Geographic Location and Corporate Ownership of Hospitals in Relation to Unfilled Positions in the 2023 Emergency Medicine Match.

Introduction: In the 2023 National Resident Matching Program (NRMP) match, there were 554 unfilled emergency medicine (EM) positions before the Supplemental Offer and Acceptance Program (SOAP). We sought to describe features of EM programs that participated in the match and the association between select program characteristics and unfilled positions. Methods: The primary outcome measures included the proportion of positions filled in relation to state and population density, hospital ownership type, and physician employment model. Secondary outcome measures included comparing program-specific attributes between filled and unfilled programs, including original accreditation type, year of original accreditation, the total number of approved training positions, length of training, urban-rural designation, hospital size by number of beds, resident-to-bed ratio, and the percentage of disproportionate share patients seen. Results: The NRMP Match had 276 unique participating EM programs with 554 unfilled positions. Six states offered 52% of the total NRMP positions available. Five states were associated with two-thirds of the unfilled positions. Public hospitals had a statistically significant higher match rate (88%) when compared to non-profit and for-profit hospitals, which had match rates of 80% and 75%, respectively (P < 0.001). Programs with faculty employed by a health system had the highest match rate of 87%, followed by clinician partnerships at 79% and private equity groups at 68% (P < 0.001 overall and between all subgroups). Conclusion: The 2023 match in EM saw increased rates in the number of residency positions and programs that did not fill before the SOAP. Public hospitals had higher match rates than for-profit or non-profit hospitals. Residency programs that employed academic faculty through the hospital or health system were associated with higher match rates.

What Should Students and Trainees Be Taught About Turfing and Where Patients Belong?

Turfing is a colloquialism that refers to what clinicians do to patients whose needs do not fit neatly and tidily into typical clinical placement protocols, especially during inpatient admissions from a hospital's emergency department. This term and this practice are both clinically and ethically problematic because a patient is rarely, if ever, "turfed" to their advantage. Ethically speaking, turfing constitutes deferral of responsibility for a patient's admission or care to colleagues. This article suggests when and under which circumstances it is clinically and ethically appropriate to defer a patient's care and suggests why turfing happens despite its negative influence on both physicians and patients.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation and skill retention in emergency physicians.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The American Heart Association (AHA) recently established the Resuscitation Quality Improvement (RQI) program, which requires physicians to perform quarterly cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) skill checks. The aim of this study was to determine if timing of last training impacted skill performance of emergency physicians. METHODS: A convenience sample of emergency medicine (EM) physicians was asked to complete a Basic Life Support (BLS) scenario on a manikin. Participants passed the scenario if they successfully performed high-quality CPR. Participants completed a survey to assess clinical experience and timing of prior BLS training. Outcomes were comparisons of skills check pass rates for physicians recently trained in BLS (≤90 days) and those trained >90 days ago and those trained >2 years ago. RESULTS: A total of 113 individuals were included in the study: 87 attending physicians and 26 residents. Overall 92.9% correctly performed CPR with the proper assessment, compression rate, compression depth and rescue breaths. There was no difference between success rates in EM physicians who had BLS training within 90 days (91.7%) and physicians who had not had BLS within 90 days, (93.1%). (p = 1.00) There was no difference in the pass rate of those trained within 90 days (91.7%) to those trained >2 years ago (90.9%) (95CI 0.088, 0.096). CONCLUSION: There was no difference between delivery of high-quality CPR in EM physicians who had recent BLS training and those who did not.

Pilot Study to Evaluate the Adjunct Use of a Povidone-Iodine Topical Antiseptic in Patients with Soft Tissue Abscesses.

BACKGROUND: Povidone-iodine (PVP-I) antiseptic solutions have been shown to be effective against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcal aureus, a common cause of superficial skin abscesses. OBJECTIVES: Our objective was to study the feasibility of using PVP-I as a treatment adjunct in patients with superficial skin abscesses and determine if it confers any benefit over incision and drainage (I&D) alone. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled pilot study of adult patients with an uncomplicated skin abscess. Patients were randomized to PVP-I or standard treatment. All patients had I&D and abscess packing. Patients randomized to PVP-I were instructed on daily application of the agent to hands, wound, and surrounding skin with dressing changes. Subjects returned at 48-72 h and 7-10 days and followed-up by phone at 30 days. The primary outcome was clinical cure 7-10 days after I&D. The secondary outcomes were rate of development of new skin lesions and spread in household contacts within 30 days. RESULTS: Clinical cure occurred in 91.3% of patients in the standard group vs. 88.2% of patients in the PVP-I group (difference, 3.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] -10.7 to 16.8; p = 0.53). There was a significantly higher adverse event rate in the group who received PVP-I (59.6%) vs. standard care (26.5%) (difference 33.1%, 95% CI 13.2-50.2; p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There was no difference in clinical cure rates among patients using PVP-I (88.2%) vs. standard care (91.3%) after I&D. There were no major adverse events, but the addition of PVP-I was commonly associated with local skin irritation.

