Journal Club - Physician Depression and Suicide

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Journal Club - Physician Depression and Suicide

Suicide is disturbingly prevalent among patients we care for in the Emergency Department. It is unfortunately also common among physicians. Most estimates suggest that approximately 400 physicians die by suicide annually. Physicians also have a higher rate of suicide than the general population. Male physicians have a 40% increased risk of suicide compared to their age-matched peers and female physicians have a 130% increased risk. We chose this topic for Journal Club with the goals to raise awareness around these shocking statistics, discuss etiologies behind these high rates of suicide and to normalize the discussion around physician mental health.

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Journal Club - Pain management of Renal Colic

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Journal Club - Pain management of Renal Colic


Renal colic is a commonly encountered diagnosis in the emergency department that is known to cause significant pain. In clinical practice, the initial goal is prompt pain management while simultaneously working to confirm the suspected diagnosis. Because of the severity and acuity of the pain associated with renal colic, opioid pain management has often been used. Given the overall goal of reducing the use of opioid pain medications, emergency physicians have been working to identify alternative pain management strategies with agents such ketorolac and lidocaine. In this journal club, we examine the evidence in support of these treatment strategies.

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Journal Club - Gender Bias and Discrimination in emergency medicine training

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Journal Club - Gender Bias and Discrimination in emergency medicine training

On January 23rd, 1849 Elizabeth Blackwell became the first female graduate of a US medical school, graduating from Geneva College in New York as the Valedictorian of her class. Despite the passage of 172 years from that remarkable moment, female physicians continue to face both implicit and explicit gender bias within the medical profession and culture. This journal club examined the impact of gender bias on female emergency medicine trainees.

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Journal Club - Tranexamic Acid in Trauma

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Journal Club - Tranexamic Acid in Trauma

The use of TXA in the care of the trauma patient has become prevalent since the publication of the MATTERs and CRASH-2 studies which demonstrated significant mortality benefits in trauma patients who received early TXA after admission. Since these publications, there continues to be several additional questions regarding its TXA: 1) If earlier treatment with TXA for the trauma patient is better, would there be benefit in its administration in the prehospital setting? 2) Is there benefit to the use of TXA in patients with TBI to prevent the progression and subsequent morbidity and mortality? 3) Lastly, does TXA carry a significant risk for side effects, including venous thromboembolic events? This journal club reviewed four articles that aim to answer these questions.

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Pediatric Diarrhea with Dr. Jay Larmon

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Pediatric Diarrhea with Dr. Jay Larmon

Kids poop. Most of the time it is benign (aside from the blowouts, the wiping, cleaning and changing of clothes). Occassionaly, pediatric diarrhea has a more serious etiology. In this interview with pediatrician Dr. Jay Larmon we go over the spectrum of pediatric diarrhea, from the '“A-okay” to the “not-so-right” . . . and everything in between.

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Academics for the Community Provider- Bringing quality and longevity to your career

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Academics for the Community Provider- Bringing quality and longevity to your career

In medicine we often draw a solid line between community and academic medicine, but this is likely a fallacy. In fact there is a huge amount of academia that can be found and thrive in a community hospital. In this interview we talk with Dr. Salim Rezaie of the REBEL EM blog and podcast, a man who has walked both sides of this imaginary line between community and academics. In our chat we discuss ways to get involved in academics in the community and the vast array of rewards that come with that, including improved patient care, increased fervor for your work, decreased burnout, and increased career longevity.

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