. The Residency Fair included more than 110 programs completely selling out all tables ahead of time. The Job Fair featured 212 tables representing a nice mix of democratic, academic, small and large contract management tables. Our resident-alumni luncheon budgeted for two hundred residents, had well over two hundred and fifty residents show up. Lastly, our EMRA party attracted over 750 people to Ruby Nightclub. Thanks to all who made this conference a success, and we look forward to doing it again next year in Boston!   2009 Antibiotic Guide Now Available!!! That’s right; the 2009 edition of EMRA’s Antibiotic Guide is available. Slimmer, up to date, and more inclusive; check your mailbox daily! All resident and alumni members will receive this FREE member benefit in the next coming weeks. Want to make sure you receive it in the mail? Ensure that your address is correct in our database and not simply your hospital’s department address. Updating this information with your address will also permit timely delivery of EM Resident, Annals of Emergency Medicine, and other essential publications. (Annals is not an EMRA publication) By the time you read this, the election is over, campaigns have analyzed the results, and we have a new president for the first time in eight years.  While massive reform efforts may not happen, small policy changes that could have a big impact on our careers may come.  Take a moment to prepare yourself for the next two years, as historic change may face medicine, regardless of the party that has taken power.  While we push for healthcare coverage for all of our patients, it cannot be at the expense of quality care, physicians’ ability to repay their loans, or continued research advancing the field of medicine.  It is only through our collective voice and efforts that we may help influence policy in a positive voice.  While we enter this new era of healthcare policy, we must be knowledgeable and skillful.  EMRA is working to provide the knowledge you will need in the form of an Advocacy Handbook to be available in the spring of 2009.  To improve your skills in negotiation, media interactions, and political persuasion, plan to attend the Leadership and Advocacy Conference in April 2009.  Last year 90+ EMRA resident members were present out of 400 total attendees.  Prepare your schedules now and take advantage of the time to be with us in Washington D.C. and make your voices heard! “Stayin Alive” Helps People Stay Alive Having trouble keeping your pace during compressions? Tired of correcting medical students and nurses to speed up/slow down their compressions? Next time try humming the beat of Stayin’ Alive. Its beat approximates 100 compressions per minute. Not your favorite tune? You can always use "Another One Bites the Dust." Read more from msnbc.   Placebo Prescribing Habits According to a recent article from the New York Times, half of all American doctors routinely use placebos in their prescribing habits. Mostly utilizing vitamins, antibiotics, and sedatives, they’re prescribed with the instructions of “a medicine not typically used for your condition but might benefit you.” The full study will be published shortly in the British Medical Journal.   Interview Season Begins Residents, are you ready for another interview season? Interviews start as early as mid-November and last as late as early-February. Be prepared for these bright-eyed students interviewing at your programs by reading about the issues important to them. Check out themedical student pearls to see what advice students are receiving. More importantly, is youremramatch.org webpage up-to-date? The new and improved databank is constantly being updated, revised, and improved after its release one year ago. Chief Residents, emailemramatchadmin@... to request your access to be a part of the only resident guide for medical students on residency programs.   Career Planning Guide, 2nd Edition This updated guide by Gus Garmel, MD provides all the important issues, details, and timelines for residents planning their career. Whether you’re an intern looking to put your CV together and figure out your immediate goals after residency, or a graduating resident looking to navigate interviews and hospital appointments, this book provides the framework to put your career in perspective. Check out EMRA’s bookstore for this and other pertinent books.   Contract Issues, 2nd Edition Another pertinent informational source for residents is the second edition of Contract Issues by Joseph P. Wood, MD, JD. Why wait to learn about contracts when you are ready to sign? Take the proactive approach and learn all you can now, so you are prepared for the next fork in the road. Check out our Amazon.com Store Front for this book and others.  ACEP Bookstore announces EMRA discount price on new ACEP-AHA textbook The EMRA resident and medical student member discount price of $109 is good through November 30 in the ACEP Bookstore, along with special offers on more than 30 other EM titles. Resident and medical student members can now buy The Textbook of Emergency Cardiovascular Care and CPR at a 15% discount. Just released on Monday, October 27, this new textbook was published by ACEP and the American Heart Association to help you manage any cardiovascular emergency. It includes the latest algorithms, evidence-based recommendations, and a companion Web site with procedure videos. Covers initial triage of ACS, ultrasonography, post-circulatory arrest management, post-cardiac arrest syndrome, stroke, and more. Edited by Amal Mattu, Mike Bresler, John Field, and several other emergency medicine educators. EMRA Medical Student Symposium The EMRA Medical Student Symposium held on Sunday October 26, 2008 during the ACEP Scientific Assembly was a huge success with over one hundred medical students in attendance. The symposium featured talks and tips from expert speakers and residency directors on the specialty of emergency medicine as well as how to be a competitive residency candidate. Check out the audio recordings of this event in case you missed it.   EMRA Student Mentorship Program When considering a specialty like emergency medicine, students may wonder: How will I know if emergency medicine is right for me? What does it take to be an emergency physician? How can I get involved and learn more? If you are a student asking these questions or a resident interested in helping students in their decision-making process, the EMRA student mentorship program is for you! The mentorship program provides medical students with a chance to interact with emergency medicine residents, ask questions, and seek advice about careers in emergency medicine. The program is open to all EMRA members regardless of their level of training. Visit the EMRA Resident-Student Mentorship for more details.   Preparing for the Interview Trail The interview season is quickly approaching for EM residency applicants. A successful interview requires careful planning and follow-up. The process begins before and continues well after the interview. Stress can affect one's interview, but careful preparation can help relieve the stress. Here are some simple tips for “acing” the interview. Three vs. Four-Year EM Residency Programs There are many factors to consider when choosing an EM residency program: geographic location, faculty, resident well-being and curriculum strengths and weaknesses, just to name a few. Perhaps the one that evokes the most discussion, however, is that of residency length. Three formats currently exist in ACGME accredited EM residency programs: three years of postgraduate training starting immediately after medical school (PGY 1 - 3 programs), four years of training immediately after medical school (PGY 1 - 4 programs), and three years of training after a separate year of internship (PGY 2 - 4 programs). Read about which type of training program is best for you.   ED Visits Hit All-Time High According to a recent report from the CDC, emergency department visits hit an all-time high of over 119 million visits in 2006, up from 115 million visits in 2005. Between 1986 and 1996, there was a thirty-two percent increase in the total number of ED visits, with an annual increase of approximately three million visits during that period. These increases in visits coupled with a decrease in available hospitals have resulted in longer wait times with a tremendous strain on available resources. Responding to the CDC report, ACEP Immediate-Past President Linda Lawrence, M.D. stated, "This report is very troubling, because it shows that care is being delayed for everyone, including people in pain and with heart attacks. That's why any efforts to reform health care must include resources to strengthen the nation's ERs, which are a critical, often life or death, part of our health care system." Check out the ACEP press release on the CDC report. Editor :  Joshua Moskovitz, MD, MPH President University of Maryland Medical Student Editor :  Chadd K. Kraus, MPH Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine Send e-mail or address changes to the Membership Department .  Send comments regarding What's Up in EM. Emergency Medicine Residents' Association  1125 Executive Circle, Irving , TX 75038-2522  www.EMRA.org Copyright © 2008 by the Emergency Medicine Residents' Association What's Up will occasionally include links providing direct access to internet sites other thanwww.EMRA.org. The Emergency Medicine Residents' Association takes no responsibility for the content or information contained on those sites and does not exert any editorial control over them.