EM Pulse Podcast™

In our last episode, we discussed several factors that lead to emergency department crowding, as well as the consequences for patients and providers, as presented in a recent commentary in NEJM Catalyst. We continue the conversation with one of the authors of the article, Dr. Deb Diercks, focusing on potential solutions.   Is your ED overcrowded? How is your hospital handling it? Connect with us o...

If you’ve been in the emergency department recently, either as an employee or as a patient, you’ve undoubtedly seen the effects of ED crowing – busy waiting rooms, long wait times, and delays in care, just to name a few. In part one of this two part series, we discuss some of the factors that lead to ED crowding and boarding of admitted patients, as well as some of the consequences. Stay tun...

General EM physicians are well trained to care for kids, and most of us care for them regularly in the ED. Usually it’s for common things like viral upper respiratory infections or playground injuries. But every once in a while, a critically ill or injured child comes in. Are you ready? Is your ED ready? Do you have tiny endotracheal tubes and nurses who can place IVs in those tiny veins? What els...

It’s no secret that the U.S. population is aging. We are fully aware of this in the ED, where many of our sickest patients are older adults. But what many general EM providers don’t realize is just how different our elderly patients’ needs may be. In this episode, we talk with Geriatric Emergency Medicine specialist, Dr. Jennifer Kristjansson, about some health concerns that predominantly affect o...

It’s time for another COVID-19 update! This time from PERN, the international Pediatric Emergency Research Network. Dr. Nate Kuppermann joins us to talk about a recently published study on kids with COVID. This multinational, prospective study looked at a large cohort of children who presented to EDs with COVID concerns. We discuss the findings, which kids we can feel good about discharging, and w...

Happy New Year! Well, 2021 may not have been quite the year we hoped for, and 2022 is off to a bit of a rough start with the omicron variant.   But we’ve been fortunate to have some amazing guests on the podcast and we’ve learned a lot – we hope you have, too! In this episode, we follow up with experts from some of the episodes that really stuck with us. We get updates on COVID vaccinations...

As Emergency Physicians, we are well equipped to deal with patients’ acute medical needs, but we often find ourselves without the knowledge or time to deal with many of our patients’ other needs. For social, financial, mental health, and substance use disorders, we lean heavily on other members of our ED team. In this episode, we explore one of the newer roles in this team, the ED Substance Abuse...

Emergency Medicine training can lead to amazing career opportunities. We’ve interviewed world renowned researchers, global health physicians, doctors who specialize in policy and advocacy, among others – but what about space medicine?! In this special episode, Dr. John Rose guest hosts to interview his friend and colleague, Dr. Jen Law. Dr. Law is a UC Davis EM graduate and Aerospace Medicin...

If you’re an emergency physician, or have goals of becoming one, you have probably heard about ACEP’s workforce study. The findings first came out in April 2021, and were followed by a full paper in Annals of Emergency Medicine in August. The bottom line is that there is a predicted surplus of EM physicians of over 7,800 by 2030. How did we find ourselves here? What does this mean? And what should...

By the end of October 2021, almost 6.4 million children tested positive for COVID-19…6.4 million. In our first ever crossover podcast we discuss with Kids Considered host and Peds ID Dr. Dean Blumberg we discuss the recently approved pediatric COVID-19 vaccine! We are planning to get our kids vaccinated. Are you? 💉 Share your questions and concerns with us   on social media,   @empulsepodcast, or...

It’s no secret that COVID-19 hit the healthcare world hard, especially those on the frontlines. The best defense we have against this virus are vaccines. As you’ve heard on previous episodes, studies show the vaccines are safe and effective. Across the country, and especially in California, an overwhelming majority of ED physicians, and most ED nurses and support staff, have chosen to get vaccinat...

Let’s talk about gender equality in PEM.   Our guests are two PEM physicians who are creating innovative solutions to workforce inequality.   Host: Dr. Julia Magaña , Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Health Guests:   Dr. Lindsey Barrick, Assistant Professor at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, Vice-Chair of the Women in PEM AAP Subcommittee Dr. Mariju Ba...

TeamSTEPPS is a curriculum designed for health care professionals that emphasizes good communication and teamwork. This toolkit is evidence based and available for free from the AHRQ and we use it at UC Davis to improve communication, teamwork and patient safety. In this episode we talk with our TeamSTEPPS champions about the curriculum and how we can be better team members. Share with us on @empu...

