It’s July 1st. A brand new gaggle (gaggle: a flock of geese when not in flight) of residents has started at the hospital. The beginning of residency is a pretty stressful time, especially when the last few months of med school were on zoom. This year is certainly a little extra special. The end of med school is supposed to […]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of the challenges facing residents is continuing to receive high-quality learning during their training. Difficulties such as transitioning to a virtual platform, protecting residents from certain aerosol-generating procedures, and decreased patient volumes make it challenging for learners compared to the pre-COVID era. Here, we explore some strategies to help ensure that residents are progressing along […]
I’ve recently spent some time thinking about what it means to be a mentor. We’re often thrust into this role – with very little training on how to actually do this. I’ve been fortunate enough to be surrounded by a plethora of excellent mentors and residents, and have noted some clear observations on what seems to work well, beyond the evidence. This […]
One of the questions I am asked most frequently by learners is how they may improve and optimize their flow of patients in the Emergency Department (ED). I found through my education that this was not something implicitly taught, but absorbed by watching more senior staff work in the ED. Many things have been previously described and studied, such as […]
In the post, Dr. Edmund Kwok presents the Ottawa Morbidity and Mortality Model (OM3), and provides users with an helpful guide on how to implement change to effectively improve M&M rounds at any institution. OM3 Guide In modern medicine, the concept of keeping track of adverse events and reviewing them in hopes of preventing similar errors in the future has […]
A primer on this article: it is intended for use by healthcare professionals and patients. Many of the insights on therapy and non-medical management for patients with low back pain are provided by our guest author Halli Pedlow, a Registered Physiotherapist, with a handout available at the end of the article for patient care. Low back pain is one of […]
I wanted to share with you a brief history on how our Department of Emergency Medicine (DEM) at the University of Ottawa developed and evolved from what we called our Web 2.0 program to our current official Digital Scholarship and Knowledge Dissemination program. As far as I know, it’s one of the first in Canada, which has a stipend faculty […]
Before we delve into this, we would like to point out that we’re fortunate to have Dr. Paul Pageau (ER Physician and current CAEP president) and Dr. Lorne Wiesenfeld (ER Physician and current Vice-Dean for the PGME) guest writing our final post for wellness week. These two have an wealth of wisdom between them; with insights on how to maintain […]
Forget everything you’ve heard about mindfulness and “living in the moment.” These common phrases are overused, and at this point are laden with misunderstandings. Forget the pop-psychology one-liners about mindfulness, the cute little sayings, the iPhone apps, one week challenges and everything else you’ve heard. For the moment, forget everything you’ve ever heard about burnout and wellness. Forget about all […]
Trust the Process
“Trust the process” – a promise that our assistant Program Director (PD), Jen Leppard, makes on our first day of the EM year. I am new here, and I am nervous. But, as I walk into the ED, this feeling quickly vanishes, as I am reminded of what drew me to Ottawa in the first place – the teaching. Throughout […]