Transition of Care from the Emergency Department to the Outpatient Setting: A Mixed-Methods Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study was to characterize current practices in the transition of care between the emergency department and primary care setting, with an emphasis on the use of the electronic medical record (EMR). METHODS: Using literature review and modified Delphi technique, we created and tested a pilot survey to evaluate for face and content validity. The final survey was then administered face-to-face at eight different clinical sites across the country. A total of 52 emergency physicians (EP) and 49 primary care physicians (PCP) were surveyed and analyzed. We performed quantitative analysis using chi-square test. Two independent coders performed a qualitative analysis, classifying answers by pre-defined themes (inter-rater reliability > 80%). Participants' answers could cross several pre-defined themes within a given question. RESULTS: EPs were more likely to prefer telephone communication compared with PCPs (30/52 [57.7%] vs. 3/49 [6.1%] P < 0.0001), whereas PCPs were more likely to prefer using the EMR for discharge communication compared with EPs (33/49 [67.4%] vs. 13/52 [25%] p < 0.0001). EPs were more likely to report not needing to communicate with a PCP when a patient had a benign condition (23/52 [44.2%] vs. 2/49 [4.1%] p < 0.0001), but were more likely to communicate if the patient required urgent follow-up prior to discharge from the ED (33/52 [63.5%] vs. 20/49 [40.8%] p = 0.029). When discussing barriers to effective communication, 51/98 (52%) stated communication logistics, followed by 49/98 (50%) who reported setting/environmental constraints and 32/98 (32%) who stated EMR access was a significant barrier. CONCLUSION: Significant differences exist between EPs and PCPs in the transition of care process. EPs preferred telephone contact synchronous to the encounter whereas PCPs preferred using the EMR asynchronous to the encounter. Providers believe EP-to-PCP contact is important for improving patient care, but report varied expectations and multiple barriers to effective communication. This study highlights the need to optimize technology for an effective transition of care from the ED to the outpatient setting.

Clinical and epidemiologic characteristics as predictors of treatment failures in uncomplicated skin abscesses within seven days after incision and drainage.

BACKGROUND: Community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) is now the leading cause of superficial abscesses seen in the Emergency Department. STUDY OBJECTIVES: Our primary aim was to determine if an association exists between three predictor variables (abscess size, cellulitis size, and MRSA culture) and treatment failure within 7 days after incision and drainage in adults. Our secondary aim was to determine if an association exists between two clinical features (abscess size and size of surrounding cellulitis) and eventual MRSA diagnosis by culture. METHODS: Logistic regression models were used to examine clinical variables as predictors of treatment failure within 7 days after incision and drainage and MRSA by wound culture. RESULTS: Of 212 study participants, 190 patients were analyzed and 22 were lost to follow-up. Patients who grew MRSA, compared to those who did not, were more likely to fail treatment (31% to 10%, respectively; 95% confidence interval [CI] 8-31%). The failure rates for abscesses ≥ 5 cm and < 5 cm were 26% and 22%, respectively (95% CI -11-26%). The failure rates for cellulitis ≥ 5 cm and < 5 cm were 27% and 16%, respectively (95% CI -2-22%). Larger abscesses were no more likely to grow MRSA than smaller abscesses (55% vs. 53%, respectively; 95% CI -22-23%). The patients with larger-diameter cellulitis demonstrated a slightly higher rate of MRSA-positive culture results compared to patients with smaller-diameter cellulitis (61% vs. 46%, respectively; 95% CI -0.3-30%), but the difference was not statistically significant. CONCLUSION: Cellulitis and abscess size do not predict treatment failures within 7 days, nor do they predict which patients will have MRSA. MRSA-positive patients are more likely to fail treatment within 7 days of incision and drainage.

Strategies for coping with stress in emergency medicine: Early education is vital.

