Controversies: Welcome from the editors

Editorials / Commentaries

CJEM 1999;1(1):56

If everyone is thinking alike then somebody isn't thinking.
- G.S. Patton

Welcome to the Controversies Section of CJEM. This eclectic portion of the journal provides authors with a forum to discuss issues of interest to Canadian emergency physicians. We provide the platform to voice opinions... and to air responses.

Daily, emergency physicians are forced to balance scarce resources and patient care. Many emergency departments are overcrowded, poorly staffed and serve customers who have expectations that are difficult to meet. In our first article, Dr. David Mutrie presents one approach to dealing with chest pain patients in a resource-poor environment. The paper is a description and commentary on an evolving practice pattern in Thunder Bay, Ont.; it is not a peer-reviewed scientific article and does not provide the level of methodological description necessary for us to conclude that the information presented is valid or generalizeable to other settings.