CJEM Articles: Christine Meyers
Displaying 1-3 of 3 results
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January
2012
14
1
Christine Meyers, Joe Nemeth, Robin Cardamore
Objectives:
To quantify the current availability and use of bedside emergency department ultrasonography (EDUS) for blunt trauma at Canadian pediatric centres and to identify any perceived barriers to the use of bedside EDUS in such centres.
Methods:
An electronic survey was sent to 162 pediatric emergency physicians and 12 site directors from the 12 pediatric emergency departments across Canada.
Results:
Ninety-two percent (11 of 12) of centres completed the survey. The individual physician response rate was 65% (106 of 162), with 100% of site directors responding. Ultrasound machines were available in 45% (5 of 11) of centres. Forty-two percent (32 of 77) of emergency physicians working in equipped pediatric centres used bedside EDUS to evaluate blunt abdominal trauma (BAT). In the subgroup of staff who also worked at adults sites, the frequency of ultrasonography use for the evaluation of pediatric BAT was 75%. In the 55% (6 of 11) of centres without ultrasonography, 88% of staff intend to incorporate its use in the future and 81% indicated that they believed the incorporation of ultrasonography would have a positive impact on patient care. The main perceived barriers to the use of ultrasonography in the evaluation of BAT were a lack of training (41%) and a lack of equipment (26%).
Conclusion:
Bedside EDUS is currently used in almost half of pediatric trauma centres, a frequency that is significantly lower than adult centres. Physicians in pediatric centres who use ultrasonography report that it has a high utility, and a great majority of physicians at pediatric centres without EDUS plan to incorporate it in the future. The main reported barriers to its use are a lack of training and a lack of equipment availability.
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September
2011
13
5
Catherine Patocka, Christine Meyers, J. Scott Delaney
Introduction:
The ability to teach is a critical component of residency and future practice. This is recognized by the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada, which incorporates teaching functions into the CanMEDS competencies. The aim of our study was to identify how emergency medicine specialty programs across Canada prepare their residents for roles as teachers and to compare these results to those of other Royal College specialty programs.
Methods:
A 40-item English questionnaire was developed and translated into French. It was e-mailed to the program directors of all Royal College Emergency Medicine (EM), Anesthesia, Diagnostic Radiology, General Surgery, Internal Medicine, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, and Psychiatry residency programs. The survey asked what modalities were in use to teach residents how to teach and allowed respondents to comment on recent changes.
Results:
Twelve of 13 (92%) EM programs and 78 of 113 (69%) other specialty programs responded. All responding programs incorporated some kind of mandatory teaching responsibilities. Four of 12 (33%) EM programs reserved formal teaching functions for postgraduate year 3 and above, whereas only 7 of 78 (9%) other specialty programs did so. The remaining 71 of 78 (91%) non-EM specialty programs incorporated formal teaching functions in all years of residency. Six of 12 (50%) EM programs offered rotations in clinical medical education compared to only 11 of 78 (14%) other specialty programs.
Conclusions:
Canadian EM programs appear to differ from other specialty programs in the way that they develop residents-as-teachers. Half of EM programs offer rotations in clinical medical education, and many introduce formal teaching functions later in residency.
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July
2008
10
4
Christine Meyers, Eddy Lang, Julie Brahm