INTRODUCTION: Physician burnout has received considerable attention in the literature and impacts a large number of emergency medicine physicians, but there is no standardized curriculum for wellness in resident education. A culture change is needed to educate about wellness, adopt a preventative and proactive approach, and focus on resiliency. DISCUSSION: We describe a novel approach to wellness education by focusing on resiliency rather than the unintended endpoint of physician burnout. One barrier to adoption of wellness education has been establishing legitimacy among emergency medicine (EM) residents and educators. We discuss a change in the language of wellness education and provide several specific topics to facilitate the incorporation of these topics in resident education. CONCLUSION: Wellness education and a culture of training that promotes well-being will benefit EM residents. Demonstrating the impact of several factors that positively affect emergency physicians may help to facilitate alert residents to the importance of practicing activities that will result in wellness. A change in culture and focus on resiliency is needed to adequately address and optimize physician self-care.

How do you treat an abscess in the era of increased community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)?

BACKGROUND: In the era of increased prevalence of community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), there have been a number of questions and several recent studies that address the clinical management of uncomplicated abscesses in the emergency department (ED). DISCUSSION: We examine the historical and clinical predictors for MRSA in patients with an uncomplicated abscess and review the evidence behind the use of wound cultures, decolonization, antibiotics, irrigation, and packing after incision and drainage. We found that current recommendations and treatment guidelines are often based on limited data, expert opinion, and anecdotal experience. CONCLUSION: In light of the data currently available, antibiotics and decolonization should be used selectively, not routinely, for treatment of most uncomplicated abscesses. Wound cultures are generally not necessary in the ED, and all patients should be given return precautions for worsening symptoms.

Randomized controlled trial of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole for uncomplicated skin abscesses in patients at risk for community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus infection.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: Community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus is now the leading cause of uncomplicated skin abscesses in the United States, and the role of antibiotics is controversial. We evaluate whether trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole reduces the rate of treatment failures during the 7 days after incision and drainage and whether it reduces new lesion formation within 30 days. METHODS: In this multicenter, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled trial, we randomized adults to oral trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole or placebo after uncomplicated abscess incision and drainage. Using emergency department rechecks at 2 and 7 days and telephone follow-up, we assessed treatment failure within 7 days, and using clinical follow-up, telephone follow-up, and medical record review, we recorded the development of new lesions within 30 days. RESULTS: We randomized 212 patients, and 190 (90%) were available for 7-day follow-up. We observed a statistically similar incidence of treatment failure in patients receiving trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (15/88; 17%) versus placebo (27/102; 26%), difference 9%, 95% confidence interval -2% to 21%; P=.12. On 30-day follow-up (successful in 69% of patients), we observed fewer new lesions in the antibiotic (4/46; 9%) versus placebo (14/50; 28%) groups, difference 19%, 95% confidence interval 4% to 34%, P=.02. CONCLUSION: After the incision and drainage of uncomplicated abscesses in adults, treatment with trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole does not reduce treatment failure but may decrease the formation of subsequent lesions.

A study of the workforce in emergency medicine: 2007.

INTRODUCTION: This study was undertaken to describe the current status of the emergency medicine workforce in the United States. METHODS: Surveys were distributed in 2008 to 2619 emergency department (ED) medical directors and nurse managers in hospitals in the 2006 American Hospital Association database. RESULTS: Among ED medical directors, 713 responded, for a 27.2% response rate. Currently, 65% of practicing emergency physicians are board certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine or the American Osteopathic Board of Emergency Medicine. Among those leaving the practice, the most common reasons cited for departure include geographic relocation (46%) and better pay (29%). Approximately 12% of the ED physician workforce is expected to retire in the next 5 years. Among nurse managers, 548 responded, for a 21% response rate. Many nurses (46%) have an associate degree as their highest level of education, 28% have a BSN, and 3% have a graduate degree (MSN or higher). Geographic relocation (44%) is the leading reason for changing employment. Emergency department annual volumes have increased by 49% since 1997, with a mean ED volume of 32 281 in 2007. The average reported ED length of stay is 158 minutes from registration to discharge and 208 minutes from registration to admission. Emergency department spent an average of 49 hours per month in ambulance diversion in 2007. Boarding is common practice, with an average of 318 hours of patient boarding per month. CONCLUSIONS: In the past 10 years, the number of practicing emergency physicians has grown to more than 42 000. The number of board-certified emergency physicians has increased. The number of annual ED visits has risen significantly.