May 26, 2020

Feature Film - How to Design and Deliver a Powerful Presentation

May 26, 2020/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

The need to effectively communicate your message during a presentation goes without saying (pun intended). Presentation mediums like Powerpoint and Keynote have the potential to help a speaker, but they too often serve as nothing more than containers for reams of text. “Death by Powerpoint!”, we joke to one another. So how do we improve? What are the core principles of preparation, design and delivery that make up a powerful presentation? In this post’s feature film, David Mackenzie, known for his engaging and powerful presentations, shares with us some of the ingredients in his secret sauce.

March 27, 2019

Feature Film - Window to the Heart- Point of Care Echocardiography

March 27, 2019/ Randy Kring, MD

We apologize that it has been so long since our last blog post . . . we were busy preparing for our annual Winter Symposium. What a fantastic year it was! It included an amazing point of care echocardiography extravaganza by the course’s ultrasound faculty. We covered core content, the 5 E’s of echocardiography, mastering the suprasternal notch, unlocking the apical four chamber view and tricuspid annular plane systolic excursion … phew! We are excited to roll out this content to you over the coming weeks, starting with Dr. Kring’s core content on point of care echocardiography.

November 08, 2018

Feature Film - Is There Evidence Behind the Management of Spontaneous Intracerebral Hemorrhage?

November 08, 2018/ Matthew S. Siket, MD, MS

Spontaneous intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) accounts for 10-15% of all strokes and affects ~65,000 patients annually in the US. The diagnosis may not be complicated, but the optimal treatment strategy can be a moving target. What is the current recommended blood pressure to limit hematoma expansion? Should we reverse anti-platelet medications? How about seizure prophylaxis? In this feature film, Dr. Siket reviews the evidence behind the optimal management of spontaneous ICH.

June 30, 2018

Feature Film(s) - Pediatric Point of Care Ultrasound in the Emergency Department

June 30, 2018/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Dr. Rachel Rempell is a pediatric emergency medicine physician in Boston, Massachusetts and is affiliated with Boston Children's Hospital. She is board certified in pediatrics, pediatric emergency medicine and completed an ultrasound fellowship with a focus on pediatrics. We were fortunate to have her as a guest speaker for our grand rounds where she gave us a tour of the current landscape of pediatric point of care ultrasound in emergency medicine.

May 10, 2018

Feature Film - Wound Care Pitfalls in the Emergency Department

May 10, 2018/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Matthew Delaney is an emergency physician who also helps run a wound care clinic. With these dual roles, he has gained a unique perspective on both acute and chronic wounds that present to the emergency department. In this feature film, he discusses some pearls and pitfalls of wound care in the emergency department.

March 30, 2018

Feature Film - Could There Be Light At The End Of The Behavioral Health Tunnel?

March 30, 2018/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Tomorrow, countless acute mental health patients will present to their local emergency department asking for help. Our typical response? Detain them for days until definitive resources are available. Ironic for a specialty whose defining characteristic is timely diagnosis and treatment. Door to balloon time for STEMI? t-PA for stroke within the window? Most emergency departments have complex operations, funding and resources to meet these goals. How about a door to psychiatric bed time? Not so much. Sadly, the behavioral health care crisis in this country is only getting worse. While the demands on emergency providers to treat these patients continues to rise, resources continue to decline. In this feature film, Dr. Kivela, current ACEP president, proposes some novel solutions to improve the care, cost and boarding times for this vulnerable population.

December 18, 2017

Feature Film - Myths and Misconceptions about Testicular Torsion

December 18, 2017/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Testicular torsion is present in approximately 3 – 17% of children brought to the ED with scrotal pain. It has a bimodal incidence in the first year of life and at puberty, when the rapid increase in testicular volume predisposes the testis to torsion. While not as common, it can also occur late into adult hood. Because the testicular salvage rate is time dependent, prompt recognition and diagnosis is an essential skill of the emergency provider. In this month's feature film, Dr. Jacob Avila busts some myths and misconceptions about testicular torsion.

November 06, 2017

Feature Film: D-dimer, Wells, PERC... Pitfalls of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis

November 06, 2017/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Dr. Ali Raja is the co-author for American College of Emergency Physicians and the American College of Physicians guidelines committee for pulmonary embolism. He was also voted the most outstanding speaker for our 2017 Maine Medical Center Winter Symposium. We chose to highlight his lecture - "D-dimer, Wells, PERC rule - Pearls and Pitfalls of Pulmonary Embolism Diagnosis" as our next feature film. In this lecture, Dr. Raja shares some pearls and pitfalls on the various tools at our fingertips for the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism.

August 30, 2017

Feature Film: Strep Throat - To Treat or Not to Treat? That is the question...

August 30, 2017/ Jeffrey A. Holmes, MD

Our very own Irish George Clooney shares some pediatric pearls as he discusses the pros and cons of testing for and treating streptococcal pharyngitis including: using the centor criteria in children, test characteristics of the rapid antigen detection test, risks, complications and potential benefits of treating versus not treating and how to discuss these issues with parents.