Truth of the matter is that most of the emergencies in my tiny rural hospital ED are relatively straightforward – injured bones, psychiatric emergencies, infections, cardiac conditions and so on. Every now and then we are challenged with a patient requiring retrieval, but most of those need either meticulous monitoring, inotropic support or transfer to […]
Airway Plan & Kit Dump Read More »
Just got back from #smaccDUB – I chose not to speak this year and that was a GOOD decision – it allowed me time to actually wander around and soak up some of the high quality talks, as well as to socialise with like-minded colleagues from around the world. FOAMed is the passion which inspires
It’s Not About the Helicopter Read More »
There’s no doubt that for the small rural emergency department, a critically unwell patient can quickly overwhelm available resources. Like many small rural hospitals in Australia, there is one doctor on call for emergency presentations, with the ward-based nursing staff (two in out location) responsible for ward care, assessment of outpatient attendances as well as
Safety in Resus – Use the Whiteboard! Read More »
Safety is paramount in anaesthesia, wherever it is being performed (in theatre, in ED or at the roadside). Many of the non-anaesthetists joke about the apparent simplicity of induction agents in an RSI, without appreciating the nuances. RSI is easy! inject the big syringe first – induction then the little syringe – paralysis By far the
Big Syringe, Little Syringe Read More »
I’ve been playing around with cognitive aids such as checklists and action cards for a couple of years (some are available via the RESOURCES section of this site or RURALDOCTORS.NET. Most of these were designed for handing off to nursing staff in the rural ED, partly to mitigate against the phenomenon of people disappearing off to the ‘big
Updated RERN Action Cards Read More »