Here we highlight lessons learned about youth violence prevention and what you can do now, on your next shift to prevent violent injuries in youth. Dr. Joe Wright is an accomplished leader in Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician and is a compelling voice for violence prevention. Hosts: Dr. Julia Magaña , Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Davis Guest:   Dr. Joesph L. Wrigh...

The opioid epidemic gets a lot of attention, but methamphetamine use may actually affect more of our patients in the emergency department. Those of us who work in the ED are all too familiar with the agitated delirium that meth can cause, as well as the long term effects, like heart failure. In this episode, we hear one woman’s story of her experience with methamphetamines and how substance use ne...

In part 2 on workplace violence Brian describes when he was attacked at work and Dr. Aimee Moulin and Dr. Amy Barnhorst talk about how to cope with the threat of violence on a shift.  What can we do?  What do you do in your department to create a safe place? How do you protect yourself?  Share your experience with us on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com . ***Plea...

Recently, we’ve explored how violence can affect our patients. Now, let’s how explore how we as emergency medicine providers are affected by violence in our own department. In part I of this two part series, we talk with UC Davis ED Charge Nurse and Assistant Nurse Manager, Brian Stroben, about workplace violence – what it is, how it affects us, and some things we can do to mitigate risk and...

Do you have a similar program where you work, or are you interested in learning more about how to start one? Share your experiences and questions with us on social media, @empulsepodcast, or through our website, ucdavisem.com . ***Please rate us and leave us a review on iTunes! It helps us reach more people.*** Hosts: Dr. Julia Magaña , Associate Professor of Pediatric Emergency Medicine at UC Dav...

In the emergency department, we treat violently injured patients on nearly every shift. We can splint the broken bones, stitch up the cuts, and send seriously injured patients to the operating room with our surgical colleagues. We may be able to heal the physical wounds, but what about the emotional ones? And what happens to our patients when they go home to the same potentially unhealthy environm...

***Trigger warning: this episode includes discussion of child abuse*** This is a follow up episode that dives deeper on why a bruised baby is worrisome, important aspects of a social history, and screening for abuse in the ED.  Please listen to our first episode “ It Could Have Been Different ” for more!  Have you used TEN-4 FACESp to identify potential non-accidental trauma? Share your experience...

Trauma Informed Care 101 Trauma informed care has become quite the buzz word in medicine, and especially in emergency medicine.   But what does it mean? Why should you care? How can you use it on a shift?   We’ll address these questions and more with experts, Dr. Angela Jarman, Dr. Bryn Mumma, and our own Dr. Julia Magaña. What is a way you incorporate trauma informed care into your practice? Shar...

Our first EM Pulse podcast called “Pot Tarts” was on marijuana legalization in California and ingestion in kids. In this episode we circle back to THC in kids with Dr. James Chenoweth on a an update of what has happened since legalizations.   Have you seen an uptick in THC ingestions in children since legalization? Share your ideas and experiences with us on social media, @empulsepodcast, or throu...

***Trigger warning: this episode includes discussion of child abuse*** As emergency physicians, we are uniquely positioned to identify and address child abuse, or non-accidental trauma (NAT). It’s a challenging part of our job, but our vigilance can save a child’s life. Signs of abuse can often be subtle, but there are some very specific findings that should make us consider NAT. In this episode,...

Happy spring, everyone! This Heartbeat is all about joy and community, so come along with me to Macedonia Baptist Church in Sacramento, California, where community leaders, Pastor Jeffrey Johnson and Derrell Roberts, teamed up with Dr. Kevin Mackey, Medical Director for Sacramento Regional Fire, and UC Davis Emergency Medicine providers to offer COVID vaccinations to the local community. Equitable...

Last month, Dr. Josh Elder spoke with us about how UC Davis Express Care allows patients to see a doctor via virtual urgent care visits. In this episode, we explore a different side of telemedicine: teleconsults. Dr. Jim Marcin is Director of the UC Davis Center for Health and a pioneer in telemedicine. As a Pediatric Critical Care Physician, Dr. Marcin has been facilitating teleconsults for physi...